Eheim Filters, Lighting, and CO2

[denimous]

i invested in a 46 gal aga bowfront recently, and need to finishing buying hardware for it. i plan on a moderate/heavily planted gourami tank set up, this is my first major tank and i want to research all angles first.

from what ive read and heard i think eheim sounds like the best canister filter. could anyone tell me the difference between their "classic" filters and "professional"? the respective sizes for my tank are 2224 and 2213. any mixture of filter media particularly successful?...in general ive been suggested to use the same brand of media as the filter.

also, one of the clerks at an aquatic store i went to today told me that the cannister wouldn't be enough filtration alone and that i should do it in conjunction with an undergravel filter. with my set up idea this seems unfeasible or rather high maintenance, is there a good reason for me to do both?

the same clerk advised me to use power compacts, i heard 6700k daylight tubes being suggested elsewhere on this forum. any suggestions?

also, has anyone used or heard of success using one of those "electrolysis" type CO2 systems? ive seen several on ebay which claims to avoid yeast set ups and co2 tanks.

please and thank you for any advice!

 

[catfishmike]

this clerk is an odd one.knows enough to tell you that pc lights,but tells you an ehiem wouln't be enough.even the smallest ehiems can filter a good size tank.i think they are just trying to sell you stuff.if you can afford pc lights go for it.they are very bright and have a long life.i can't see any reason at all to use a ugf in conjunction with a canister.perhaps a powerhead to increase o2 levels,but not a ugf.as far as the carbo block co2 systems i don't see them as being a wise choice.what if they end up being a flop and your dealer quits carrying them or no one distribuets them in your area.co2 is always avalible except in the smallest of towns.the inital cost is high but there are ways around that too.try doing a scearch for diy co2 canisters and i'm sure you will find cheap and affordable ways to use co2 in your tank.

 

[Gomer]

UFG are a mess with plants. Their roots get into the grid and you are up sheit creek.

I have the Filstar XP2 (awesome filter!) on my 29g running at ~ 30% flow and is working like a charm.
Eheim not being enough...blaah!

 

[mike the zealot]

yeah my LFS had me going on the ugf thing for awhile when I first started. It's bull crap. It's weird too, because4 they are just flat out misinformed, they're not trying to pull the wool over you're eyes. Reason being is a UGF is about the dirt-cheapest way to filter a tank, and canisters are the most expensive, hehe.

Anyway, get a canister, get an eheim, and then get a classic. I own the 2213 classic myself, and it does a great job with my 55.

The difference between professional and classic I think was the pros have the self-priming thing, which is cool I guess, but it's easy enough to prime it yourself. I was told the classics are designed better in that they don't let any water out unfiltered.

Plus the classics are the best priced (buy online! your LFS WILL be happy to charge you triple what you could pay online)

 

[denimous]

mike the zealot: do you have any suggestions as to where i should buy the eheim online?

any ideas for filter media to use in the eheim?

oh yah...i just went to my lfs and he said he would give me a price quote for the eheim after "talking to their rep", but gave a ballpark of $200...for the 2213 classic. *yipes*. however, i did get to return my brand new hob filter and heater for store credit and get the powercompact retrofit light kid for my hood. *yay me*.

ok...but to dissuade me from gettin the eheim the guy at the lfs promised to give me a fluval for 15% off...is it worth it?

thanks for all your advice!

 

[klclyburn]

Having never used an Eheim, I've got a biased opinion. But I've got a Fluval 204 and 304, and I love them. I've never had a problem with either of them, and they are very very low maintenance. but I've done some alterations to it, instead of having 4 coarse filter pads, I've used some left-over unused Whisper large filter replacement pads and switched out two of the coarse filter pads for a finer filtration mechanism to pick up the smaller pieces of debris, etc. That switch seems to work very well. I've also got ceramic media in one tray, a tray of loose, activated carbon media, and one tray of loose zeolite media.

I'll definately have to research the Eheim Filters though.

 

[wayne]

The differences between classics and professional (and another range ecco) is functionality - classics are harder to prime, and are a bit different internally. Eccos are easy to use, but reputedly have low flow rates compared to the volume of material.
The one thing that seems to be the same is they're all reputedly bulletproof - you hear more stories of them running for 15 years than you do of bad ones. Plus you can always get spares.
Fluvals look like perfectly good filters, but frankly I'd always spend the money and get an eheim. Classics are always on sale somewhere as they take a bit of learning to get to work well compared to a comparably priced Fluval, but .... 15 years is a long time.
UG filter with plants sounds like a recipe for disaster. You will not be short of filtration for this tank

 

[dial]

i have a 2217 and it runs great. I have a 350l tank and they guy at the fish shop said that 350l is pushing it for my pump so i should invest in a model up. but if your tank is less than a 2217 is a good option. its about $300 aus.

 

[denimous]

i think i will stand my ground for a classic eheim - 2213. i will NOT do the undergravel filter with the cannister then.

are there any special "tricks of the trade" i should know about running eheims?

thank you for all your advice!

 

[aquatic-store]

Stay away from the ugf
Look @ eheims site they have good pics and descriptions

 

[denimous]

thank you for the advice.
i ordered an eheim and light retrofit kit for my tank...hopefully it will arrive in a week! =D

 

[Somonas]

I got a 2226 Professional off of Aquabid for like $70 US. it has been working flawlessly for 2 years. I think only difference between the Pro series and the 221x series is the way the water and hoses route through the filter

(I would prefer the 221x for co2 - because the water goes in the bottom and up through the filter - in my opinion this would dissolve the co2 better). with my 2226 the water goes in the filter from the top and then down through it like a Filstar.