Eheim 2011 Cannister Filter

[marg]

Does anyone know anything about an Eheim 2011 Cannister Filter?

To my knowledge it is about 12 years old :roll: .

It was with a second hand 4foot tank that I purchased.

[DR.V]

what do u want to know about this filter margot ??

[marg]

Well, when I purchased the tank it had an Undergravel Filter operating together with the Eheim Filter. I kept it going that way but as I am learning more I am beginning to realize that Undergravel FIlters do not go down too well with Discus.

I am thinking of getting rid of the Undergravel Filter and just using the Eheim Cannister Filter, but am unsure if it will be good enough to service a 4 foot tank.

Anyone got any answers?

[DR.V]

I personally dont like undergravel filter because all the waste will stuck in there and hard to clean. I would remove the undergravel and use the cannister filter only. If you dont use undergravel filter it is easier for you to vac the gravel.

I think eheim2011 itself wont be enough, as you said this is and old filter, and i would assume that it already lose some of its power. So it would not pump as much water as its written on the filter head.

Add another cannister filter or internal filter. Its your choice.

Good luck

[Proteus]

Margot... let me start by saying something....

I have always believed if something works, why change it...

However, as time and technology has progressed, there are better and easier ways of doing things.

An UGF is not ideal for keeping Discus, however they do work, and have there place in the hobby.

I would be suggesting upgrading your filtration to a larger canister, running it on the existing tank for a few weeks (to colonise the bacteria), then, if available, move your stock and most of the water (including the filter to a temp tank/tub) then removing the UGF.

At the same time, keep the gravel, but give it a clean in the leftover tank water. Once that is complete, lay the gravel back out, plus any other bits and pieces you want to do, then add some new aged (treated) water, then start the transplant back to the 4ft tank (water, filter, livestock, etc).

Then you will have a fully cycled 4ft tank, have both the older Eheim filter working on top of a newer larger capacity filtration device...

(I am basing this on the info sourced earlier today when you spoke to Michella at SLS).

HTH

[marg]

Thanks Proteus. It all gets confusing to a newie like me. As I said, I have had the 4 foot tank for about 6 months with the UGF And the small Eheim. Something must be going right because the fish keep spawning in it (never get past wriggler stage but I'm in the process of ageing a 2 foot tank at the moment).
I'll just have to save some dollars and get a better Filter.

[Proteus]

At the end of the day, a new canister isnt as expensive as what you might think.

Yes, you could go straight to E-heim, (a great filter on all counts), however there are plenty of clones (Via Aqua, Aqua One, etc) which work just as good, and are 1/2 to 1/3 the price.

[marg]

I might have to look into that when I am in Sydney next. It is a waste of time around Wagga, as the Pet Shops see you coming and will pretty well sell you anything.

I hope to be able to come to the June ADA Meeting, and hope to visit SLS and have a look at their fish From what I'm reading on this site they have some beautiful Fish, and Michela was really nice and helpful to me today.

I will also keep my eyes on EBay as well, who knows what might turn up.

[marg]

Just another question Proteus if you are still on line - the tank is 250 litres, so what size Filter should I be looking for :roll: ?. I know I probably sound like4 a real dill but I won't learn anything if I don't ask, will I?

[Merrilyn]

Hi Margot, the size of the filter that you need will be determined by how often you are prepared to do water changes. The idea of a filter is to provide a home for the bacteria colony that turn the ammonia produced by your fish into nitrite, and then into nitrate which is less toxic to fish. We remove the nitrate by doing waterchanges.

Now those Eheim 2011 filters were a good and very reliable workhorse. and if it is still working well, I would continue to use it. But that on it's own will not be enough for your four foot tank, so you are going to have to supplement it with something else.

There are several ways you can go. First, you can stay with the undergravel filter. I have a friend who uses UG in all of his breeding tanks, and whilst it's not the way I would go, he has remarkable success. The only thing he does, is to regularly deep gravel vac to make sure there is no build up of gunk in the gravel, or under the filter plate. It does provide a home for a large amount of bacteria, so if you are going to remove the gravel and UG filter, you will need to do it slowly to prevent your tank going thru a mini cycle.

Another thing you could do is to use a couple of sponge filters. Get them running before you slowly remove some of the gravel over a period of two weeks. The humble sponge filter is very under rated, and does a great job of both bio and mechanical filtration. The only drawback is that they are pretty unsightly in the tank, but they do a great job.

Another alternative is to purchase another cannister filter. I personally prefer Eheim, but as Proteus says, there are plenty of good makes on the market, which are not as expensive as the Eheim.

The general rule of thumb is that your filter should turn over four times the volume of water in your tank each hour. So if your tank is 250 lts then you need a flow rate of 1000 lts per hour. Let's say your existing filter is doing 300 lts per hour, you need to be looking at a filter capable of doing around 700 lts per hour. Remember the flow rate is calculated with the filter running without any media in it, so the actual flow rate will be a lot less when the filter is in use in your tank. The reduced rate will be ideal for your discus tank.

Hope that information helps :D

[marg]

Thanks very much Ladyred, now I understand what to look for. As I said to Proteus, I will keep an eye on EBay, I'm not in a rush seeing as how I'm coping the way I am at the moment.

[jim]

Hi Margot...why don't you keep using the old Eheim and add a new one....I also have a 4 ft tank and I have 2 Eheim running at the moment...
It's more efficient to have 2 canisters working on both side of the tank...

[DR.V]

yeah thats true margot, if you can run 2 canisters, that would be better :P