Eheim Wet/dry Filters And Co2

[Gandalf-LoJ]

I've recently upgraded to a new Eheim Wet/Dry thermo filter after being wooed by the product details here (ok, so I'm a tech nut!)

I also inject pressurised CO2 for my heavily planted and lighted tank. This was running great with a stable CO2 level of around 30-35ppm. This was injected via a diffuser inside the tank, and was run via a solenoid connected to the same timer that operates the lights. With the new filter I changed to an external reactor to keep the intank hardware to a minimum (also one less thing to clean! Diffusers seem to attract algae and gunk!)

Imagine my surprise after only 8 hours of running the new filter and reactor that my CO2 had dropped to almost 0. I've now had to increase the flow of the CO2 so much that the bubble counter just shows a constant stream of bubbles now and it's impossible to count them! Even that only barely gets the CO2 level back to what it was. And at night when the CO2 is off it drops back to almost 0 again so my PH shoots back to 8 again. With CO2 at 30ppm the PH is 7.2 (GH is 15.5 here) This is a huge swing and I'm not happy about that! Before this filter was added it was stable throughout the night and everything was peachy.

I guess I should have read the description a bit more carefully, especially this part.

The wet/dry technology of this external canister filter series fills and empties the filter canister regularly. As a result the biological filter material and the useful purification bacteria come into contact with a high level of oxygen. The purification bacteria work more intensively, thus effectuating extremely efficient decomposition of pollutants. We call it a “breathing“ change-over contact which is regulated by a reliably functioning wet/dry floater compartment. After filtering only cleaned water with a high oxygen content returns into the aquarium.

Now, this filter does actually work really well, and I think for a normal tank with no plants (or no CO2 injection) it'd be fantastic, it has a little tide effect and the current also changes due to the fill and empty cycle of the filter. My fish actually love this, especially the guppies, they love swimming against the current!

Anyway, I hope this assists anyone who has CO2 injection and are also thinking about this filter. DON'T! Stick with a normal one!

I'll be purchasing a normal one later today. (just don't tell my bank!)

 

[JamesC]

Yes it isn't recommended to run a wet/dry filter if you're adding CO2 as it will gas off the CO2. I've never used one so can't really comment too much but some people do run them without too many problems by disabling the wet/dry function. Are you able to do this as it would save you quite a bit of money.

James

 

[Gandalf-LoJ]

It does say in the instructions that you can turn it into a continuous flow filter by blocking the vent. However it also says that it should only be run like that for a few days.

Anyway, it's not a total loss as I do want to get an oscar tank setup at some point so the filter will be used again in the future!

 

[Gandalf-LoJ]

well, it's all sorted. Got a 2028 installed now. It's all working great again. Now to raise that CO2 back to what it was!

Oh, and the big bonus is that the 2028 uses exactly the same components as the wet/dry so I can box that back up as new until I need it again I even have enough new media to keep aside for it too.

 

[rockerBOO]

Maybe if you used something else and not attach it to the filter, and do it through another hose, this would be fine? I just see that you added it to the filter line, so fluctuation's would cause problems, but if you ran it outside of that line, you could have better control over it. Right?

 

[Gandalf-LoJ]

Maybe if you used something else and not attach it to the filter, and do it through another hose, this would be fine? I just see that you added it to the filter line, so fluctuation's would cause problems, but if you ran it outside of that line, you could have better control over it. Right?

Possibly, but CO2 stability is not something I like to take chances with really as I'm still new to this CO2 injection! I've got a normal filter on there now which is working a lot better, now to get my CO2 back to normal!

Hopefully the stag horn algae won't come back as it all started to die off as soon as I had stable CO2

 

[Spank]

bxxxxxx, maybe this is the reason why I'm finding it hard to raise the CO2 levels in my tank to 30ppm, looks like I'll be trying to sell my 2229 on ebay and swapping it for a regular filter

 

[Gandalf-LoJ]

ahh, I'm not the only one to fall foul of this then! I'm debating whether to sell mine as it's going to be a while before I setup another tank.