Purchased Eheim Pro3E 2076, What Media?

[emusnes]

I just purchased an Eheim Pro3e 2076 canister filter. It has not arrived yet, so I would like to know what it comes with (pad wise) and what Eheim or alternative media I need to get. I am setting up a 60 Gallon Mbuna Cichlid tank. I am also looking for info on what order all this stuff should go in the filter.

Thanks

 

[the biffster]

I just purchased an Eheim Pro3e 2076 canister filter. It has not arrived yet, so I would like to know what it comes with (pad wise) and what Eheim or alternative media I need to get. I am setting up a 60 Gallon Mbuna Cichlid tank. I am also looking for info on what order all this stuff should go in the filter.

Thanks

i have been having a look about for you and i get two conflicting
things some times the adverts say it comes with the media and some
say it doesn't you dont know who to believe

 

[karin]

I'm pretty new at all of this so take this with a grain of salt. I have an Eheim 2215 and it came with Eheim biosubstrate that are these little porous glass balls. I was having a problem with the filter's performance really slowing down after 4 months. Reading here and there and other places the eheim biosubstrate does have a reputation of clogging. So I am in the process of replacing them with ceramic rings. Flow and performance is better.

I have ceramic rings, an Eheim blue sponge, more ceramic rings(replacing the glass balls) and another Eheim blue sponge in my filter.

FYI

 

[chef-247]

I just purchased an Eheim Pro3e 2076 canister filter. It has not arrived yet, so I would like to know what it comes with (pad wise) and what Eheim or alternative media I need to get. I am setting up a 60 Gallon Mbuna Cichlid tank. I am also looking for info on what order all this stuff should go in the filter.

Thanks

Hi the new pro e3 range comes with course filter pads & fine filter pads but no media, I have got in my 2078 in this order from the bottom. 1 ehiem mech then in 2-4 ehiem substrate pro hope this helps.

 

[raptorrex]

Reading here and there and other places the eheim biosubstrate does have a reputation of clogging. So I am in the process of replacing them with ceramic rings. Flow and performance is better.



FYI

could you provide some links to this?

first there is no such thing a Ehem BioSebstrate (and no Eheim media is "glass balls").
Eheim make Ehfisubstrate and Ehfisubstrate pro. neither is known to clog, put substrate pro, suffers less. i also need to point out, you have little or no Bio filtration. if you use Eheim Ehfimech rings. they have no, significant bio action. indeed they are not porous in any way. perhaps visiting the Eheim site? you will know, at least, just what Ehem sell and make.

as for if their filters come with media? well NO, but also yes. it depends on the deal the shop is offering. but Eheim state, under normal circumstances, no media is shipped with their pro cannisters.

 

[karin]

Reading here and there and other places the eheim biosubstrate does have a reputation of clogging. So I am in the process of replacing them with ceramic rings. Flow and performance is better.



FYI

could you provide some links to this?

first there is no such thing a Ehem BioSebstrate (and no Eheim media is "glass balls").
Eheim make Ehfisubstrate and Ehfisubstrate pro. neither is known to clog, put substrate pro, suffers less. i also need to point out, you have little or no Bio filtration. if you use Eheim Ehfimech rings. they have no, significant bio action. indeed they are not porous in any way. perhaps visiting the Eheim site? you will know, at least, just what Ehem sell and make.

as for if their filters come with media? well NO, but also yes. it depends on the deal the shop is offering. but Eheim state, under normal circumstances, no media is shipped with their pro cannisters.

I'm no pro so I am not trying to make a big deal here but my reading of it is that the EFIsubstrate is "sintered glass"... don't know what that exactly means so I just called it in quotation marks "glass balls". If you do a web search on Eheim clogged you will find a lot of references (yes anecdotal, but seems like that is true for all the claims regarding filters including those at the products website) of the performance going down and pointing to the EFIsubstrate. In my experiences, admittedly limited, as I replace the sintered glass with ceramic rings, my performance has improved noticeably. Again in my experience, I run two tanks a 29 and a 60 on filters with sponges and ceramic rings and my stats are consistent with zero ammonia and nitrites. In fact I was told at this site to remove my carbon and zeolite in my aquaclear and replace it with ceramic rings.

What I have read is that the EFIsubstrate has greater surface area, making it ideal for bacteria, but maybe not so good when it comes to clogging up. I also read that the EFIsubstrate Pro does not clog as readily...but I have no experience with that.

So again, relative newbie but I do read a lot.

 

[waterdrop]

Hey, I'm familiar with and always like reading posts from both of you Karin and Raptor! Karin was posting in a casual way and I could see describing the ehfi substrat as glass balls once one has heard that its sintered glass (Karin, whether you call is sintered glass or ceramic, its the same stuff.) Raptor is always great with details and was one of the members who really helped me with lots and lots of eheim specifics when I needed them in the hardware section, so he's a good resource when these details are needed.

I was reading what Karin was saying about the clogging and thinking to myself that I have a whole tray of ehfi substrat (not the pro version) and I don't particularly get clogging problems but then I thought, well I'm getting the benefit of there being ehfi mech (ceramic rings) in the bottom tray, capped by a coarse sponge. This causes there to be a great mechanical trap for larger particles and once Raptor and I had a good discussion about that. It could be that ehfi substrat just doesn't work as well in a large column in the 2215 model and perhaps some sort of combo with a middle sponge would improve things. I think Raptor is right that you'd want a stronger biomedia in addition to the rings, as by themselves they will not serve well as a main biomedia.

For the OP I think it should be considered that the classic eheim stack is a great way to start (and maybe Raptor could augment my description here..) with ceramic rings in the bottom try capped by coarse sponge, middle trays with biomedia like ehfi substrat pro capped with medium pore sponges (an additional middle tray is always great to have for optional media if that is ever needed) and of course the fine mechanical, such as floss pads can top things off as the last thing before the pumphead sends it back to the tank.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[LondonguyJ]

For the OP I think it should be considered that the classic eheim stack is a great way to start (and maybe Raptor could augment my description here..) with ceramic rings in the bottom try capped by coarse sponge, middle trays with biomedia like ehfi substrat pro capped with medium pore sponges (an additional middle tray is always great to have for optional media if that is ever needed) and of course the fine mechanical, such as floss pads can top things off as the last thing before the pumphead sends it back to the tank.

~~waterdrop~~

Hey waterdrop

I have pretty much the same media setup that you have suggested but was told recently that having a mixter of ehiem bio and sponges would mean that I cannot use meds in my aquarium. In your experience is this true?

 

[OldMan47]

There is no reason to avoid using medications based on the type of bio-media. On the other hand, many medications we use are quite harsh and kill off the cycle bacteria in a filter. If you know you are dealing with such a medication, it would be best to be ready for a new cycle when the treatment is done. I find just the opposite to be true. By maintaining my water clean and fresh, I do not need to ever use harsh medications. I have only ever used a single salt treatment once in the last 7 years while maintaining all of my tanks, today it is 25 tanks but it has been as low as about 6 during that time. I have never had a true need for more than a water change or a salt treatment for those fish.
All of the medications I see people using a re a mystery to me because I have no experience with them since getting back into the hobby. At one time I used things like malachite green and methylene blue along with Maracyn to treat my tanks, but when I got back into the hobby I focused on water quality instead. It has paid big dividends for my fish.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, this is the same for me. Since getting back into the hobby I've not yet had any need for medications. Since focusing on water quality I've mostly just been amazed at how my fish now look and behave month after month in a manner that I considered to be a brief best period in the old days.

A Quarantine/Hospital tank is a wonderful thing. If you were to have a sponge filter running at the ready in your main tank, this type of small tank could be up and running quickly to play a hospital or quarantine role.

~~waterdrop~~