Eheim 2224 - Page 2

Fry Lover · #11 04-28-2008, 06:51 PM

Pete's got himself a big-boy now (2250), you'll have to do a review of it old chap once it's up and running, give us the low down etc

curviceps · #12 04-28-2008, 06:56 PM

I would have to say that I have no problems whatsoever restarting Eheims. I leave the filter for 5 mins after putting the head back on with all taps in the open position, come back, give it a quick wobble from side to side, turn on and thats it!! My Fluvals on the other hand.......

The Equalizer · #13 04-28-2008, 07:02 PM

Thats a good tip curviceps.

I'll try that in future.

Do you find that they are noisey when first starting up whilst they get all the air out?

Regards

E

telboy · #14 04-28-2008, 07:10 PM

the only prob ive had with fluval is not being able to find a impeller shaft for the 405,how ever eheims ive had need cleaning more often,are more difficult to clean the on/off taps are rubbish, the pipes are too soft + close up on bends,replacement media is more expensive, i too found eheim more difficult to restart after a clean...the only good thing about eheim is the spares are easier to find

Alan · #15 04-30-2008, 09:42 AM

Telboy all the problems you mention are problems I have had with fluvals not eheims are you sure you haven't mixed them up

Seriously though all my comments about fluvals and eheims are based on my experience with them the last fluval I owned was a 404 which jammed on a marine tank then restarted itself a few hours later filling the tank with putrid nastiness, I only noticed when I got a wiff diconnected the filter and had a look inside and it was disgusting. I cleaned it after this and then found that it was stopping and starting cause warped impellor housing, what fantastic design to use non thermo set plastic in the impellor housing. A pre GCSE CDT pupil would know better than that!

Then after about a year or 2 a leak appeared slow at first so I put the thing in a bowl and replaced the gasket, it worked for a couple of hours then I get up in the morning and it has leaked flooding the bottom of the chipboard cabinet and half of my lounge fortunately I cleaned it all up before the flooring and the cabinet were damaged!

Fluval filter would no reseal no matter what I tried when I examined the housing found it had worn so it was no forming a tight seal when it was closed. To fix it I threw it in the garden and then spent the next 30 minutes kicking the merry h e l l out of it.

Then I thought hmmm need a cheap reliable filter large capacity already had an old eheim classic 2215 bought 2nd hand for £25 from a work colleague over ten years old but still works like new with all original parts hmmmm eheim 2250 was spotted design similar to classic I bought it in a heart beat never had a problem.

I know Pete is having some problems though but I am surprised as I had mine up and running in about 45 minutes and it has worked perfectly ever since. The only challenge is getting the intake for the filter to fill with water to give good flow but even if the pipe has a small amount of air in it the filter still works perfectly.

Tapwise yes the eheim taps seem flimsy but I have used the fluval taps and eheim both for over 10 years the fluval ones wear out and jam or as I have had happen to me start to leak plus they do not connect very well eheim taps on the other hand require no brute force and are very easy to work with.

So far I am also very happy with the eheim 2222 which again started first time with no fuss no trapped air it just worked perfectly to be honest my experience with fluvals is that even when new they don't always start first time!

Alan · #16 04-30-2008, 09:53 AM

Just a thought for the equalizer the eheim has a bottom fill design the pipe that is inside the canister should have a rubber seal on it so all of the water entering the filter has to go through the media also the bottom fill design drives out all of the trapped air just through siphoning water into the filter.

It is possible that if the seal isn't in place properly the action of the filter will be slightly impaired resulting in some flow being diverted laterally across the top of the filter instead of through all the media this may be the cause of the air lock problem. Just a though though.

Also when you restart the filters are they already full of water before you put them back together or do you refill them using the siphon action? You should refill them using the siphon action as this drives air out of all of the unwanted places and when the filter is full of water it should be turned on and you shouldn't get any problems as the air should also have been driven out of the impellor housing.

If fluvals are good for one thing its teaching you how to fiddle with and kick start all canister filters and also the best way of starting them!!!!

In summary check the rubber seal in the down pipe inside the canister and make sure you fill the filter using the siphon don't manually fill it before turning it on as the later will cause air locks.

The Equalizer · #17 04-30-2008, 12:55 PM

Hi again Alan

Your previous posts are excellent. Made me laugh.

Kicked it up & down the garden..... Excellent! Thats my sort of fixing.

Anyhoo, what I normally do when re-filling the system after cleaning the filter out is to fill up the filter with either tank water or treated tap about 3/4 full then put the baskets in, & re-connect the taps & turn them on along with the filter.

Normally at this point nothing happens as the impellor chamber is full of air & it makes a groaning sound, so I have to tilt the filter at about 45 degrees & try to tilt it back up to vertical slowly, too quickly & air bubbles go up both my intake & output hoses.

Sometimes takes 10 or 15 minutes or more before its running on its own.

Looks like what I should be doing is putting the media baskets in the empty filter & turning both pipes on along with the filter, & seeing what happens.

I'll give it a go next change.

Regards

E

Alan · #18 05-01-2008, 12:39 AM

I think that might be where you are going wrong.

You should be able to shut off the pipes so they remain filled with water then once the filter has been cleaned you can open up the pipes to get it restarted. This works best if the spray bar for the out let is above the water line. So you open the outlet pipe first, this will cause the outlet pipe to empty then open the inlet pipe to the filter this should immediately start filling the canister filter just wait until the canister is full and then turn on the filter it should start straight away, I suspect you are getting the filter to start the siphon and this is where you are having problems.

The Equalizer · #19 05-01-2008, 01:42 PM

Mmm Cheers Alan

You've given me something to think about.

Thanks

E