yukoandk

Fizzle, the water should be spraying out of the spray bar. At the very top of this thread, there's a photo by prairielilly which shows the amount of out flow enough to agitate the surface when the little holes are at the surface level. Your tank is bigger than the one in the photo, so you will see the agitation in the width of the spray bar, and the air bubbles will not affect this. If there's only some dripping, your canister is not set up correctly. Is there a kink in the hose somewhere? Do you need to prime it (get the flow going) again? Are there media materials (such as sponge) inside the canister being too compressed and blocking the flow?

I have a 2213 running on my new 55gal tank, and just received 2215 to add. I have a few questions for those who know better about Eheim classics: I noticed that 2215 does not have a media basket like the one with 2213, rather a flat "strainer" at the bottom and another at the top. I'm not too worried about this one, but is this normal? Also, I'm planning on using my 2213 at a reduced flow of about 50gph by adjusting the double tap valve (more on the reason why here: How to use Seachem De-nitrate ), but does anyone foresee any technical problems with this?

Thanks!

Fizzle

So, how do you prime this thing correctly? I probably need to do that one more time. Please help with some steps to do this properly.

It was going good for a day or so but then the water stream out of the spray bar would just stagger and not remain constant. Eheim Classic filter 2217 is what I have. I bought it brand new in the box...I think it's me that is not setting it up correctly since I'm a newbie at this.

mathas

From the product manual:

yukoandk

Fizzle, I'm sorry you are having trouble with your canister.

To prime an Eheim classic, when brand new and there's no water in the canister nor the hoses, I sucked on the outflow hose so the water starts to fill the canister through the intake hose, then quickly reconnected the hose and let the water fill all the way.

Mine came with 2 double tap valves, one for the intake hose and one for the out flow hose. With these valves, you would cut the hoses and insert them somewhere between the plastic intake bar and intake hose connection (stub at the bottom of the canister), and also between outflow connection (stub at the top of the canister's lid) and the plastic spray bar.

So I sucked on the outflow side valve to start the flow and found it easy enough to reconnect it quickly. Once canister is filled with water I plugged in the electrical cord to start the pump. Canister makes some noise for a few minutes pushing out existing air from the system (yes, the flow should be strong enough to push the air out of the bar), but after that it will run quietly.

Be careful trying to disconnect the valves after you've had it running. If you choose to try to "prime" the thing again, have a bucket ready and make sure you pull the hoses and plastic bars out to empty the water from them, so you don't end up with water pouring out onto your floor like I did! But once you get the flow going, the valves come in handy--you can close the taps to pull out and clean the canister when needed, and afterwards let the water fill back up by opening the taps.

I hope this helps. It would be a hassle to have to return it unless you got it from a nearby shop. Eheim instructions are not very instructive sometimes. Double check for kinks in the hose, water flow direction, electric power. Oh, are your taps fully open during operation?

As for the position of the spray bar, it depends on the aquarium needs and personal preference. It's quieter below water level, if above there will be more agitation and splashing which helps oxygenation but noisier. I try to keep mine right where it gives good agitation at surface with minimum noise.

Fizzle

I just got it to work...hopefully it will stay working now. haha. Thanks for all the help. This forum is extremely helpful!!!

Fizzle

now the only problem i have now is that the spray bar is pushing out too much water and causing so many microbubbles in the tank. How did you guys remedy this? Which direction did you point the spray bar? Did you minimize the pressure on the outtake tube?

Fizzle

Oh yeah, the spray bar is shooting at a 45 degree angle right now.

griffin

maybe try turning it more parallel with the ground?

flotus48

Do you even have to use the spraybar?

Fizzle

I'm not sure. I asked this guy at the fish store last night about the Eheim and he said that it is not recommended to turn the pressure down a bit. Because if that's the case, then the water going through your filter will have a path it follows and it won't be filtered correctly. If it's on full blast, then it has to go through all avenues of the media filter.

But, I talked to another person at the same store a few days ago and she said that you can minimize the outtake a bit. If you do, then minimize the intake a bit too.

There are always conflicting reports everywhere...I just need to know what has worked and I'll stick with whatever I think is the best.

graham50

i have my eheim 2213 for about 5 months now..and i think you'd be better with the spray bar..i dont know anything about it being moved sorry just thought id post a comment