prairielilly

I set up my new Eheim classic 2213 canister on the weekend - I've never had a canister before, didn't really know what I was doing and found the instructions less than helpful (although this thread certainly was). Finally got it all set up, all's well. However the elbow included to attach between the spray bar and the output hose isn't at a 90 degree angle, so the weight of the hose hanging down the back of the tank keeps pulling the spray bar up on the one side and directing the water right at the hood's light (which has a glass cover, but still). So I twist things around again until the water jets down enough, but I want the spray to agitate the surface, and if I set it 'just so' it's good for a bit until the hose drags it up again. Both hoses are together on the same side bc that's basically the only way everything fit - this canister takes up more room on the top of a 20g than I originally thought it would. Maybe I should put the spray bar fully in the tank vertically and install an airstone to agitate the surface? or just submerge it deeper but keep it horizontal? Do I need to move anything, buy another elbow, what? The tank currently is empty save for a few pieces of driftwood and I thought I should figure this out before there's fish in there. I've been fiddling for a few days now and made no progress but sure spilled a lot of water...help, please?

DSC00619.JPG<-- current agitation at the surface, the way I like it (I just fixed this before I took the picture)

DSC00620.JPG<-- intake and output hoses as they exit the tank through the hood

DSC00621.JPG<-- as above but with hood removed

cerianthus

Get two more elbows to make a U, well upside down U. Weight of the hose can pop/loosen from the way you have set up or hose might somewhat kink w/ time reducing flow.
Spray bar can be submerged slightly below the surface since you have plants, The new U will assist with submerging Spray Bar. All that agitation will drive out much needed CO2.

If cant find Eheiem elbow for Eheim 494 Hose, you can use other Elbows for Fluvals or Any small U you can obtained for that 494 (specified on the hose).
You can even use U-tube made for Votex diatom filter.

prairielilly

Hmm. Hose popping does NOT sound good. I can't get to the LFS til Saturday, hopefully it'll be fine til then. Thanks for the info.

The tank's empty atm as mentioned - the plants in the pic are part of the printed backdrop (I wish I could make it look that good!)

cerianthus

It must be the angle the pic was taken. I just noticed intake tube (one with strainer) in the front of plants. LOL.

Any one can achieve better looking Dutch Aquarium than shown on the backdrop. It just take bit of patience and lots of imagination along with proper equipments and proper maintenance.

Pics you find in the books/magazine, I am/was always skeptical/curious of what the tanks might look like 6 month after pics were taken.

As far as extra elbows, i would have expected lfs to recommend or even set the filter up for you as is done in my lfs, well that is most independent lfs. Eheim is not really carried by Chains around me (actually only chain avail is Petland Discounts). Most likely staff wouldnt know much about the products anyway since they dont use Eheim in the store.

It's not urgent but try to make that U using two elbows asap.
If lfs dont have the parts for eheim or equivalents, go to HD or Garden Center and obtain 1 x female 1/2" elbow and 1 x male 1/2" elbow (PVC, abs, plastic but no metal) to make "U" w/ little bit of teflon tape..

Hope all goes well

prairielilly

I had wanted real plants this time around, but I just replaced the light fixture and (afterwards of course) found out it's 15W, so 0.75 Watts per gallon - not really enough for healthy plants and I don't want to have to buy yet another light.

The filter came from the Calgary store location of Big Al's (only place I could find that had that model in stock; I wanted to buy from a store rather than off the internet as I'd never bought one of these before). The clerk was pleasant enough, but I have in the past received extremely poor advice in that store. No extra apparatus was recommended to me.

I did some browsing on Big Al's Canadian website today - I find they usually have about 75% of what's on the site in the store - and there's only one Eheim elbow available and it's for a different filter. With using two elbows I was concerned about so many joints, that one or the other would come apart. Would it work to get another intake tube identical to the one currently being used, and cut the short end even shorter and attach that to my spray bar, and let the long end hang over the back of the tank and attach the outtake hose to that? that way there would be a solid piece of plastic over the edge of the tank and bearing most of the weight. Just not sure if it would shatter when I try to cut it.

Did I do something wrong when I set it up? because I did so just like on the diagrams in the instructions, and they don't mention anything about possible hose-popping problems. I'm not sure what I should have done differently? I got so concerned about it last night I moved the spray bar (still horizontal) to the middle of the back wall - awful thoughts of coming home from work to find 20g of water all over my (rented) townhouse floor...

Llama

To be honest when I set mine up I didn't realise that the green plastic thing was an elbow, and after trying to stick it in the wrong places, I merely removed it from the system and attached the hose directly. So far nothing bad has happened, and it appears to be working like a charm.

Taking a few pictures for you...

Yes I curved it rather uglily, but so far nothing has popped or anything, and the joints seem secure enough, so I'm not losing any sleep at the moment

Attached Images

filter.JPG (67.3 KB, 161 views)

prairielilly

Hmm. I'm going to give that a try tonight and see if it fits/works in my tank. Not really crazy about buying a bunch of extra new parts and having lots of joints, but definitely a next-best step...

cerianthus

Have used Eheim Classic for over 20 yrs. What I am trying to relay is from experiences. Hose do get somewhat kink which will not only reduce flow but as flow is reduced more backpressure to motor.

Only problem to your suggestion, using U from cutted Intake tube is that Eheim intake Tube is not cheap and not easy to locate.

Like I said, you can use female and male adaptor from HD/Garden Center (Pond suppliers), it should be lot cheaper. Only draw back is this is 90 degree elbow rather than round elbow as is with Eheim elbow.

There are difference b/n fact and experience. Opinions from one who just started using Eheim can NOT foresee what I have experienced and learned over 20 yrs. But decision is up to YOU!
My job as responsible hobbyist is to inform and also learn form others when feasible, not just for your sake but mainly for FISH's sake.
Over the 40+ yrs of hobbying, Ive seen and heeard of many possible catastrophes such as house caught on fire due to small amt of water dripping thru hanging wires and damaged wood floors (pretty often) due to hose poping due to lack of common sense and/or experiences.

Hoping to see pics of well established tank soon!

prairielilly

cerianthus: I'm in no way doubting your experience or not appreciating your feedback. On the contrary it is very much appreciated! I simply want to know all my options and what has worked for others. I found Eheim elbows identical to the one that came with the filter available in my area for $5.99, and an identical intake tube is available for $13.99 (see this link) - I hadn't seen the elbow before. I like the idea of the intake tube, I think that will likely work best for my setup. I don't care so much whether it's cheap as it WORKS and I don't have to worry about it. I just want to make sure I'm comfortable with the solution I'm going to go with before I start cutting more pieces off the hose and in the end make the hose too short and have to buy another one, or spill even more water all over everywhere - I've made quite a mess so far in my well-intentioned efforts to fix this thing.

Shaina

I have a 2213 as well, and have had it running for several months now. I played around with the output quite a bit, and ended up submerging it vertically, with the top hole near the surface of the water. This seems to give good circulation in my 29g and agitates the surface without the noise and bubbles associated with water being released above the surface and spraying down. I placed the outlet on one end of the tank and the inlet on the other in an effort to reduce dead spots.

I haven't had any trouble with the hoses in this configuration.

Good luck!

prairielilly

I had considered putting the tube vertically, but liked the surface agitation. Then I was just looking at the pics I posted here and thinking, So what do you plan to do when you feed? the food will go everywhere and you really can't be shutting the filter off every time you feed your fish! (in my case the spray bar is almost as wide as the tank! I used to use an airstone + HOB, and would shut off the airstone during feedings to quiet the water).

Lots to think on and try, thanks everyone for all the feedback!

Llama

Hmm, didn't think of feeding.

What I'd do is remove the stopper on the other side. I do that every night because I can't sleep with the water's noise (its in my bedroom)

prairielilly

Push the spray bar down under the water an inch or so - SILENT (but won't agitate the surface, possible issues for oxygenation). I keep sticking my hand in there, or lay it on top of the canister, to make sure the lovely thing is actually ON. This is so great, my last filter could be heard three rooms away!

Llama

I have a bunch of Elodea in the aquarium, oxigination is the last of my worries

I submerged it once, it helped, but I kinda like the bubbles.

prairielilly

I had been thinking of a flexible bubble wand w. just a few bubbles - I saw a display tank at the lfs a while back, heavily planted with lots of driftwood, a canister filter and two short flexible bubble wands one on either side. They both were just sending a few bubbles up every inch or so and it really wasn't a lot of bubbles, but they came from in between grassy ground cover and the overall effect was sswwweeeeettt. I don't think I have enough light in my tank for that so I'll have to fake it a bit with silk plants, but I'm liking the bubble idea - and the more I think on it, putting the spray bar vertically is sounding pretty good too. No matter what apparatus holds it horizontal it's always going to pull up on the one side due to weight, and I don't like it completely submerged, and I don't want to disturb the entire tank surface. If it's right at the surface it'll spray the food everywhere, and if it's a little lower that won't be an issue but the fish will have to swim through the output to feed. Hmmm...

prairielilly

Update: I put the spray bar vertically, with the uppermost hole just below the waterline and on the opposite side of the tank from the intake. A curved hose support came with the filter and was fit over the hose right after the spray bar, so there's plastic resting on the lip of the tank meaning zero danger of kinks, lost connections or of the spray bar suddenly coming out of the tank. So far so good - I just need to figure out a way to agitate the surface somewhat to oxygenate it, that I actually like (all plants are silk; need to decide where to put an airstone or to forgo that in favour of an extra hob to circulate more water). Updated pics in my sig (inside of the tank but not the hose configuration). Thanks everyone for your input!

CoryMac

can the spray bar be placed under water??

prairielilly

You attach the spray bar to the output hose, which is bendy (just put the hose over the end of the spray bar like airline tubing over an airstone) with or without an elbow to make it change direction. Then there's two suction cups that hold the spray bar, and you secure it to the wall of your tank - anywhere you want, at water level, below it, wouldn't recommend above it... I tried every configuration you can think of, this is working well for me.

CoryMac

next check in getting a eheim 2215!!

prairielilly

awesome choice!

This site's great for enabling isn't it (fish, tanks, canister filters...)

CoryMac

yup, how do you go about priming the filter.

prairielilly

see link I mentioned in the first post

Shaina

The nice thing is with the disconnect valves in the lines, once you prime during setup you should not need to do it again unless you want to clean the hoses or something.

CoryMac

sorry i have to ask these dumb questions , whats bypass mean "no bypass" is that good or bad??

prairielilly

they aren't dumb questions at all, ask away, but it may be more beneficial for you to start a new thread for them so more people will see them.

'Bypass' refers to water going straight through the filter while going past the media - it doesn't go through the media and therefore isn't filtered. This can occur in some filter designs where there is space around the media. It really decreases the efficiency of the filter. It doesn't occur in the Eheim because the media is laid down loose inside the filter canister and there is no space around it, and the water comes in through the bottom and exits through the top, so the only place for the water to go is through the media. All water through the media = all water filtered = efficient filter.

Llama

Yep, mine's underwater, but you kinda lose the whole point of having a SPRAY bar. If you put it JUST ABOVE the water level, it makes nice vibrations without any noise.

CoryMac

thanks for the feed back folks

CoryMac

does anyone got a pic of the proper way the spray bar & the tubing should be connected ??

Llama

Don't really understand the question.

Here's how it goes.

Tube A (very short): from top of filter to Double Tap valve
Tube B (quite long): from top DTV to Spray bar. Spray bar set horiziontally SLIGHTLY above water level (it'll make a ton of noise otherwise - the water I mean)

Tube C (very short): from side of filter to DTV
Tube D (quite long): From side DTV to intake. Intake should hang from edge of aquarium by the hook with the straight thing at the bottom and with the little plastic guard over it.

Helpful?

Fizzle

I am new to this forum and new to this hobby. I bought the Eheim canister filter for my 70 gallon fish tank. I have read this thread and some people keep the sprayer submerged and some keep it just right above water level. Well, I was told to keep mine submerged. However, after I took some water out to see if the sprayer was working, I noticed that the sprayer was not spraying out that much anymore and it was more like dripping.

I have a bubble curtain on the backwall. Do you think that having my sprayer submerged and having these airbubbles push their way into the sprayer is causing the tubing to have bubbles and therefore being less powerful when it sprays?

Do airbubbles even come through the sprayer if I submerged it? Thanks so much!