New Filter Questions

[Kim Kipper]

My new Eheim 2026 just arrived. It's going to replace my internal Fluval 4 Plus in my 168L [acronym:18903b03d8="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:18903b03d8]. 3 questions:

1) No info in the manual at all regarding the time it takes for thefilter to develop enough bacteria to do it's job. Any advice on how long I have to run both filters before I can remove the old one ?

2) I assumed I would have theinlet and outlet at different ends of the tank. However, the book and length of tubing both suggest same end. Any problems with this ?

3) How high should the inlet be above the sand ???

Thanks in advance.

PS only paid £105, including tax and carriage and media (special offer). And arrived next day. See http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/

[BrianNY]

Congrats on the purchase of an excellent filter Kim Kipper .

1. Running both filters in tandem is the way to go. The time it takes to completely cycle the new filter will depend on your bioload. 7 - 10 days should be adaquate.

2. I always seperate the intake and outflows at different ends of the tank. This helps with water movement.

3. I position the intakes just above the substrate. A sponge prefilter is a good idea. It reduces maintenence by helping to keep the impeller clean. It's also much easier to rinse out a sponge then to keep opening the cannister.

[TomK2]

Run the old and new filter at the same time for 4 to six weeks. Or transfer all the biologic media from the old canister to the new one and keep an eye on things.

As for the intake height, I have heard 6 inches above the gravel, since if your filter causes a leak, when its done emptying your tank there will still be 6 inches of water for the fish to live in while you fix the mess. I have never had a filter empty my tank, so I do not know how important that advice is. I have mine 3 or 4 inches over the gravel, because I am too lazy to modify it after hearing the 6 inch advice.

As long as the tubing is the same length for intake and outflow, it won't matter where you put them on your tank. I doubt that small differences in length would have any significant impact upon your canisters flow efficiency. I really don't know how different lengths would effect things, I just know that my fluval owners manual goes out of its way to state that the filter flow rate was tested with tubes of equal length. I do know that if you add tubing length, in order to place the filter somewhere else other than under the tank, flow is decreased.

[Kim Kipper]

Where exactly would the sponge pre-filter go ?

Do I wrap it around the end of the inlet tube, in the tank ?

[happyhillbilly]

Thats what I did, kept running my old filter while the new one was running.

[Aquarium Man]

Well if u want to save money you could just wash the old 1 then it would work like it is brand new. It saves me alot of money good luck