Improving Eheim Pro 3 mech filtration

[Jgray152]

The problem with the 2080 is clearly byflow of sorts, where the water passes thru cracks and thus bypasses the media unfiltered. The floaties I saw would have been held back in the filter floss had all pumped water completely passed thru it.

HarleyK

Can you put the 2080 back on the larger tank, if its possible, to see how well it does now?

Never thought the 2080 would have bypass.

 

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

Thanks tcarswell. My new setup is already in action
(HERE, HERE and HERE)

Can you put the 2080 back on the larger tank, if its possible, to see how well it does now?

I tried again with the modifications for about half a year. It was much better than before! Not perfect, but much better. I did not try it with the micron pad, that was only done recently, since the 2080 is filtering my 75 gal again.

Having said that, I am now running an Eheim 2262 on the large tank, with about twice the flow rate. That combination of better design and higher turnover truly makes a difference!

Never thought the 2080 would have bypass.

I wasn't either (after all, it's an Eheim), but it makes sense on several levels:
- The entire flow is based on baskets that sit on connections that by all practical purposes cannot form a 100% tight seal (blue circles).
- The baskets do not form a watertight seal with the sides of the canister (blue arrows)
- Most importantly, incoming water passes right by outgoing water (red circle). That virtually screams bypass of sorts.



Matter of fact, I wrote letters to Eheim. The North America division never answered. The German headquarter sent me a letter saying I didn't fill it properly. Those idiots. First thing I tried was 100% by the book, and I wrote them that. This tells me that they do not want to admit to the problems because they do not want to scrap or recall their posterchild of new filter design.

I'm now sticking to the Classic 22xx series!!!

HarleyK

 

[esse]

Howdy,

Thanks tcarswell. My new setup is already in action
(HERE, HERE and HERE)



I tried again with the modifications for about half a year. It was much better than before! Not perfect, but much better. I did not try it with the micron pad, that was only done recently, since the 2080 is filtering my 75 gal again.

Having said that, I am now running an Eheim 2262 on the large tank, with about twice the flow rate. That combination of better design and higher turnover truly makes a difference!




I wasn't either (after all, it's an Eheim), but it makes sense on several levels:
- The entire flow is based on baskets that sit on connections that by all practical purposes cannot form a 100% tight seal (blue circles).
- The baskets do not form a watertight seal with the sides of the canister (blue arrows)
- Most importantly, incoming water passes right by outgoing water (red circle). That virtually screams bypass of sorts.

View attachment 311140

Matter of fact, I wrote letters to Eheim. The North America division never answered. The German headquarter sent me a letter saying I didn't fill it properly. Those idiots. First thing I tried was 100% by the book, and I wrote them that. This tells me that they do not want to admit to the problems because they do not want to scrap or recall their posterchild of new filter design.

I'm now sticking to the Classic 22xx series!!!

HarleyK

I share your love for the 22’s. I have a 2217 that looks like it is going to go a year between cleanings. What is your take on the 2028? Does it have the same by pass problem? I have a new one still in the box and I was wondering how it compares with the 2217.

 

[T1KARMANN]

never had any problems with my 2080

i have done 1 thing that you may class as a mod

that 1 mod gave me more sponge media than the whole of a FX5

it also DOUBLED the surface area in my 2080 this mod cant be done on a FX5 2080 ONLY

 

[cchhcc]

never had any problems with my 2080

i have done 1 thing that you may class as a mod

that 1 mod gave me more sponge media than the whole of a FX5

it also DOUBLED the surface area in my 2080 this mod cant be done on a FX5 2080 ONLY

No problems here either.

Please be more specific on your mod.... I'm interested to know what you did!

 

[Jgray152]

that 1 mod gave me more sponge media than the whole of a FX5

Modded Fx5 can give you over 400 cubic inches of mechanical filtration and 108 sqin cross section surface area, which is more than the 2080.

it also DOUBLED the surface area in my 2080 this mod cant be done on a FX5 2080 ONLY

Ok, please tell us what you mean by, DOUBLED the surface area....for what, mechanical filtration? Biological filtration? Sorry you can do that with the Fx5 too.

Adding more mechanical can reduce your bio capacity when dealing with the 2080. Only room to gain with the Fx5.

 

[noonein2]

nice filter

 

[T1KARMANN]

No problems here either.

Please be more specific on your mod.... I'm interested to know what you did!

the 2080 has 2 x intake pipes something the FX5 doesn't have

you can buy pressurised pond bucket filters which are cheap and you can go as big as you want

what you do is take 1 of the intake pipes to the 2080 as normal this lets enough bacteria into the 2080 to feed it

the other intake pipe you take to the pond filter 1st then out of the pond filter to the 2080 like normal

this gives you a MASSIVE pre filter

the trick is to sit the pond filter higher than the head of the 2080 allowing water to flow at the normal rate

this has worked well for me from the day the 2080 was put on the market

i also tyred this on a 2229 wetdry but as it only had 1 intake the filter was not getting enough bacteria

sorry if that hurt you but i can add a pre filter as big as a house without losing any of my bio media

 

[T1KARMANN]

Modded Fx5 can give you over 400 cubic inches of mechanical filtration and 108 sqin cross section surface area, which is more than the 2080.



Ok, please tell us what you mean by, DOUBLED the surface area....for what, mechanical filtration? Biological filtration? Sorry you can do that with the Fx5 too.

Adding more mechanical can reduce your bio capacity when dealing with the 2080. Only room to gain with the Fx5.

i look forward to you telling me how the FX5 can have a pre filter as big as a house

i have had my 2080s running like this for over 2yrs just wanted to let you make a fool of yourself before i told you how easy it is to do

maybe i should start a forum telling people how to do it

 

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

Let me just state that I believe a filter should not need any modding at all.

I think the manufacturers should be able to sell a product that works just fine right out of the box. In fact, I believe that any modding like extra pre-canister, exchange of original media etc. may cause extra wear and tear on the pumps, which I am trying to avoid.

What is your take on the 2028? Does it have the same by pass problem? I have a new one still in the box and I was wondering how it compares with the 2217.

The 2028 and 2217 have the same flow rate (272 vs 263 gph).
The 2028 hold approx. 3 gal, the 2217 holds approx. 1.7 gal.

You could buy two 2217s for the price of one 2028.

I'd get two 2217 if you really need that extra biofiltration, or a 2250 if you have that big of a tank.

On the other hand, I used to have the Pro I, the first of the series, and it was a good filter.

HarleyK