What size Ehiem -- 29 Gal Goldfish tank

steve_bkk

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Oct 19, 2003
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Any suggestions on what size Ehiem cannister for a 29 Gal tank with a few gold fish? ( They produce alot of waste)
I've got an old 2011 cannister on this tank now which seems a little small with goldfish. I just moved up from a 20 gal long (15 gals of water) tank.

I'm thinking 2213 or 2215 classic. My tank is probably too small for a Proffesional II model. I do like the looks of these though, especially the priming button on top.

My trusty 2011 has been running for about 14 years. Never repalced any parts yet. I did buy the set of hose valves about 10 years ago to make cleaning easier.

Thanks
 
Are you dead-set on a canister? I like easier-to-clean filters for messy fish... I'm especially fond of HOT Magnums, prefiltered and packed with floss, for mechanical filtration.

I like Eheims a lot, too, but I prefer to use them as bio-only filters in conjunction with a separate mechanical filter. I prefilter them with sponges and pack them with nothing but ceramic noodles. Very low maintenance.... The bulk of the mech filtration is done by a HOT Mag or some other filter (HOB, powerhead+sponge, etc.). (This approach was actually developed by RTR, but it works so well that I like to pass it on...)

HTH,
Jim
 
Since Jim has already credited (or blamed?) me with the technique of bio-only canisters, I'll expand with some of the background. I started development of the technique during a period when I was keeping mainly puffers and goldfish - but fish types too messy to be supported by conventional canister-only filtration without much frequent canister cleaning.

If I used HOBs (I don't) I would select sponge-media HOBs for mechanical and reserve a prefiltered canister for bio-only.
 
No, I'm not dead set on a cannister. That sounds like a good idea having two filters. Lots of filtration and not that much maintenance.
I like the Ehiems because they are so quiet. I'll take a look at the HOT Magnums at my LFS and/or online.

Thanks Jim and RTR
 
LOL! That is why I don't use HOBs, they work well, but make too much noise.

I use Eheim internal canisters for mechanical, but they have discontinued the ones I use, no experience with the new ones as yet.
 
I have an Eheim pro II 2026, myself. Though I use it mainly as a mechanical filter..and it is >packed<" full of sponges, floss, and coarse ceramic media. The 1st layer is Ehfimech(Eheim brand ceramic, mechanical media), followed by a coarse filter pad, then 3 "fluval" sponges cut to fit in the compartment, and finally, a generous amount of filter floss. Now, I'm sure plenty of nitrifying bacteria colonize this set-up, even though technically it is a "mechanical" filter..and a **** good one at that. Also, keep in mind it is filtering a 55gal planted tank, though the tank does have a relatively heavy bio-load. In heavily planted tanks with plenty of nitrogen hungry plants and places within the tank for billions of bacteria to colonize(gravel, rocks, driftwood, etc), I prefer to use all my filters as mechanical filtering, water circulators.;) I also clean these filters more often than one would normally clean a "bio" filter...if they clean them at all.
 
Originally posted by RTR
LOL! That is why I don't use HOBs, they work well, but make too much noise.

I use Eheim internal canisters for mechanical, but they have discontinued the ones I use, no experience with the new ones as yet.

OK, Robert... confession time. How many Eheim internals did you scarf up before they disappeared from the shelves?

;)

Jim
 
I'm not sure yet , but I think I'll get a Ehiem 2026 pro II. Its a little big for a 29 gal though.
If I adopt the seperate bio and mechanical filtering, I'll go with a Ehiem Internal for mechanical.
I'm hoping that I can still use filter floss in the 2026 like I do now with the classic style cannisters. I hate to buy proprietary filter pads for years to come.
Thanks for all the info!
 
Originally posted by RTR
Jim - only two, that is all the LFS had in stock. :mad:

Robert, I found 3 online (at 2 different places) but they seem to have dried up...

An LFS in my area has started carying the Aquaball filters, with the foam filter attachment. I may get one, just to see how well they work. I doubt they're as easy to remove as the internals, but I'll let you know.

Jim
 
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