New use for my old trusty Eheim?

[NeedBiggerTank]

Now that I'm all grown up and have a REAL sump, my old trustworthy Eheim 2217 is feeling a bit neglected.

Couldn't the Eheim be used like ya'll use a reactor is run the EcoBak pellets? The Eheim has dual ball valves on the intake and outlet hoses, so flow could be controlled in the canister in order to tumble the pellets correctly and the green plastic grates/plates that held the media up off the bottom and away from the top of the canister could be fixed in place with a couple of dabs of silicone.

Just thought that I might be able to put it to good use. What do you all think?

 

[poolkeeper1]

Control valves are never used on the Intake of a pump! Only on the output side as it can and will burn your pump up on the intake side if used that way FYI. We talked about that yesterday, Remember?
Bill

 

[NeedBiggerTank]

On an Eheim canister filter, you have two ball valves that screw together - on intake and outlet. This way you can turn the Eheim off, close the 4 valves, unscrew the joint between the two sets of valves and remove the Eheim without loosing your vacuum in your intake and outlet hoses that remain in the tank. Otherwise, you'd have to re-prime the hoses every time you needed to open the canister - which would be a PITA. All 4 valves remain 100% open when the Eheim is turned on.

I wasn't referring to my Toms Aquatic overflow that I use to provide water to my sump. My thought was to put both the inlet and outlet hoses from the Eheim into my sump - not the tank. So I'm not thinking about using the Eheim to provide water to my sump.

If I am remembering correctly, the Eheim 2217 has a maximum rating of 225 gallons per hour (if it is empty - no media). What flow rate do the pellets need? The whole idea is to get them to tumble, right? If the Eheims flow rate is too fast, and it isn't possible to slightly reduce the influx of water using one of the ball valves on the intake hose to accomplish this, could the addition of an acrlic plate in the bottom of the Eheim with holes drilled in it be used to difuse the flow of water?

If the Eheim can't be used for EcoBak, could it be used for something else?

 

[NeveSSL]

The only thing about trying to use it for EcoBak is that you would never be able to tell exactly how much or little the pellets would be tumbling.

I think some people use load canister filters with activated carbon for some water polishing.

Brandon

 

[NeedBiggerTank]

I can see through my Eheim just fine - its acylic, not solid... I used to use a flashlight to check the media all the time. True, the green acylic isn't like clear acrylic, but it is see-through.

 

[NeveSSL]

Nice. I didn't know they were clear.

You could possibly use it for EcoBak. Somewhere around 100gph is recommended for flow. Regardless of how much it is exactly, you want them to just tumble gently.

Brandon

 

[NeedBiggerTank]

The newer ones may not be see-through... but mine is more than 10 years old!

Well, if it didn't work, no harm done I suppose - I could just save up for a reactor. The output water should be pointed directly to your skimmers intake, correct?

 

[NeveSSL]

Gotcha. FWIW, you can find old fluidized bed reactors (filters from reefing's yesteryear) for fairly cheap that work PERFECT for ecobak because they're designed to move everything evenly. I picked up a Red Sea Merlin for $20 and its perfect for Eco Bak.

Brandon

 

[poolkeeper1]

I thought you were talking about a Pump Not a Cannister Filter, You are talking about 2 different type systems. That is not the proper type reactor for EB because it is not and upflow type reactor FYI
Bill

 

[dowtish]

I've been using Ecobak in my eheim 2215 for a little over a month. The flow rate for mine is just over the recommended 100 gph. but what I've found is there can be some dead spots, so I just tilt the canister every few days. I have had no clumping. I talked to John @ Warner Marine on a different forum, and on the phone. He said it will work, just not as efficiently as a reactor would. I am using the blue coarse filter pad about 4-5 inches from the bottom, and have had no issues with clogging. I havent opened my canister since adding it over a month ago. And my nitrates are 0 and my phosphate is 0.1....

So yeah, put that canister to use. And when you gots the cash flow, get a real reactor

 

[NeedBiggerTank]

OK - stupid question coming... What is an "upflow" reactor? Does that mean the water enters at the bottom and flows up and comes out the top? Because that is exactly how my Eheim functions.

dowtish - thanks, good to know that it is possible.

 

[poolkeeper1]

It may be ? But IMO that is not the Best thing to Run Eco-Bak in for the Best Performance of the Product. You really want a Reactor that was designed for just that purpose, And they are less than 100.00 Bucks to get the Correct one. JMHO
Bill

 

[Angrycubano]

The newer ones may not be see-through... but mine is more than 10 years old!

Well, if it didn't work, no harm done I suppose - I could just save up for a reactor. The output water should be pointed directly to your skimmers intake, correct?

I've got a 5 month old Eheim 2215 and it's dark green but see-through if you shine a light on it. I want to get or do my own sump so I may consider trying this as it's a BRILLIANT idea. I think with a ball valve to control flow it just might work.....WINNING!!!

 

[NeveSSL]

:lol: You're killing me with the winning man.

Brandon