Eheim 2213

[High-PH]

Re: Eheim 2213

Thanks, that should help. By 'START' one, I meant the instructions tell you how to prime them to fill, but not much else.
I found out today I couldn't open the lid without giving the output line's valve, that I'd closed off, a quick 'burp' to break the suction.  I had just put them cutoffs near the 'tank' end of the lines so I wouldn't waste tubing cutting it till I could get around to asking someone where they fit best on these models.

[Zulaab]

Re: Eheim 2213

What I have learned to do because priming one after its been cleaned is not the most straight forward.
If the filter is empty of water here is what I do.
I connect all the hoses back up.  I DO NOT turn on any of the valves yet.
This is to verify all the connections are good and can be connected without problems.   Make sure there is NO WATER in the return line from the pump to the valve.  Else get it back into the pump before you start this or empty it out into the sink.
First I disconnect the return line again.  Then I turn the valves on the intake side back on.  As long as you are holding the return in your hand and there is no water in the system when you start out, water will drain into the canister and air will pour out of the return line which you are holding in your hand.
Water will fill all the way up in the canister and into the return line.  Now immediately close the return valve, connect it to the return in the aquarium.  Now open both the valves on the return and turn on the pump.. Important.. dont let the water fall back into the canister, therefore best to connect the canister to an easy off/on switch that as soon as its connected you can turn on the canister.   Once on the canister will push the little air left in the return line into the aquarium and all should work.  Others fill their canister before returning it into the system but I dont like to do this because else I have to treat the water going to the canister.  For me its easier to make water to just top off the 1 gallon of water the canister uses.

[Anonapersona]

Re: Eheim 2213

HI-PH, I think you have discovered one of the secrets, that you have to have a way to break the suction in order to open or close the top.

I find the Classics to be the easiest of all Eheims to use. The earlier advice about having the return line from the canister to the tank empty is very important. If the input line has water and the output line is empty, then all you have to do is, starting with the canister empty, first connect all lines. Open the return line first, now you have a "path of least resistance" for the water. Last, open the input line -- water rushes to fill the canister and rises up the return line to equalize with the level in the tank.

If you have any problems, it may be that you have loops in your lines that have trapped air on the input side breaking siphon. Loops on the return are less critical but still are not a good idea. Go on and trim the lines once you have the canister in the right place, you can buy more if you ever need to.

I find it good practice to "backflow the lines" when doing a canister cleaning. After you've removed the canister from the cabinet, bring a bucket over and shoot some water from each line, do not drain the input line -- which ought to be far below water level anyhow. Do drain the output line -- doing so will give you a nice amount of tank water to rinse your filter media in. This knocks out a lot of the crud that is building up in your lines. It will not excuse you from eventually doing a full tubing cleaning, which means taking hoses off and valves off and running a brush through the entire line, but it will buy you some time until that is required.

Incidentally, should you accidently get air into the input line, breaking the prime -- perhaps you drained the tank to below the input line level -- once the water level is high enough to cover the input you can shoot water from the input line in the same way to blow any air out and reestablish prime. I find this easier than trying to suck on the output line -- I simply can't get to it at the back of the tank very easily. If the input line is totally drained you still have to suck on it, but if there is a good bit of water in the line you can let gravity do the work.

I do recommend that you get the Eheim tubing cleaning device, a tiny brush on a strong plastic cord.

Staggering the valves spacing, one higher and one lower, when you set up makes sense also, but a ring of red tape marking the input sides won't hurt either!

[High-PH]

Re: Eheim 2213

Thanks again for all the great tips. It doesn't mean I won't ever make a mess, but I'll wade into it a lot more bravely now !
:wink:

[Zulaab]

Re: Eheim 2213

Ohh about the mess... I pull the canister out and put it in a bucket then after I have it in the bucket I disconnect the lines... this will minimize the amount of spillage on the floor.  Once disconnected I carry the bucket with the filter inside to the sink.  The last time I did this (only done once) I think less than 20ml made it onto the floor.. took two seconds to wipe up with a towel which was sitting next to me.

[MateFrio]

Re: Eheim 2213

The best instructions I've found:

Rex Grigg Eheim Classic Instructions

[Mzungu]

Re: Eheim 2213

Hmm, that link's not working for me. Is this the same page?

[MateFrio]

Re: Eheim 2213

Yep, that's the link.  Doubled part of the URL for me.  I corrected it above.

[Anonapersona]

Re: Eheim 2213

I will point out that the info on Rex's site totally skips the need to use a brush on all surfaces of the filter when it is open.

You must remove that little wedge shaped thing near the impeller and clean that tube-- that is what keeps the motor cooled off. Should it be impared, and it won't take much to plug that tiny tube, the more can over heat and Eheims have a high temp shutoff. Newer Classics may not have the wedge part that mine has, but that tube for cooling must be maintained.

Also, those instructions totally skip the need to clean the tubings themselves. Backflushing helps reduce the need for a total cleaning, but even a small amount of buildup in the tubings makes a large difference in the flow rate of the filter. Backflusing the lines, as I described earlier, will reduce the flood of crud from the freshly cleaned filter upon startup that you get from dirty return lines. So annoying when you just got the tank all clean!

Go back to high school geometry to see the effect of a small change in diameter on small tubings. If the ID was 12 mm, with a 1 mm thick internal coating, it is reduced to 10 mm. Since area varies as the square of radius, you went from Pi*12^2 to Pi*10^2, do the math and see that you lost 30% of your cross sectional area. Get that Eheim tubing cleaning brush on the line and run it through the lines, and you will get a tablespoon or more of goo from a not too dirty line.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Eheim 2213

There was a thread that actually pointed out the buildup in the tubing was actually a film of beneficial bacteria.

I prefer to leave the tubing on my filters alone and when it becomes really clogged I just replace it cause by then the tubing is stiff and sometimes brittle.

[Anonapersona]

Re: Eheim 2213

I get my info stratight from the national distributor who happens to be located here in Houston. Cal, of Hawaiian Marine, who imports all the Eheims for most of the country and supplies most of the online retailers that we all buy from is the one who stressed to me the importance of keeping that tubing clean.

He also stressed the importance of cleaning off every surface especially the rotor and the motor cooling passages. He stressed keeping the tubing clean and in particular, on the Classics, keeping that passage that cools the motor clean.

He also stressed that all o rings must be perfectly clean and lubricated every time you open the filter. That means wash the o ring with soap and water and get it totally, totally clean. Then lube it up, along with any other rubber gaskets in the Eheim.

Cal walked me through all of this when I was buying some obscure parts to repair a different Eheim that I had managed to break.

I think there is no point in buying an Eheim, which will last for 20 or 30 years with proper manitainance, and then not doing that maintainance.

And, yes, that is the same beneficial bacteria that ought to be inside the filter. But, as they clog up the tubing, you are reducing the flow rate to a point that the demand on the motor becomes extreme, heat builds up. At high temps, the motor will shut down, they are designd to do that.

By cleaning the tubing, you are forcing the bacteria to build up in the filter itself, where they do not impair the flow rate so badly. Go back to the geometry... flow depends on cross sectional area, A = Pi * r ^2. I showed you that with a tiny 1 mm flim, you've lost 30% of your area. Now look at a junky 2mm film... first A= pi * 12^2 which is 144*pi
Next, A = pi * 8 ^2 which is 64*pi --- Holey moley, you have now lost 55% of your flow rate.

Ok, so the Eheim 2213 is rated for 65 gallon tank, 116 GPH. If you had better have a backup system if you are going to let your tubing get so nasty, because you are only going to get some fraction less that half of that in a matter of time as that tubing gets a deep film on it.