# 33G long - 2026 or 2028?



## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

I'm considering setting up my 33G long (48x12x12). I'll have it lightly planted (mostly anubias) but I'd like enough flow across the whole length. I'm looking at Eheim filters. Maybe the 2026 or 2028. Any strong opinions between the 2? Other suggestions welcome.

I read complaints about the tubing not being very flexible with Eheims. Especially for shallow tanks. Anyone ran into trouble with that?

By the way, someone posted a link to a nice canister filter chart with flow rates and other data some time ago. Can't find it any more. Anyone knows where that is?

Thanks.


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## jkam (Apr 21, 2010)

I have a 33g long and the 2028 has WAY too much flow. It blows all my substrate and makes it all uneven. With my 2026 flow is less but I still find that my substrate goes everywhere. If you can mod it to have two outflows you'd have much more success than me.


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## cheesekipper (Apr 25, 2010)

I really wouldn't have thought you needed more than a 2026 for a 33L with that sort of load, plus J&L have a great deal on the 2026 right now http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/em-canp2026/Eheim+Professional+II+2026+Value+Pack+Canister+Filter.html


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## MananaP (Apr 22, 2010)

If you are using a sponge on the intake side and the filter itself have a controller on how much ever you want flow wise. I have a 2026 running on my 22g rimless and it works fine, also i have ecco 2234 which is rated to 60g in my 10g tank LOL.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Thanks everyone for the replies. I think I'll go with the 2026 then. 

So no bad experiences with the tubing? Does the stock kit provide enough flexibility? Although I guess I can always figure that out once it's up and buy extension kits later if necessary...

Thanks again.


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

Just make sure that you get the grey spray bar/intake tube installation kits 1 & 2 with your package. The standard green intake one will be too long.

The tubing are stiff and the ball valves connecting to the canister are fixed, not like the old classics or eccos that can swivel, so you will lose some flexibility as to hose placement.


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## MananaP (Apr 22, 2010)

You can always use your tub, fill it with hot/warm water enough to submerge your tubing and shape it or straighten it the way you want.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

MananaP said:


> You can always use your tub, fill it with hot/warm water enough to submerge your tubing and shape it or straighten it the way you want.


Oh really? You've done that with Eheim tubing specifically? No risk of cracking them?


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

crazy72 said:


> Oh really? You've done that with Eheim tubing specifically? No risk of cracking them?


I think he's talking about just the regular flex tubing. Not the hard pipe. The heat does a good job of making the tubing pliable...otherwise sometimes the tubing is very uncooperative.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

tony1928 said:


> I think he's talking about just the regular flex tubing. Not the hard pipe. The heat does a good job of making the tubing pliable...otherwise sometimes the tubing is very uncooperative.


Ok, yes that would make sense. So how about the hard tubing, is it a bad idea to try and cut it with a saw if it's too long, or would that crack it? The good deals I see on the 2026 have the media pack but not the extension kits 1 & 2 with them...


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## kookus (Apr 23, 2010)

The only issue I've ever had was with the motor o-ring. It stretches and then leaks.


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## AtomicPenguin (Apr 22, 2010)

crazy72 said:


> By the way, someone posted a link to a nice canister filter chart with flow rates and other data some time ago. Can't find it any more. Anyone knows where that is?
> 
> Thanks.


I believe this is the one from the old site:

http://www.petsolutions.com/Info.aspx?id=59

I am trying to make the exact same decision as you for my 33 gallon long! I have been trying to decide between the 2234 vs 2236 vs 2026 vs 2028. So many to choose from and I am not very familiar with the Eheim line of filters. I like the idea of the swivelling intake/output hose attachments on the Ecco line but I want to make sure that the rigid tubing will fit in the tank...it sounds like the spray bar attachment is a must. Let me know what you decide and how it works out for you!


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Great, thanks for the link. Yes, that was the one.

Good to know I'm not alone! One thing is I can't find the Eheim packages with install kits anywhere. Both J&L and Big Al's have good prices on the 2026 (although J&L has in on back order), but it's "only" the media pack - no install kits. And they are out of stock for the intake kit.

But you know, I'm not so sure it's a must. I'm wondering whether we can't cut the hard-plastic tubing. I asked the question higher up in this thread but no answer. If it's doable then that would work for me. So let's ask the question again: anyone has done that? 

Or maybe get the spray bar kit and just put the intake sideways. Would that work?


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I've been hearing great things about the 2075, have you looked at that? I have a 2028 and don't find the flow all that strong, but then mine is in a 125 competing against an FX5 and XP3.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

I did see it, yes, and it's not that much more expensive actually. I read quite a few comments saying that the Pro 3 series is not as quiet as the Pro 2 though. And the 2075 has more flow, so I thought it would be overkill. But maybe not, especially if it has a flow control valve, which I'm guessing it has...

There you go. One more candidate on the list.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

The reason I'm suggesting that, is I'm hoping for an improvement over the Pro II's. In 5 years of use, I've already had 2 failures: main gasket leaked last year and the inlet/outlet adapter cracked last month. Both known problems.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> The reason I'm suggesting that, is I'm hoping for an improvement over the Pro II's. In 5 years of use, I've already had 2 failures: main gasket leaked last year and the inlet/outlet adapter cracked last month. Both known problems.


Hummm.. yes, good point. Nobody has had a Pro 3 for a few years though so who knows. But I see what you mean, yes.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

I'm looking at the chart on the link above, and it appears that the Pro 3 are much more efficient in terms of power consumption. The 2075 would be overkill for me, but both the 2071 and the 2073 are rated at 12 Watts, which is half of the 2026! I'm a bit of a green freak and I already feel uncomfortable with the power my tanks consume, so that might do it for me.

Anyone knows if the Pro 3 come with the same stock tubing as the Pro 2? In other words, would I still need the install kits with a Pro 3?

Thanks.


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## Nicklfire (Apr 21, 2010)

2026 was almost too much for my 55 gallon lol. Just buy tons of extra tubing, then you can make the pressure up or down depending on how you find it :0


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Correction from my previous post here. The petsolutions chart is actually wrong on the power consumption for the Pro III series. According to Eheim (http://www.eheim.de/eheim/inhalte/index.jsp?id=32947) the 2071 is indeed 12W, but the 2073 is in fact 16W, and so is the 2075.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Ok, so I ended up opting for the 2073. Just ordered it. It's expensive so it'd better be good! I'll be sure to whine on here otherwise. 

I'll wait and see what tubing it comes with and I'll get install kits from a forum member if it only comes with the green intake tube and spray bar.

Can't wait for it to arrive!


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Cool. Where did you order it from?


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

I ordered it from Big Al's. Pets and Ponds were a bit cheaper without the discount but not with the discount. Mind you, silly me couldn't find where to enter the coupon code so as of now the order has been processed without the coupon code. I'll try to have that fixed.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

crazy72 said:


> I ordered it from Big Al's. Pets and Ponds were a bit cheaper without the discount but not with the discount. Mind you, silly me couldn't find where to enter the coupon code so as of now the order has been processed without the coupon code. I'll try to have that fixed.


Just called them. No prob at all. They'll refund me the 15%. They have good customer service actually. I called them a couple of times last week to ask for more info about some of their products and they were very good and very friendly every time.


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## AtomicPenguin (Apr 22, 2010)

crazy72 said:


> I'm wondering whether we can't cut the hard-plastic tubing. I asked the question higher up in this thread but no answer. If it's doable then that would work for me. So let's ask the question again: anyone has done that?


OK, so I ended up going with the Ecco 2234 and I had no problem cutting the hard plastic tubing on the intake side to fit the tank (the output side is quite short to begin with). Now it fits perfectly!


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

My 2073 arrived yesterday and I set it up today. Very happy so far (until I pay the Visa bill, of course ). Installation was very easy (way easier than the XPs where pushing the tubes in is ridiculously hard), it came with the install kits so that gives good options, and it's dead silent. At least as silent as my most silent XP3, which means that I have to open the stand and get close to hear it.

The filtering ability is definitely overkill for my tank (33G long) but the flow is not too high actually. Lots of movement for sure, but it doesn't blow the sand all over the place unless I direct the spray bar straight down. Just right. Plus it'll slow down over time as the filter gets clogged up a bit.

So there you go. I'm a happy man. Well, a happy aquarist at least.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Cool. Keep us posted when you do the first cleaning, etc.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

2wheelsx2 said:


> Cool. Keep us posted when you do the first cleaning, etc.


Ok. Cleaning should be a breeze. The release mechanism seems as easy as on the XPs, the canisters are easy to move in/out and the priming mechanism seems to work well. And no, I don't own any Eheim shares.


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## Luke78 (Apr 24, 2010)

Crazy72 ,

How you liking your eheim so far ? Not to take away anything from your thread , but i just setup my 2026 and cant be any more impressed.Its dead silent , was easy to put together , and liking the flow so far in my 65 gallon.Ive heard and read a few threads online, and some people had bad luck with them.Hope i dont experience anything negative.Did your model come with a media kit ? or did you buy it seperate ? Keep us updated.


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Luke78 said:


> Crazy72 ,
> 
> How you liking your eheim so far ? Not to take away anything from your thread , but i just setup my 2026 and cant be any more impressed.Its dead silent , was easy to put together , and liking the flow so far in my 65 gallon.Ive heard and read a few threads online, and some people had bad luck with them.Hope i dont experience anything negative.Did your model come with a media kit ? or did you buy it seperate ? Keep us updated.


Good to hear you're happy with your 2026. I also did quite a bit of reading before making my decision, and it's pretty clear the 2026 and 2028 are great filters. The main thing that made me opt for a Pro 3 was the lower power consumption.

So to answer your question, yes I'm extremely happy with my 2073 so far. It's quiet, easy to set up, easy to clean (I haven't yet had the need to clean it of course, but I did have to open it and empty and put it back together and restart - see my other thread about me being an idiot http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2233), and the flow is pretty good.

Yes it came with all media, as well as the 2 install kits, which was nice.

We'll see after many months of use, but so far I'd buy it again for sure. I think it's just like with everything else, there's always the odd lemon and you can get unlucky. But by enlarge people seem to be happy with their Pro 3. Just like people seem to be generally happy with their Pro 2 actually.


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