# Question from a newbie about canister filter.



## Wendy Jaycee (Dec 31, 2016)

Hi there,
I hope this isn't a silly question...I will be getting a new Eheim canister filter delivered on January 4th. I wanted to upgrade to a better filter for my new tank (November set-up). It is cycled and has live plants, but I am wondering if hooking up a new filter will upset the balance in any way, or if there's anything to be aware of?


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## sschlesier (Sep 16, 2016)

Keep your old filter on the tank, at least for a few weeks, to allow the bacterial cultures time to grow in the new filter. The only significant difference should be the volume of water moving in your tank. Unless your existing filter is unusually large for your tank, more flow is probably a good thing. 

Even after your new filter is thoroughly cycled, if you remove your original filter, you will be removing a big chunk of your existing bio-filtration capacity, allow a little time for the remaining filter to grow more capacity before adding more load to the tank.


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## Wendy Jaycee (Dec 31, 2016)

OK, thanks for answering, I wasn't sure how to deal with this. I know the bacteria that builds up is valuable


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

What filter are you using now? If it's a hob I would continue using it along with your new Eheim canister filter as hob's are great for water surface agitation, as "sschlesier" says more flow along with extra filtration is a good thing. BTW great choice buying the Eheim filter, have used them for years because there dependable and quiet too.


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## Wendy Jaycee (Dec 31, 2016)

I am using an Aqueon Quiet Flow 30 which is HOB, we inherited 2 of them when we bought the used tank...it's a 36 gallon bow front. I am only using one at the moment because if both are used it blows the poor fish all over the place, I don't think the dwarf gourami likes that very much, lol. box says the ones we have are good for up to 45 gallons individually. I noticed it picked up a lot of dirt from the reddish substrate we used initially with set-up of the tank, so we have changed the filters quite a bit to accommodate that. And that's great to hear that you enjoy the Eheim filters, after research it seemed like a good choice and quiet like you mention.


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## sschlesier (Sep 16, 2016)

Another thing worth mentioning is that the mechanical and biological substrates in your filters should build up a brown sliminess. It doesn't look pretty, but this is where the healthy bacteria are living. The substrates do need rinsed out from time to time to ensure they do not clog up, but replacement is rarely required and should never be done all at once as you are discarding a big chunk if your biological capacity. Chemical filters such as carbon, zeolite etc. do "wear out" and need regular replacement. Many people only use chemical filtration occasionally for specific issues like removing meds, or dealing with an ammonia spike.


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## sschlesier (Sep 16, 2016)

Mechanical and biological substrate = Sponge, Foam, Floss, assorted types of clay pellet thingies. I should have said that in the above post.


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

It be good to run both together, but if you had to just go with the canister, can you transfer most if not all of the the Aqueon media to the canister? Which Eheim filter did you buy?


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## Wendy Jaycee (Dec 31, 2016)

This is the new filter we will be setting up;
EHEIM Classic 250 External Canister Filter-Model 2213

The Aqueon hob that we currently have just has a carbon screen type of thing, like a brita water filter...no media, very basic.


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## Wendy Jaycee (Dec 31, 2016)

I thought the brown slime was bad...it really smelled so we changed the carbon pad  We didn't rinse the holder though, it specifically said not to because of beneficial bacteria.


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

Wendy Jaycee said:


> This is the new filter we will be setting up;
> EHEIM Classic 250 External Canister Filter-Model 2213
> 
> The Aqueon hob that we currently have just has a carbon screen type of thing, like a brita water filter...no media, very basic.


 Nice choice older style classic 2213 is very quiet. Just set it up and start using it, but keep your aqueon going as well at least for a month or so till your new one collects some bio.


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## DwightIris (Jan 2, 2017)

Hello,
I currently have a Aqua Nova 90 gal. This system has a filter system built in & trying to figure out how much water is filtering thru??
I'm switching over to Cichlids & in the past have used the Aquaclear 500 which is an awesome filter.
If I need to add on a canister, what is a good recommendation.
Thanks, Dwight


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

Wendy Jaycee said:


> This is the new filter we will be setting up;
> EHEIM Classic 250 External Canister Filter-Model 2213
> 
> The Aqueon hob that we currently have just has a carbon screen type of thing, like a brita water filter...no media, very basic.


I like the Eheim Classics, they just plain work. I'm using 3 of the bigger Classics too. I have used the newer generation Eheim Pro's & Ecco's too, not much love there. Though more convenient to service than the classics, there are just too many things that could and did go wrong.


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## hp10BII (Apr 23, 2010)

DwightIris said:


> Hello,
> I currently have a Aqua Nova 90 gal. This system has a filter system built in & trying to figure out how much water is filtering thru??
> I'm switching over to Cichlids & in the past have used the Aquaclear 500 which is an awesome filter.
> If I need to add on a canister, what is a good recommendation.
> Thanks, Dwight


Might be best to start a new thread on this. Lots of different kinds of cichlids - what are you getting? When I had discus, angels and dwarf cichlids, they didn't like a lot of flow so I used slower flow rate canisters or sponge filters with HOB's. My tropheus loves flow so I'm using a canister that runs 900gph. I'm not familiar with built in filters/Aqua Nova. I like Aquaclear's too, I have 2 of the 500 (now 110) still in use and a few of the smaller sizes.


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## binkysmom (Apr 28, 2014)

Wendy how are you liking the classic 250? I'm thinking about getting one.


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## The Guy (Nov 26, 2010)

Just be sure to only rinse with old fish tank water not tap water. you just want to rinse the biomedia lightly and not get get rid of all the good stuff on them.. I only use purigen and no carbon at all so I only open my canisters 2-3 times a year to change out the polishing floss squeeze out the course filter and do a quick rinse of the biomedia.
I do a recharge of the purigen and put a clean one in, I always have fresh recharged stuff ready to go for when I do the canister maintenance.


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