[jbrianchamberlin]

Okay, so I've been running this filter for a few weeks now. So far no problems. I'm wonderng though how necessary the foam pad is. Mine is already pretty cruddy and at $15 for a set of 3... what does it do exactly? It also came wiht a carbon pad but it looks so thin I threw some carbon in a bag and put it in one of the trays. Only trouble is, you can never get as much carbon for a 75 gal tank as they suggest in one of those trays. So should I keep using the carbon like I've been using and toss the carbon pad? Also, they say to put the carbon pad on top of the foam pad. Why? Does the foam pad block the carbon? If that's the case then I've been screwing myself because I've had the foam pad on top of the bags of carbon I've been putting in the tray.

 

[phil_pl]

The foam bad is your only real effective form of mechanical filtration. yes they are expensive, that is why you shouldnt replace them everytime they look dirty. Just rinse them off and put them back in. As far as your question with the carbon, i am not going to be a good one to answer that since i dont run carbon in my tanks on a regular basis. When i do it is only to remove any medication i might have recently used.

 

[spawn]

oh eheim canister filter works superb..i also have this filter along with 1 biological filter in my discus community aquarium...

 

[JIM]

Couldnt have given a better answer than that Phil. I never run carbon either, mainly because i never use medication, and i like the tannin colored water i get from my driftwood, so carbon to me is a waste, also if you get a tank that is a little smelly it helps remove the odor, but if i hated the bad odor so much, id figure it was time for a serious water change. if anything i run 2 foam pads in all my aqua-clear filters instead of the one that comes with it and never replace them just wash out in tank water and put them back in.

 

[jbrianchamberlin]

Does it matter in which order the carbon and the filter pad are used? Because Eheim makes their own carbon pad, they show it going on top of the foam pad. That's fine but when using a media bag filled with carbon chips should that go on top of the foam pad as well or does it matter?

 

[spawn]

The Eheim line of aquarium filters is by far the best on the market. They are the most durable, well made and efficient filters one can buy. The Professional series are somewhat more expensive than the Classics and I think there may be some, very little, media bypass compared to the Classic's zero bypass, but the ease of setup, use and general maintenance more than make up for this possible deficiency. The hose connectors and shut off valves are incorporated into a single, easy to use unit, the media is in hermetically sealed trays, and because of the ingenious design the heads can be removed without any water spillage at all. I hazard to say that you could open one of these on your living room carpet with no worries whatsoever. When cleaning one of the Classics I usually just remove the filter floss and pour aquarium water through the filter, hence backwashing any debris out into my sink. With the Pro series, one has to remove the trays and rinse the canister, but this affords a much deeper cleaning of the media. Currently I have Pros on all but one of my tanks and have never been happier with water conditions.

 

[jbrianchamberlin]

Yeah, I'm loving mine so far. I've never dumped it out, just cleaned out the pads. My only question was does it matter if the carbon is above or below the foam pad. That's all.

 

[spawn]

carbon is above of foam pad...

 

[jbrianchamberlin]

Yeah, see that's what I was thinking. I stopped using the carbon pad because well, it's not the best. Instead I tossed a media bag into the tray but put the foam pad on top of it. Damn... what a waste. LOL!

 

[spawn]

ha ha..lol