# Eheim came in! Question about placement of intake/output/CO2 inside tank



## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Yea! My Eheim filter has arrived! I'm installing it and not running into any problems so far. I'm at the point of deciding where to put everything.

This is for my new 75g which is 48" x 18" x 20".

1. Placement of the intake/outputs. Right now, I'm thinking of putting the spray bar on the left side of the tank (as I look at the tank) with the intake on the far right, back. Is this a good idea?

2. I don't know where the best place would be for the CO2 (is it a diffuser?). I'm sorry, I don't know what the part that's inside the tank at the end of the air (in this case, CO2) hose is. Should that be in the middle, close to the spray bar, close to the intake, at the top, at the bottom? I need some direction here.

Figuring out where these three things are placed in the tank will help me figure out where to put the Eheim, uv sterilizer, and CO2 tank (10lbs so it's big).

What things should I take into consideration as far as proper filtration and disbursement of the CO2?

I still have the Fluval running so I'm not in a big hurry. I have to return the Fluval tomorrow so I should be in good shape. Just need some direction on the placement of things.

Thank you!


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## KurtG (Dec 10, 2007)

With the spray bar, it really depends on how your tank is scaped (wood, rock, plants). Mine is horizontal at the top of the rear pointed slightly up.

You probably want your diffuser closer to the bottom and below the spray bar so the bubbles get tossed around a bit and have more contact time to saturate the water (I started with a diffuser and now have an inline diy reactor).

A good idea for the intake is to keep it isolated from the spray bar so as to encourage whole tank circulation. I have mine hidden near one corner by a sword plant and extending near the substrate.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Kurt, the setup you're describing is pretty much what I'm already going towards. The diffuser in the far, left corner with the spray bar on the left side of the tank, and the intake tube towards the far, right corner.

How far down should I place the spray bar? Just an inch or two from the water line or further down?

Oh, and regarding distance down. How far down (or up from the substrate) should the intake filter be placed? I need to cut the long downrod that came with the filter, but don't want to start cutting without some direction on placement from those with more experience.

I finally got my Eheim, and I don't want to screw it up! :icon_lol:


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

I'm still interested in hearing from others!

I've stopped the installation for now. Still running the Fluval. I'll work on it more tonight. Gotta run for a few hours.

I'm really hoping to hear how you all have your filtration inputs/outputs setup to maximize filtration. Is the way I'm considering the best/only way to do it with a planted tank?

Also, how far from the substrate should the intake screen be located? I have to cut the tube so I'd like to have an idea of how long or short would be recommended.


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## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

A few folks swear by putting the input and output on the same end of the tank. I tried that as an experiment and now have mine set up that way since I have two filters, one at either end of the tank. What you do is going to depend on what works best for your tank in terms of water circulation. If you don't currently have a lot of plants/hardscape the circulation will change once you add those things and your spray bar orientation may have to too. I had to move my spraybar to keep it from blowing certain plants around too much as I added more plants. One thing to consider is that if you use all 3 sections of the Eheim spray bar you can twist them independently to aim the jets in different directions. I have the spraybar from my 2026 on the back of the tank, one section aims toward the front the other two down slightly against the back glass so they don't blow over the plants in front of it. Since you are going to be using CO2 you want some surface movement but not enough so that the jets break the surface and gas out your CO2.


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## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

Complexity said:


> I'm still interested in hearing from others!
> 
> I've stopped the installation for now. Still running the Fluval. I'll work on it more tonight. Gotta run for a few hours.
> 
> ...


There really isn't a best or only way to do this. Will depend ultimately on what works best for your tank and may be a work in progress if you change your scaping often. For the length of the intake tube it generally is put near the bottom. You want it to suck up fish and decaying plant waste along with the water. If you start with a longer intake tube you can always cut it shorter without buying a new one. If you decide to move your intake or outflow and the hoses are too short they are pretty inexpensive too replace at a later date so I wouldn't stress about it too much.


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

I'm not sure if she got the installation kit with her 2128^^^^^

What I would do if I had a deep tank like yours is put the spraybar not on the back of the tank but on the side of the tank.This way the water will circulate length wise and not towards the front.It also hides the spraybar for pic's
I have seen many people do it this way.

Either way I would place the input and output on either end of the tank if you only run one filter.

Btw I place the strainer about two inches from the substrate.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

mott said:


> I'm not sure if she got the installation kit with her 2128^^^^^


Apparently not. I didn't get anything other than what Eheim gave me plus the media. I'm not crazy with what Eheim sent. I'm rather surprised as it's somewhat cheap looking, but it'll work for right now.

Can I buy the installation kit everyone keeps talking about? If so, where? I don't even know what it is; just that everyone likes it. I'd like to at least know what it is.



> What I would do if I had a deep tank like yours is put the spraybar not on the back of the tank but on the side of the tank.This way the water will circulate length wise and not towards the front.It also hides the spraybar for pic's
> I have seen many people do it this way.
> 
> Either way I would place the input and output on either end of the tank if you only run one filter.
> ...


Fabulous. Then I'm in business as this is exactly how I was setting it up. So I'll go ahead and finish installing it.

Thanks for letting me double check with you guys. I really appreciate it.


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## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

Complexity said:


> Apparently not. I didn't get anything other than what Eheim gave me plus the media. I'm not crazy with what Eheim sent. I'm rather surprised as it's somewhat cheap looking, but it'll work for right now.
> 
> Can I buy the installation kit everyone keeps talking about? If so, where? I don't even know what it is; just that everyone likes it. I'd like to at least know what it is.
> 
> ...


Sorry about the mix up. I would have sworn that in an older thread of yours you said you were buying your Eheim from Big Al's. They usually include the installation kits if you buy the filter with the media pack. I have heard that other vendors charge for these. At any rate it sounds like you have it figured out.

Here is a link to the installation sets on the Eheim site.

http://www.eheim.com/installationset.htm


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

It looks like the thermofilters don't come with the install kits, only the non-thermo come with install kits.

You can clearly see them in the pic's.


http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp17290/si1382890/cl0/eheim2028professioneliicanisterfilterwithmediavaluepack


http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp17290/si1382924/cl0/eheim2128professioneliithermofilterwithmediaincluded

I hate to say it but I would have bought the 2028 value pack with the hydor inline heater (don't be mad at me Complex:icon_frow )
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18532/si1382455/cl0/hydoreth200inlineheater200w


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## steve.hes (Aug 9, 2006)

I've switched mine to mounting the spray bar vertically in the right rear, with the intake in the left rear. My CO2 diffuser is on the right side wall and the spray bar is angled slightly towards it rather than being at 90 degrees to the wall.
As others have said, it all depends on your tank contents and what is most visually pleasing (i.e. hidden) and what gives you the best circulation.
Try it one way and if your using an intank CO2 diffuser just watch the bubbles circulate, they should cover the whole tank, no dead spots.
I like my setup as it pretty much hides the spray bar from view, reduces my surface turbulence and I don't get a strong flow through the tank so the plants are more straight up and not bending over in a current. I like it, others might prefer the current effect.


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## fishscale (May 29, 2007)

Is there anything wrong with removing the spray bar and running it straight through an outlet piece?


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Hmm... Maybe I should give Big Al's a call and see if they'll do an exchange? I'd rather have the non heater one with the installation kit than the heater one without it.

The one thing I hadn't even considered with the heater version are the cords. They are connected to the canister body itself, not the upper housing. So every time you want to drag out the canister, you have to mess with the heater and thermometer cords. I would really rather do without that. I hate messing with cords once I get them all put in place.


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

I have my 2217 setup with the intake in the back corner and the spray bar on the same side pushing water from the left side of the tank to the right.


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

Complexity said:


> Hmm... Maybe I should give Big Al's a call and see if they'll do an exchange? I'd rather have the non heater one with the installation kit than the heater one without it.
> 
> The one thing I hadn't even considered with the heater version are the cords. They are connected to the canister body itself, not the upper housing. So every time you want to drag out the canister, you have to mess with the heater and thermometer cords. I would really rather do without that. I hate messing with cords once I get them all put in place.


I agree who wants to mess with all those cords when it comes time for cleaning...


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

fshfanatic said:


> I have my 2217 setup with the intake in the back corner and the spray bar on the same side pushing water from the left side of the tank to the right.


I'm having trouble visualizing this. Intake is in the left back corner? With the spray bar across the left side?

I'm trying to figure out circulation patterns. The way I have it now (spray bar on left side, intake on back right corner), my idea is that the water will be pushed from the spray bar across the tank from left to right. That will help push debris to the intake which is on the back right corner.

Obviously, not all of the water and debris will find its way to the back right corner with the intake tube. This is where I find problems. Ideally (okay, in my head), the water would then hit the right side, go downward, and then return to the left on the bottom. Making the circulation a circle:

Water on top would go from left to right. Water on right side would go down. Then the water on bottom would go from right to left. And, finally, on the left side, it would go back up, hitting the spray bar again which would complete the cycle.

That might work if the tank didn't have any plants or decor!

Since the water pressure will lose strength the further it goes, maybe putting the spray bar close to the bottom would be better since that's where the most obstructions would be. That basically does the same thing, but reverses the circle. That would also push the bottom debris towards the intake tube (bottom right corner). Obviously not everything would get caught by the intake tube, but maybe the water pressure would still be strong enough for the water to hit the right side wall, go upward, and then return back from right to left on the top.

This would also mean less disturbance to the surface which may be a problem? I've read that too much surface turbulence would release the CO2 which is undesirable. However, too little turbulence would mean less oxygen exchange.

Yes, I know I'm making something that's normally simple into something rather, um, complex. My ID probably hints at my tendency to do such things. 

But I like understanding how things work, how the gears are turning behind things. Even if there is no perfect circulation pattern, which I know there isn't, I'd like to at least have some idea of what I'm doing and WHY I'm doing it.



mott said:


> I agree who wants to mess with all those cords when it comes time for cleaning...


Oh, well, chalk that one up to experience. I'll see what Big Al's will do for me as far as the installation kit, but there's no right for me to even ask for an exchange. I've already used the filter. I bought it fair and square. I asked for it and got precisely what I asked for. So I'll live with it. I'll just figure out some way of wiring it for a "quick disconnect" wiring. Plus, it's not as if I have to take the canister out every week. This is just part of gaining experience. Not Big Al's fault.

BTW, this Eheim is so QUIET compared to the Fluval, I honestly cannot hear it AT ALL even when I'm standing right in front of the tank! I can only hear it when I open the cabinet doors. I have found myself checking the spray bar several times just to be sure it's still running! I'm very pleased with this!


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

Eheim's are kings in the silent department.
You got a great filter no matter what way you look at it...Good luck with it.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Thanks, Mott! I didn't know Eheim had a rep for being so quiet.

Now I have to get my act together and return the Fluval which I'm clearly dragging my feet on. I'll be glad once it's done, but I'm not looking forward to doing it.


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## fshfanatic (Apr 20, 2006)

Remember, I have two canisters. Looking down from the top my intake goes straight down in the back corner. My spraybar goes from the back corner to the front corner. This pushes the water from the left side to the middle of the tank. I then have the intake of the Eheim 2260 is in the middle of the tank with the spraybar along the back on the right side.

Try not to over think this. if you have to move it a couple times so be it..


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

fshfanatic said:


> Try not to over think this. if you have to move it a couple times so be it..


I'm usually pretty stubborn about wanting to understand things, but I think in this case, I'll take your advice.  I still couldn't follow your description. I think I'm becoming too brain fried to follow much of anything. I've been trying to learn a whole lot all at once which has caused me to take a couple steps back and try to slow down some. I guess I'll get a better feel for where to put everything after I have some actual experience with it all.


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## Guest (Mar 7, 2008)

Question -
Some of you have said you have your spray bar pointing up - wouldn't this create unwanted water movement at the top of the tank? If your running in an inline reactor wouldn't you want the movement going down as to send co2 rich current to the plants?


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