# Eheim 2215 spewing fine air bubbles?



## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

check the quick disconnects and the plastic nipple that the hose goes into the canister top.

My 2211 started doing that and I found a small crack in the plastic on the nipple.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Run a forum search for "Eheim cavitation"- there are a few different possibilities and some really good threads.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Aha, thank you M'am, I was missing the right search words.
I do restrict the flow via the double-tap on the outflow side. Now I have some ideas from reading the existing posts.

TY 2 Down_shift: will check that out also.

v3


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## Aquascape Depot (Feb 27, 2014)

OVT said:


> Aha, thank you M'am, I was missing the right search words.
> I do restrict the flow via the double-tap on the outflow side. Now I have some ideas from reading the existing posts.
> 
> TY 2 Down_shift: will check that out also.
> ...


I had a Eheim pro-3 2071 creating air bubbles recently in one of my tanks. I was baffled how the flow was so horrible & air always getting sucked into the canister. I had a custom sponger filter around the inlet, which over-time caused so much restriction that it created a weak spot which caused the whole air problem. I took it off and works perfectly now. 

Even though yours is on the outflow side, maybe look into just doing non-restrictive and see how it runs.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Thank you for your advise: I checked the intake strainer and it has no debris and the flow is good.

The filter is on a brand new 18" cube (25g) with 2 GBR and 8 tiny Ember Tetras, pretty heavily newly planted. That's the reason why the flow is turned down. But checking unrestricted is worth a shot.

I will have to remember to put a net over the top - to catch airborne fish and plants 

v3


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## derbyfb10 (Feb 13, 2014)

I have an Eheim 2211, and I know that when I restrict the outflow too much with the quick disconnects it will start spitting out fine air bubbles like you describe. May not be your problem just FYI!


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## Ghia (May 1, 2014)

There could also be an air pocket in the media. The canister needs to set for a while when you've filled it, prior to starting up. Setting up a new canister with dry filtermedia is like putting a dried-out potted plant in abucket of water...the air bubbles keep escaping for a long time.


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## Lab_Man (Dec 7, 2012)

I had air being ejected intermittently for a few days the first time I primed my Eheim. Every time something would bump the canister, it would make a gurgling sound and spew out air bubbles into the aquarium. 

After I reprimed the canister the problem went away. I believe that I had an air pocket inside the canister.

Does this sound like what you have going on?


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

My 2215 had air in it forever, almost two weeks before it stopped spitting air when new. However, it wasn't constant, if yours are, it may be a leak. I find I get a similar issue when my O rings on the quick disconnects don't seal as well. Usually the leak will be evident enough but sometimes it seems to only draw in air.


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## nonliteral (Aug 20, 2012)

Have you tried turning it off and back on again? :biggrin:

Seriously, as mentioned above, you might have some air in the canister. Power cycling it a few times will usually clear that if it's the case. If not, in addition to the suggestions above, you might also check the o-ring on the pump assembly to make sure it's not worn or out of place.


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## Ghia (May 1, 2014)

Leaning the canister slowly to one side and then the other may help if air is trapped inside.


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

To find trouble, I like to rule out some things in a way that cuts the possible places to look as a first step. Since you are getting air coming out of the output I would look first for leaks on the side which is drawing water. The output side will have pressure rather than suction. A small leak on the input side may let air in while not leaking. Venturi effect? The small plastic fitting at the base is a suspect, especially when not fully screwed into the can. 
This little fitting is also a good place to pick up a restriction which might cause cavitation. A bit of the hard media can hide in this elbow and be out of sight until you run a small wire or such through. I think of cavitation as being caused by the impeller lacking water so I would not expect it to be caused by a restriction on the output side where more water would collect around the impeller rather than less. The canister gasket might be leaking but I would doubt that on a new filter. 
New filter tubes have a funny way of not getting attached well so that they can leak. The fittings turn backward to the normal for tightening, so that might be worth a check. Clockwise to loosen, counter clock to tighten in this case.


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## riverrat (Jul 14, 2005)

Newly set up? Simply grab it by the top and shake it back and forth leaving bottom of filter on base. Not a long side to side motion. Just quickly back and forth. You will hear the air in it. 

Opening your flow up when you do this will help get the air out then simple back you flow down afterwards.

All of this while its running.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

First off, thank you all for advise and recommendations. I am pleasantly surprised and touched by how many people took the time and invested their energy in helping me out. Thank you.

I started with the "shake" maneuver and was surprised by all the air coming out and the gurgling noises from the filter. There is no question that a fair amount of air was trapped inside.

This is quet a different experience for me from running ~10 Pro II and III Eheims over the years. The closest I can think of would be me having to shake a SunSun filter to get the flow going. I am still wondering what differences in design would account for trapped air not being purged after about 2 weeks of operation.

With the plants growing in densely over the last weeks, I can now also run the filter at full blast, without restricting the outflow. I do get a bit more current then I want / like, but it will do for the time being.

At the moment, I see a lot of fine debris flying around, making it difficult for me to tell if I still get the air bubbles.

I will leave everything as is for a day or two to see if my issue is resolved.

If not, I will keep going down the list of recommendations, all the way down to taking the whole thing apart and checking the impeller, barbs, washers and so on.

Thank you so much!

v3


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

I might suggest looking at the way the tubing runs from the can to the tank. If there is a droop in the line it can keep air from moving out until you hold that part up. I'm sometimes reluctant to cut the tubing short enough on setup with the thought in mind that I may use the filter in a different tank and want long tubing. But it also can give me trouble on restarts if I'm not thinking about the bubble in the tube. I always have to turn my Grigg's to let the air /water do the right thing on restarts.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I always fill all my filters myself before starting them back up. I know that Renas and Eheims both will fill via gravity once I prime them, but I've found I eliminate a ton of air pockets by filling the canister myself before re-assembling the motor mount.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

It may be helpful to take the filter off, fill it with water, and see if you can reduce the amount of air. Again, mine had air trapped in for at least a week or two. Once it finally purged, it only takes a short amount of time but I find that when I do have issues, filling it up, rather than trying to just prime it, seem to help speed things up.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Shaking the filter, as was recommended by several people, with both intake and outflow wide open solved the problem. I then turned down the flow on the output side and still no air bubbles.

Thanks all! 

v3


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## h4n (Jan 4, 2006)

glad you got it figured out buddy!


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