# Eheim 2215 or 2217 for 40 gallon?



## sreid (Feb 10, 2011)

I am using the 2217 on a 30G with an extra spray bar and the flow is very good. Good water movement without blowing the fish all over.


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

You will always want more flow then you have. There are many ways to slow down the flow and not many ways to increase it. I'd get 2217 over 2215.


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## BlazednSleepy (Aug 21, 2010)

How much can I slow down the flow?

Is it only minimal or is it a good amount?


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## bk10 (Dec 2, 2011)

I have a 46 gallon and went with the 2217. I haven't reduced the flow any but I could by adjusting the quick levers on the quick connect.


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## DKRST (Jan 20, 2011)

I have a 2215 on a 55g and it's plenty of flow in my tank. I use a spray bar with extra holes drilled to reduce the flow further and it's still a good flow (I do clean the pump and lines every couple of weeks to keep the plant debris down). If you reduce the flow with the quick-connects, only reduce the flow on the outflow side of the pump to avoid extra impeller wear.

If you ever upgrade your tank, the 2217 will give you more options without getting another canister, that's a good point!
I have used a double spray bar on occasion playing with the flow rate. That's another excellent suggestion made above.


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## gomesj (Dec 11, 2008)

I use a 2217 in my 40g and a ehiem prof II 2026. You will want to get the 2217 for sure. They measure their flow rates without media, so it's always going to be higher, but once you add the media the flow significantly reduces. More flow= less algae, happier fish, and healthier plants.


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## BlazednSleepy (Aug 21, 2010)

well what I meant by is the amount of water coming out of the spray bar. I don't want to blow the cardinals around like a tidal wave. But now that i know the flow can be reduced, thats a big plus.


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## monkeyfish (Jul 5, 2010)

Go with the 2217. I would drill extra holes before restricting flow with the disconnect valves.


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## VeeSe (Apr 16, 2011)

yeah, try not to use the quick disconnect valves like the others are mentioning unless it's a last resort type thing. Like monkeyfish said, you can just increase the size of the holes in the spraybar and the flow can be really wide and easy to work with. You shouldn't have too much flow anyway.


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## BlazednSleepy (Aug 21, 2010)

argh. I just wanted this thing to just do it's thing out of the box.

I mean I can easily do the increase in hole size but what If I get a new tank down the line and want to increase the flow?

This is so damn confusing lol. I just really feel the 2217 will be too much.


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## monkeyfish (Jul 5, 2010)

Get the 2217. Stick on a sponge prefilter and fire it up. You might not have to modify it at all. If it's too much flow, drill some extra holes. If down the road you need more flow, either plug up the extra holes or buy a new spraybar, they don't cost much.


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## RukoTheWonderDog (Nov 11, 2011)

I also feel that you should go with the 2217.

I have a 2217 on a lightly stocked 55 gallon quarantine/separation tank. It is barely adequate; I don't feel it would offer enough filtration for more livestock or for a planted setup. When the 55 was a planted, I ran 2 x 2217s and a Koralia 2 powerhead. I had started with a single 2217 but quickly discovered it was not enough.


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## DKRST (Jan 20, 2011)

One other option is to buy one of the filter sponges (the "blocks") from an on-line vendor. make a hole and slip it over the out-of-the-box spraybar. You've added a sponge filter and decreased the flow rate. Careful not to restrict flow too much.

You'd be fine with the 2215 out of the box unless you really overload with livestock and the 2215 will produce a good current, but not too much for angels and tetras (I have angels in my 55 that's planted w/pressurized CO2). Depending on the forum you post this question on you'll get "higher flow" or "lower flow" recommendations. TPT folks seem to prefer higher flow rates, not certain why. You'll be fine with either model.


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## VeeSe (Apr 16, 2011)

BlazednSleepy said:


> argh. I just wanted this thing to just do it's thing out of the box.
> 
> I mean I can easily do the increase in hole size but what If I get a new tank down the line and want to increase the flow?
> 
> This is so damn confusing lol. I just really feel the 2217 will be too much.


Then just go with it out of the box... there's no problem here. We're only telling you solutions to decrease the flow because you're asking about it. If you didn't ask half of us wouldn't have said anything besides "go with 2217, it will be great!" I think you might be psyching yourself out a little bit. The flow will be fine. Just go with it. One thing you do in this hobby is modify things to suit your needs. There will be a lot of that going on, and if you present problems, others are going to tell you creative ways to solve them.

I'll give you an example: if you get a new tank down the line and want to increase the flow after you've enlarged the original spraybar's holes, you can make a DIY spraybar with materials from a hardware store (i.e. rigid tubing plus a cap) for just a couple bucks and maybe an hour of your time.


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## BlazednSleepy (Aug 21, 2010)

okay guys I'm gonna just go with the 2217. 

Is there anything I need to purchase in conjunction with it? or is everything all there in the box?


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## fusedpro (Dec 29, 2011)

Assuming you buy new, everything should come in the box. If you plan on breeding anything, a prefilter is necessary, though I'm not sure what that consists of. I'm in the process of looking myself...


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## BlazednSleepy (Aug 21, 2010)

okay cool.

Also the filter that I have right now that's I'm going to replace with the 2217 is a HOB. What should I do about the bacterial colony on the wheels? Let the filter run with the 2217 for a couple weeks or stick the wheels in the water and let the 2217 do the job?


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

Just let the HOB run with the 2217 for 10 days or so. Then you can remove it and put Irvin storage.


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## samamorgan (Dec 31, 2011)

bsmith said:


> Just let the HOB run with the 2217 for 10 days or so. Then you can remove it and put Irvin storage.


Clean out that HOB before you store it, or it will stink very badly.


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## BlazednSleepy (Aug 21, 2010)

samamorgan said:


> Clean out that HOB before you store it, or it will stink very badly.


I'll spray it with a water bleach mix and let it dry outside for a day or 2.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

samamorgan said:


> Clean out that HOB before you store it, or it will stink very badly.


Figure that would go without saying.


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