# Eheim 2215 flow rate drop



## larusaquarium (Feb 21, 2015)

I have a eheim 2215 unit almost 2 years old. The flow coming out of the spray bar is really weak. I saw some youtube videos of the same canister and they have 4 or 5 times better flow. My spray bar is more like a drip tube. 
No matter how I mount the spray bar (horizontal or vertical) it does the same thing. 
I cleaned the filter, checked the impeller, impeller shaft and everything I can possibly think of. Am I doing something wrong or do I got a bad unit?

Canister seem to be doing a ok job keeping the tank clean. But since there's absolutely no pressure coming out the spray bar there's a lot of dead spots in my 37 gallon tank.


----------



## natebuchholz (Sep 28, 2013)

Do you have any equipment inline?


----------



## larusaquarium (Feb 21, 2015)

No equipment is attached to the inline or the canister filter.

Bump: Canister contains one 100ml bag of purigen, but even without it flow rate is the same


----------



## natebuchholz (Sep 28, 2013)

Where is the canister located in relation to your tank? 
What do you have inside your filter other than the purigen mentioned above?
Do you have a sponge on the intake?


----------



## larusaquarium (Feb 21, 2015)

Canister is located on the floor. Canister contains eheim media that came with the canister (some sort of ceramic cream color bio balls and ceramic rings). Only thing I don't use is the carbon filter pad. 
Intake is not covered with any foam, everything is setup just the way eheim recommend in the box.


----------



## kep (Feb 3, 2015)

Have you tried pulling the intake apart and cleaning the inside out? Also have you cleaned the tubes? I had a decrease in flow and there was a lot of gunk in the intake. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## larusaquarium (Feb 21, 2015)

Everything is cleaned spotless. There is no gunk or anything blocking the flow. 
No upgrades have been done to the filter. 

Does yours do the same or do I got a bad unit?


----------



## loach guy (Jun 2, 2014)

If your intake, filter, and spray bar are clean, and I'm assuming the filter is in good order. It's not making any noise is it? Then the issue must be with the hoses. First look for kinks. Then either run something through them that can clean them out, or just replace them. I don't use the Eheim tubing. I bought black tubing because anything that lets in light has the ability to grow algae.


----------



## larusaquarium (Feb 21, 2015)

Tubing has been completely cleaned and there are no flow issues on the tubes. Canister makes no strange noises. A very low hum to let me know it's running. But I can barely hear that. 
I might try new different tubing. Who knows, that might help.


----------



## jrill (Nov 20, 2013)

Take a close look at the media inside the filter. Are you using any of the eheim sponge media, the blue coarse or white fine. My eheims only slow down when they clog up.


----------



## loach guy (Jun 2, 2014)

larusaquarium said:


> Tubing has been completely cleaned and there are no flow issues on the tubes. Canister makes no strange noises. A very low hum to let me know it's running. But I can barely hear that.
> I might try new different tubing. Who knows, that might help.


If that's the case, then I wouldn't spend the money on new tubing. Are you sure that your media isn't clogged up? Have you tried putting your filter in a bucket of water to see what your flow rate looks like with just the filter by itself? If it looks low by itself then something in the filter is slowing it down. If you double check everything and it is all clean, then you could try getting a new impeller assembly. I think they run like $30 and see if that fixes the issue.


----------



## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

when looking for trouble. I try to break it down into sections to locate the bad guy. Have you tried pulling the spraybar off to see how the flow is when it is just the tubing? Good flow out of the tubing alone, it has to be the spraybar. while it is off, try holding it tight under a faucet and see how tap water flows through. At some point one or the other will show up as the problem. 
One place where hard media can get and hide really well is the small elbow at the bottom of the canister. Might make sure there is not a piece of media hung there and out of sight?


----------



## larusaquarium (Feb 21, 2015)

Nope, nothings clogged, all the pieces are in good condition. Spray bar is also fine. 
I just got fed up trying to fix this crappy filter. End up buying a new better filter. 
I would never ever buy a eheim brand filter again. I learned my lesson. 
I might end up hooking up the eheim to my 10 gallon tank.


----------



## loach guy (Jun 2, 2014)

larusaquarium said:


> Nope, nothings clogged, all the pieces are in good condition. Spray bar is also fine.
> I just got fed up trying to fix this crappy filter. End up buying a new better filter.
> I would never ever buy a eheim brand filter again. I learned my lesson.
> I might end up hooking up the eheim to my 10 gallon tank.


You are the first person I have ever seen post anything like that....lol


----------



## jrill (Nov 20, 2013)

A person should be punished for calling eheim crappy. Gosh.


----------



## larusaquarium (Feb 21, 2015)

I have real bad luck with filters. Not that I'm a idiot who don't know how to set them up right. About a year ago I had issues with a aquaclear 70 and everybody was saying I'm the first person they've come across that have negative things to say about aquaclear filters. 

Now I have a eheim,which for most people are a very reliable filter. I got this from my local fish store and I'm positive the guy sold me a bad unit. He gave me a hefty discount, said it was the last one. I was stupid enough to buy it. Anyways filter still works so I will be using it on my 10 gallon. 
I don't dislike eheim, just they're filters. For the same price range ($100-150) my Hydor filter and even the crappy $49 odyssey cfs500 does a way better job than any eheim I've seen. That's why I decided never to invest my money in eheim filters. It's just a personal choice. However I love eheim jager heaters. They've always been very reliable and good to my fish.


----------



## deeda (Jun 28, 2005)

Sorry to hear of the problems with the filter.

I actually had a small piece of media get stuck in the intake elbow which caused a reduction in suction and therefore flow.


----------



## LFM (Sep 18, 2014)

larusaquarium said:


> I have a eheim 2215 unit almost 2 years old. The flow coming out of the spray bar is really weak. I saw some youtube videos of the same canister and they have 4 or 5 times better flow. My spray bar is more like a drip tube.
> No matter how I mount the spray bar (horizontal or vertical) it does the same thing.
> I cleaned the filter, checked the impeller, impeller shaft and everything I can possibly think of. Am I doing something wrong or do I got a bad unit?
> 
> Canister seem to be doing a ok job keeping the tank clean. But since there's absolutely no pressure coming out the spray bar there's a lot of dead spots in my 37 gallon tank.


I'm not trying to insult your intelligence in any way what so ever but did you connect the pressure and intake to the correct ends of the filter? Were the valves fully open or possibly a malfunction with the valves not allowing them to open fully?
I can tell you from experience that just the other day after cleaning out one of my Eheims I forgot to open one set of valves on the filter when I put it back.:icon_roll


----------



## larusaquarium (Feb 21, 2015)

Nope, nothing wrong with the valves or taps. 
Before I hooked it up to my 10 gallon I did re-inspect everything and cleaned it completely. I positioned the filter much more closer to the tank and cut both intake and out take hoses in half (half the length I had originally set up). 
Also had to cut the intake tube to fit my 10 gallon. After all that trimming of the hose really helped the flow. Now the filter have very good flow. 
I only used the green hose that came in the box when I initially set up the filter. I guess my old tank was too high (I had it set up on a 37tall) for the filter. 
Anyways problem now fixed. Thanks for all the help.


----------

