# Dusting off Eheim 2028



## FishFoBrains (Mar 15, 2004)

Hey guys,

*** been out of the hobby since early in 2006.(save a 29 piranha tank) I had 3 large setups and mother nature decided to decimate my SA cichlid 125g, the glass just gave way right down the middle. Luckily I was home but I merged the Large fish with my africans and the JD, Oscar and large shovelnose made quick work of a lot of the smaller africans...... I became happy with the setup and unusual mixture, but lightning struck my home sometime later and killed the whole electrical system in my home since it was old and had hardly any ground wires through the entire home.. Thank god for home insurance, hehe. I ended up losing a few more fish and taking many back to LFS, I lost a couple emperor filters and some other equipment after the ligtning, but I kept all of it.

So here we are and my interest in the hobby is starting to come back strong and I stare at my medium sized piranhas in the 29g and Im ready to setup my remaining 125g again to give them more room.

My 125g has sat the whole 2 years in the same spot, substrate still in it, and covered with a sheet. *** spent the last few days sifting through the substrate and getting some of my old equipment out. I have 2 large canisters a magnum and eheim 2028. I cannot find the operating instructions for either and the priming pump of the eheim is sticky when I push it down, really sticky. I soaked the whole housing in warm water overnight and that did help, but very little and Im kind of afraid to leave it soaking anymore since that is where the motor is. Is there some kind of lubricant or "grease" that I could use on the priming pump? Also, I did clean the filters before I shelved them, there wont be any issues with the media after sitting will there? And I believe I had to fill the eheim partially or fully before starting to prime, but I can't fully remember....

Also looking for any other suggestions or "need to know" stuff that I may be overlooking as far as using the same substrate thats been sitting there(it was actually still moist in spots) for a couple years, its cichlid fine sand that came from fosters&smith in a wet bag supposedly "already cycled," when purchased.. As far as filtration, the magnum will be supplemented with an emperor 400 and hopefully I can get the eheim working, if not, I have a handful of both 280 and 400 emperor sitting around. I have a stealth "unshatterable" heater, and another 220 watt glass heater, hopefully they still work....... and basically if I get all of that hooked up, I planned on buying 2 dozen medium sized feeder goldfish and getting a fresh test kit and a couple air pumps from fosters, and just letting the goldies cycle the tank and drop the piranha in there to eat whats left after 10 days or so..... Thats mainly it.

Finally, I do have a wet/dry filter that came with one of my tanks, looks almost homemade, but good quality. Its large, has a couple of sponges, and the "media" is just large shredded paper. I never bothered setting it up in the past as I had no need, nor the know how. I know it needs some kind of air pump, and maybe you can tell me if it may be missing something else and what kind of air pump, and if it sounds like its worth setting up. Im not sure if they are noisy or not but from what I remember my eheim ran quiet and the magnum was only a minor noise....

Sorry for the novel, thanks for the time and info


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Welcome back.

Here's the link for the Eheim 2028 manual.http://www.eheim.de/eheim/pdf/en/anleitungen/afilter/professionel_II_2026_2126_2028_2128.pdf.

As far as the priming button goes, if you don't use it you'll be better off in the long run. There is an issue with the o-ring leaking for the primer button. Unfortunately Eheim does not sell this o-ring & recommends returning the 'head' to factory for repair. My 2028 priming button is very difficult to operate so I don't use it anymore. Also, when I unplug the cord & the hoses are still hooked up, water pours out of the 'head'. I just keep it in a tote so when it's time to clean the filter the water is confined to the tote.

Here's a link to the whole sad story of this problem & its eventual solution. I am actually waiting for these o-rings to become available. 
[/url]http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/equipment/43083-group-buy-eheim-rubber-o-ring.html


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## FishFoBrains (Mar 15, 2004)

Thanks Deeda much appreciated,

so as far as an update, 3 out of 5 emperors were burned out(one was fried at the cord,) I was able to get the eheim running, however I had to prime it, I let it run a good 15-20 minutes without priming and it would not start. It took another 15 mins just to prime it 3 times, fortunately, it still runs like a top and no leaks . I had dual 3 ft light strips, one was fried at the cord, and another 6 ft. dual strip with power converter built in, it was still in fine working condition, more than enough lighting for the time being.

It doesn't look pretty, but its filled, and sitting with 16 goldies, the 6 ft. light strip doesn't match the tank or stand... But having the eheim safe is wonderful.. I had to order another carbon holder for the magnum, along with several other items that are more for show than for go, but as she sits Im pretty happy.

One serious issue I now have is a nice long 8"-10" scratch, its darn near center and up high on the tank, not sure how it got there. Its not deep, just superficial, but its noticeable a good 30 ft. from the tank. the tank sits in a large open room about 900 sq. foot, with a nice high ceiling. Will my friends or family notice it? Prolly not, at least most of them. But I see it loud and clear, and *** never noticed it before.....

How do you think a regular eyeglass repair kit will work or any products you think I could use to make it blend in more?

Thanks a ton again guys


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