# Life-span of a Canister Filter?



## chriloga (Apr 14, 2005)

I've only been "seriously" keeping Cichlids for a little over 3 years. I've had an Eheim 2026 for the entire time. I've also had an XP3 on the tank for about 2.5 years. The past couple of times I have cleaned the Eheim, I've had some leaks and had to replace some parts. I have no local dealer for the Eheim, so it's been kind of a pain. The XP3 has been fine so far. I was just curious what type of life-span more experienced folks in the hobby have had with their canisters? Should I be in the market or keep working on the Eheim?


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## under_control (Jan 9, 2008)

With a few parts here and there I've kept some upwards of 10 years. Why buy a new one when for 10 bucks you can make it keep going?


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## motorfin (Mar 19, 2004)

I have six in operation if you count the pair of mag 350's. Three have been in line four years, the other three for 3 yrs. Only replaced a pair of "O" rings on one of the earlier ones. Besides the mags, I run a pair of xp3's and a pair of via aqua 750's.


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## chriloga (Apr 14, 2005)

I've replaced the O rings on the Eheim, but it seems like everytime I do any kind of maintenance, it leaks somewhere else. I've purchased O rings for the XP3 just in case, but haven't had to use them. Other than the leaking, the Eheim is great, kind of disappointed in having to keep buying parts to fix leaking. I keep wondering if I should spend anymore money on it, as opposed to investing in a new canister. I've seen the Marineland C-360 on sale for 120ish. That's what brought about this post. Thanks for the responses!


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## edouthirt (Jan 22, 2008)

> I've seen the Marineland C-360 on sale for 120ish. That's what brought about this post. Thanks for the responses!


I have a c-360 running and in fact just ordered another one... great filter... no leaking issues... however it's only 5 months old.

I will say that in my experience it is not nearly as easy to maintain as it is supposed to be... Every time I open it up to replace the micro fiber pad, the trays stick together and I end up having to take all of them out to make sure a bio ball didn't float up and end up in the intake area... of course... this could just be a symptom of my relative lack of experience with canisters.

I have never had eheim... but from what I hear, they are hard to beat... I think the bottom line is, any filter regardless of brand will need to be maintained and that means the occassional dishing out of money for new parts.


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## mambee (Apr 13, 2003)

I have 3 Eheim canisters in operation right now, 2 have been running for 6 years and the other has been running for about 11 years.

The only real problems that I have had have been with leaking o-rings after maintenance has been done. For this reason I sit all of my canisters in dish basins. If they are going to leak, it is going to be right after they are serviced. Eheim recommends using vaseline on the o-ring to keep it flexible, which I always forget to do.

Other than that the Eheim filters are great.

Mike


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## joevc1 (Dec 17, 2007)

I have a 2217 that has been running for over 13 years non stop. Only thing I replaced is an impeller but otherwise it still runs fine. It is on it's 3rd fish tank and still going.

The only thing I noticed is it is not as quiet as when it was newer but I can not here it when the cabinet doors are closed. My new FX5 and AC110 are much noisier.


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Chriloga, I'm just curious which o-rings you have to keep replacing in the 2026. There can be an issue with the o-ring for the priming button, unfortunately this is not a part stocked by Eheim or considered a user friendly replacement by them.

However, someone from another forum contracted with a manufacturer to produce the priming button o-ring & installation instructions. The website is www.atomicrice.com. I purchased a couple o-rings from them & replaced the one on my 2028. It works perfectly now.


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## PhillyzCichlidz (Jun 19, 2008)

EHEIM YAY


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## PhillyzCichlidz (Jun 19, 2008)

Stick with Eheim they may be hard to get parts for but I know that when my Eheim dies i am updating to the new model. Eheim wont sell their stuff to just any pet store. This is only my opinion but when I asked a few stores why they didnt carry Eheim parts the only answer I got was it is hard to get them. I asked if there was something wrong with them and he was sure quick to reply "no they are great filters." So the way I see it is if a salesman gives Eheim props and doesnt even sell their stuff well the rest is ...... History

Quality counts in my Books


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