# Modifying Eheim 2260 for ease of use, ideas?



## kitana8 (Jan 20, 2010)

Hi everyone,

I bought a 150g tank complete with stand, lights etc and it came with a eheim 2260 filter, which is if I understand correctly a very good filter.

I am not ready to set it up yet, doing a DIY background at the moment, and I was wondering what was the best way to set the filter up to minimize trouble.

My concerns are first water changes, and second cleaning the filter.

For the water changes, is it possible to simply use the valve at the bottom of the canister, shut the electricity down and let the water be suctionned into the filter then into the drain by gravity? Would it work? If not, what other solution is there for hassle-free water change?

Then, when the previous owner disconnected his filter from the tank, it made a big mess. The intake and outake are not easily disconnected from the filter, he had to disconnect them from the parts that go into the tank and he was left with feet of tubing full of water that fell everywhere. I thought that putting a shut-off valve of some kind right where the tubing enters the canister would allow to leave all the tubing on the tank, still full of water, disconnect only the filter to do maintenance then reconnect and not having to fuss a lot with priming as water is already in there.

Those are my ideas and concerns. Here is my problem: I have no abilities in plumbing and I would prefer to buy the necessary parts in a regular home hardware store rather than in a fish store or on the internet. So if you have ways to help me, I'm ready to listen!


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## nick a (Apr 9, 2004)

You can use the extra valve on the bottom of the 2260 to drain water from the tank & to back-wash out 'some' of the debris collected in the filter unit. I wouldn't always use this method for WCs--sometimes it's important to vacuum your substrate too!

Pick up some TRUE UNION valves and some fittings (barb x NPT). The true union valves allow you to close the valve (red handles in the pic) and disconnect the lower union without making a mess OR losing your siphon for smooth reconnect/restart.

The green handle valves on the suction & black handle valves on the discharge close off the hoses so your dribbles :lol: are minimal when you drag the canister outside to clean.

HTHs


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

Arguably, the Eheim 2260 is the best canister filter ever made. This page shows you how I have set up my 2260 on a 125G tank, and might give you some ideas for your own setup. Amongst other things, it gives recommendations for filter media and talks about priming and snail proofing the filter, as well as making it even more quiet than it already is.

Greetings

Frank


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Nick a,
Where did you get those green/black barb adapter shut off valves? I'm looking to set up my used 2260 filter the same way.


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## nick a (Apr 9, 2004)

D

Can't remember exactly where I got them--and am not at home to verify the size...but this should get you started:

http://www.whatafish.com/servlet/the-Plumbing-Supplies-cln-Valves/Categories

http://www.thefind.com/garden/info-hose-barb-ball

Good luck with the project! Great filters & you can get really creative with the media :thumb:


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## Deeda (Oct 12, 2012)

Nick, thanks for the links. Could you check on the size when you get home? I found similar valves made by Antelco for irrigation purposes. I think I need the 3/4" size (0.820 ID) for the 25/34mm (0.984 ID) intake hose rather than the 1" size (1.05 ID) but just wanted to see which you went with.

It's still cheaper setting it up like you did than purchasing the Eheim brand Q.D.'s though the OEM parts do look much nicer & take up far less space.

This will be my 3rd Eheim 2260 so I'm very pleased with the various ways to set them up. I think I've become an Eheim junkie. :lol: I'm always looking for more so I can set up more tanks.

Dee


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## Cichlidude (Feb 7, 2010)

fmueller said:


> Arguably, the Eheim 2260 is the best canister filter ever made. This page shows you how I have set up my 2260 on a 125G tank, and might give you some ideas for your own setup. Amongst other things, it gives recommendations for filter media and talks about priming and snail proofing the filter, as well as making it even more quiet than it already is.
> 
> Greetings
> 
> Frank


Looks great. Must be loud to use all the insulation for noise reduction though.


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## kitana8 (Jan 20, 2010)

Thanks for your answers.

Nicka I printed your setup to study it a little bit, with this are you able to remove teh filetr easily for maintenance? I guess you still have to do a start up anyway.


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## nick a (Apr 9, 2004)

Dee,
I'll check it out tonite, but whatever ID tubing you're using will dictate the barb size. I really love these guys too! The two in the pics are actually 2250's I picked up with some used tanks. Really basic and really versatile. My 2260 is waiting for my next big tank :roll: (the need never seems to ease)

Kit,
Absolute ease of maintenance & restart. Unplug->shut valves->disconnect at union->take filter to sink or outside & clean->reconnect union->open valves and water from the tank will automatically refill your can-> wait 'til the bubbles finish blowing out of your spraybar->replug in & your chore is done! :thumb:


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## nick a (Apr 9, 2004)

Woops  I've got the 1" size vale & they work fine on the 25/34mm tube.

kitana8,
Hopefully a little better more clear explanation. This is how the union valves are when filter is disconnected.


The valves on the floppy ends of the hoses prevent messes when you carry out the filter


The 1260 & 1250s I got used and most of the media was toast--this is the best DIY stuff I've come up with so far.
It's a real PITA cutting circles LOL!.
Bottom up: 
Matala
coarse foam
medium foam (a lot like AC foams)
Slip the bio bag in
floss pads on top.

Make sure you get the big mesh bags for any of this type media--you could spend hours digging it all out--these things are huge! LOL!





Once you've cleaned and reassembled the unit, you screw the floppy ends back on to the unions. Open both the valves on the floppy side, then open both the valves on the unions. Gravity pulls the water right down into the can and expels air out your spray bar. You only prime ONE time when your first install your filter. I usually give it a couple of minutes to let the air trapped in the media percolate out. The I plug it in 2 or 3 times in short 5-10 second bursts and let the pump power more bubbles out. Then its good to go.


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## kitana8 (Jan 20, 2010)

It's been a while since I posted on this thread but I think an update is necessary!

Thanks to Nick and Frank advice I succeeded in obtaining all the parts needed for making the return pipe easy to disconnect. They are made of brass and alimentary PVC. However nobody here had a 1inch ball valves, so I ordered them and received them only 2 weeks later. My filter was already started at that point, so I kept the parts preciously so next time I clean teh filter I will connect everything in place.

I found the priming to be a real pain, and at a point I was getting totally discouraged. The reason is because I put the intake of the filter behind a DIY background, totally out of reach. There was absolutely no way I could make a siphon out of this tube to prime the filter.

So I did it the other way around, filling the filter up through the output tubing. As you can imagine the siphon was just enough to fill the intake tube up to the level of the bottom of the tank, so there was still lots of air in it and the filter wouldn't start. I was about to disconnect and empty everything and wait 2 weeks for my valves when I decided to try one last time. This time I took a garden hose and I used it to fill the filter via the outake tube. Its high pressure pushed all the air inside the intake tube out through the intake, and then since the intake is deep underwater no new air could go in. I then disconnected my output tube and opened the valve as was said by my friends Frank and Nick :thumb: so water flowed out of the filter through the output tube, right into a bucket. I took most air out this way, then reconnected the output tube and started the filter. It started very nicely, and 2 minutes later there was no more air bubbles going through the system.

The only problem with my setup is that I put the valves too close to the filter, it weights down on the tube connection with the motor and I was afraid it might bend or disconnect so using tie-wrap I arranged it so pressure was not on the junction anymore.


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