Eheim 2329 (wet/dry Thermofilter)

[Midnight Rose]

I've searched for wet/dry filters and read through a lot of the posts about eheim filters but I can't find the information I want. I realise that you get a lot of questions comparing filters, so I'm sorry if this is a repeated post.

I have a few questions about the eheim professional wet/dry external thermofilter and the eheim professional 3 electronic.

Firstly, some background on the tank I want a new filter for. I'm aiming for a blackwater biotope (it's not set up yet.) The tank is 72"x18"x24" (182x46x61cm) and 128 gallons (486 litres, 128 US gallons). There will be course sand/fine gravel in brown and black, bog wood, a bit of java fern tied to bog wood near the surface, an amazon sword or two, maybe one other plant, low-ish light levels (enough for the plants but still pretty low), 'tea-stained' water. I am not going to mess about with the ph or hardness chemically (with ph down products etc.) I hadn't planned on adding peat to the filter (I will if it's recommended), but will remove any carbon in the filter. Eventually, I would love to be able to have discus in this setup, I've wanted some since I started keeping fish about 20 years ago! I will be aiming to keep fish that are from blackwater, soft, acid regions (tetras, corys etc) No massive fish, nothing bigger than the discus (maaaaybe a small species of plec/bristlenose or whiptailed catfish if I can work out whether you can keep them with discus. Do they suck onto them or not?!)

Questions -

1) What is the general opinion of having a heating element inside the filter? Other than the tank being prettier without heaters in it!

2) Is having the wet/dry element really that much better than one of the 'normal' style of canister filters?

3) Does anyone know if the wet/dry canister filter performs mechanical filtration too? Or is it just up to me to add mechanical media to the canister part of the filter?

4) Could I add different types of filter media to this filter than the ones that come with it? Sticking to the eheim brand. I would want to remove any carbon in the filter.

5) As for the professional 3 computerised, makes tea for you and walks the dog filter. Is it really worth the extra money? The features are: output control, stream function (changing flow output I think), constant flow, 12h bio function (two diff flow rates, changing every 12 hours), service indicator, auto-air out and electronic error management.



I'm a bit scared of both filters as they look so posh (posh usually equals me breaking it...) so would really appreciate advice from people more experienced than me. If they are worth the extra money then I don't begrudge my fishies the pleasure of having them. I imagine that the flow rates would be lost on an amazon biotope where there is typically no flow but what about on my other setup? Would those fish like different currents to swim against? At the moment they have access to a current and some more sheltered bits of the tank and they seem to choose to swim against the current a lot, mostly it's the harlequin rasbora shoal that does this.

At the moment I have two eheim canister filters and a fluval canister filter (on different tanks). In the past I've had in tank filters but I don't have them anymore.


Thanks for taking the time to read this giant post, and thanks in advance for any advice given.

 

[SJ2K]

I don't know a huge amount but things I do understand are:

1) Heating within the filter is a good thing (certainly with an eheim model at least), less tank clutter and efficient heating.

2) Yes there usually considered better, more oxygen is drawn through the bio-media which is turn assists in the breakdown of chemical elements. (Though not so good if your using plant CO2).

3) The filter will do all the necessary processes, including mechanical, bio-logical and chemical.

4) A filters is a filter, you can add any media you wish though to keep safe, id use the recommended bio-media.

5) Are the extra functions worth it? Well thats down to you, personally I'm a gadget fan and would enjoy having such a high level of control its down to you whether its important enough for you to pay the price.

All these are just my opinions, certain facts may well be incorrect and I wont be offended if anyone jumps in and says I'm talking rubbish

Best of luck!

 

[Colin_T]

My LFS won't sell the Eheim wet/dry filters anymore. They keep being returned and their owners aren't happy. They run for a bit and then slow down and don't run properly after that. The shop isn't happy about the time they are wasting trying to get these things running for the customers. The customers aren't happy about their new filters not working the way they should. The Eheim rep isn't happy about all the complaints.
It might be different in other parts of the world, but in WA I wouldn't touch them.

I never liked the idea of keeping a heater inside a filter. It takes up room that should be used to hold filter media.

 

[bigstevo]

Been running the 2329 w&d for years now and never had a problem, just make sure you clean pipes regular, clean media in stages as not to kill the bacteria, as i said never had a problem and have it running on a 600ltr tank (with another eheim) fully planted with computerised co2 system.....

 

[T1KARMANN]

i had a wet/dry in the past the only problem you will have is if the tank water level is to high from the filter

you need to keep it within the height in the book

i didnt like it that much as it doesnt pump all the time it starts and stops which is great if you want the wave makeing but no good if you want constant flow