EHEIM - EHFISUBSTRAT replace ??? why ???

[Bill Krosney]

I'm running an EHEIM 2224 in a 55 gal freshwater community tank and
have been very happy with my filter (shameless EHEIM plug).

In my 2224 I target to replace the fine white filter pads about every
6 months and the coarser blue filter pads about once a year. I use
the EHEIM pre-filter and find that does a good job of trapping larger
stuff first and I usually rinse that every month to two months. or
when I detect a lessening of flow from the spray bar.

I recently picked up some EHEIM filter supplies and in an instruction
booklet on EHEIM filter material in the package they talk about the
various EHEIM filter media. This is what they quote for EHFISUBSTRAT
(that "sintered glass material").

"When changing the filter medium use approximately 1/3 of the used,
uncleaned material again in order to support the new development of
the bacteria"

I can understand not wanting to replace the entire volume of the
EHFISUBSTRAT and wiping out most of your bacterial colony. My
question is why would you EVER want to replace the material at all? I
didn't think of this material as clogging like the filter pads, but
does it clog? Does it deteriorate? Does it really need to being
periodically refreshed?

And what about the really coarse EHFIMECH (those hollow cermic
cylindrical thingee's). Do those ever need to be replaced?

Thanks in advance.

.... Bill

(remove spamfilter in any e-mail reply)

[Jennifer Brooks]

>out most of your bacterial colony. My
>question is why would you EVER want to replace the material at all

You don't need to change it,LOL! Eheim wants you to change some because they
need you to buy more :) Same with the cylindars. Leave it right where it is :)
Jen
PS I LOVE my Ehiems too, best filters I have :)

[Iain Miller]

> "When changing the filter medium use approximately 1/3 of the used,
> uncleaned material again in order to support the new development of
> the bacteria"
>
> I can understand not wanting to replace the entire volume of the
> EHFISUBSTRAT and wiping out most of your bacterial colony. My
> question is why would you EVER want to replace the material at all? I
> didn't think of this material as clogging like the filter pads, but
> does it clog? Does it deteriorate? Does it really need to being
> periodically refreshed?
>
> And what about the really coarse EHFIMECH (those hollow cermic
> cylindrical thingee's). Do those ever need to be replaced?
>

Ummmm to get you to buy more perhaps???

Seriously, Ehfisubstrat is sintered glas & has thousands of tiny pores in
it. Inevitably over time these will get clogged. That said there is still
more than enough surface area in the filter to provide more than adequate
bio filtering. You don't need to replace it as long as you keep it
reasonably clean. When I clean mine (and I have two 2224s) I just immerse
the basket in a bucket of tank water & give it a really good shake from side
to side.....seems to work just fine. Couldn't do any harm to replace half of
it once a year or so......

I.

[Mike Edwardes]

In article >,
"Iain Miller" > wrote:

> > "When changing the filter medium use approximately 1/3 of the used,
> > uncleaned material again in order to support the new development of
> > the bacteria"
> >
> > I can understand not wanting to replace the entire volume of the
> > EHFISUBSTRAT and wiping out most of your bacterial colony. My
> > question is why would you EVER want to replace the material at all? I
> > didn't think of this material as clogging like the filter pads, but
> > does it clog? Does it deteriorate? Does it really need to being
> > periodically refreshed?
> >
> > And what about the really coarse EHFIMECH (those hollow cermic
> > cylindrical thingee's). Do those ever need to be replaced?
> >
>
> Ummmm to get you to buy more perhaps???
> Seriously, Ehfisubstrat is sintered glas & has thousands of tiny pores in
> it. Inevitably over time these will get clogged. That said there is still
> more than enough surface area in the filter to provide more than adequate
> bio filtering. You don't need to replace it as long as you keep it
> reasonably clean. When I clean mine (and I have two 2224s) I just immerse
> the basket in a bucket of tank water & give it a really good shake from side
> to side.....seems to work just fine. Couldn't do any harm to replace half of
> it once a year or so......


Take a portion of the medium and wash it well. Place it wet (but not
covered in water) in the microwave in a COVERED CONTAINER (risk of
explosions!). GET SPOUSAL APPROVAL BEFORE YOU DO THIS (or wait until
s/he is out). Microwave for a few minutes. Stream pressure inside the
medium helps blow the organic gunk out of the pores.
Or you could just replace the medium. But hold on there good fellows,
Ehfisubstrat is only for seriously rich people! Why not use Hortag like
I do:
http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=hortag
Does the same job at a fraction of the cost.

Mike.
--
Mike Edwardes Tropicals
http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net

[NetMax]

"Mike Edwardes" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Iain Miller" > wrote:
<snip>

> Why not use Hortag like
> I do:
> http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=hortag
> Does the same job at a fraction of the cost.
>
> Mike.

Mike, could you provide a personal summary of Hortag, or point to some
specific links. I tried going through your Google URL, but it sends me
to too many unrelated sites (ie: garden centres), or sites which just
make a passing mention to it. If you use this Hortag, then it has my
interest, but I'm either too lazy or unlucky to pull up any kind of a
definitive site on the stuff. thanks!

NetMax

[Mike Edwardes]

In article >,
"NetMax" > wrote:

> "Mike Edwardes" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article >,
> > "Iain Miller" > wrote:
> <snip>
>
> > Why not use Hortag like
> > I do:
> > http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=hortag
> > Does the same job at a fraction of the cost.
> >
> > Mike.
>
> Mike, could you provide a personal summary of Hortag, or point to some
> specific links. I tried going through your Google URL, but it sends me
> to too many unrelated sites (ie: garden centres), or sites which just
> make a passing mention to it. If you use this Hortag, then it has my
> interest, but I'm either too lazy or unlucky to pull up any kind of a
> definitive site on the stuff. thanks!

Expanded clay granules. Chemically inert, massive surface area for
bacterial colonization like expensive sintered glass products. Not an
overpriced aquarium product - buy it from garden centres.

Mike.
--
Mike Edwardes Tropicals
http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net

[Bill K]

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 04:35:07 +0100, Mike Edwardes
> wrote:

>In article >,
> "NetMax" > wrote:
>
>> "Mike Edwardes" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > In article >,
>> > "Iain Miller" > wrote:
>> <snip>
>>
>> > Why not use Hortag like
>> > I do:
>> > http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=hortag
>> > Does the same job at a fraction of the cost.
>> >
>> > Mike.
>>
>> Mike, could you provide a personal summary of Hortag, or point to some
>> specific links. I tried going through your Google URL, but it sends me
>> to too many unrelated sites (ie: garden centres), or sites which just
>> make a passing mention to it. If you use this Hortag, then it has my
>> interest, but I'm either too lazy or unlucky to pull up any kind of a
>> definitive site on the stuff. thanks!
>
>Expanded clay granules. Chemically inert, massive surface area for
>bacterial colonization like expensive sintered glass products. Not an
>overpriced aquarium product - buy it from garden centres.
>
>Mike.

Is "Hortag" a uniquely UK term, or a brand-name? Asked at one local
garden centre and the clerk had no idea of what I was talking about.
Possibly just someone not familiar with the business, I'll continue to
ask around, but was wondering.

.... Bill

[Mike Edwardes]

In article >,
Bill K > wrote:

> On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 04:35:07 +0100, Mike Edwardes
> > wrote:
>
> >In article >,
> > "NetMax" > wrote:
> >
> >> "Mike Edwardes" > wrote in message
> >> ...
> >> > In article >,
> >> > "Iain Miller" > wrote:
> >> <snip>
> >>
> >> > Why not use Hortag like
> >> > I do:
> >> > http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=hortag
> >> > Does the same job at a fraction of the cost.
> >> >
> >> > Mike.
> >>
> >> Mike, could you provide a personal summary of Hortag, or point to some
> >> specific links. I tried going through your Google URL, but it sends me
> >> to too many unrelated sites (ie: garden centres), or sites which just
> >> make a passing mention to it. If you use this Hortag, then it has my
> >> interest, but I'm either too lazy or unlucky to pull up any kind of a
> >> definitive site on the stuff. thanks!
> >
> >Expanded clay granules. Chemically inert, massive surface area for
> >bacterial colonization like expensive sintered glass products. Not an
> >overpriced aquarium product - buy it from garden centres.
> >
> >Mike.
>
> Is "Hortag" a uniquely UK term, or a brand-name? Asked at one local
> garden centre and the clerk had no idea of what I was talking about.
> Possibly just someone not familiar with the business, I'll continue to
> ask around, but was wondering.

Hortag is a UK trade name. Similar products are available in the US -
look for "expanded clay granules" (not Hydroleca, which has an outer
skin and is not sufficiently permeable).

Mike.
--
Mike Edwardes Tropicals
http://mike-edwardes.members.beeb.net

[Jeff Dantzler]

Jennifer Brooks > wrote:

> You don't need to change it,LOL! Eheim wants you to change some because they
> need you to buy more :) Same with the cylindars. Leave it right where it is :)
> Jen
> PS I LOVE my Ehiems too, best filters I have :)

What she said.

I will wash my substrate in a bucket of tankwater once a year or so.
This causes some of it to grind down into dust, which I discard.
Eventually I need to add a new handful to make up for the little
bit that gets lost, but that's it.

Jeff Dantzler

[[email protected]]

Mike Edwardes > wrote in message >...
> In article >,
> Bill K > wrote:
>
> > On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 04:35:07 +0100, Mike Edwardes
> > > wrote:
> >
> > >In article >,
> > > "NetMax" > wrote:
> > >
> > >> "Mike Edwardes" > wrote in message
> > >> ...
> > >> > In article >,
> > >> > "Iain Miller" > wrote:
> > >> <snip>
> > >>
> > >> > Why not use Hortag like
> > I do:
> > >> > http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=hortag
> > >> > Does the same job at a fraction of the cost.
> > >> >
> > >> > Mike.
> > >>
> > >> Mike, could you provide a personal summary of Hortag, or point to some
> > >> specific links. I tried going through your Google URL, but it sends me
> > >> to too many unrelated sites (ie: garden centres), or sites which just
> > >> make a passing mention to it. If you use this Hortag, then it has my
> > >> interest, but I'm either too lazy or unlucky to pull up any kind of a
> > >> definitive site on the stuff. thanks!
> > >
> > >Expanded clay granules. Chemically inert, massive surface area for
> > >bacterial colonization like expensive sintered glass products. Not an
> > >overpriced aquarium product - buy it from garden centres.
> > >
> > >Mike.
> >
> > Is "Hortag" a uniquely UK term, or a brand-name? Asked at one local
> > garden centre and the clerk had no idea of what I was talking about.
> > Possibly just someone not familiar with the business, I'll continue to
> > ask around, but was wondering.
>
> Hortag is a UK trade name. Similar products are available in the US -
> look for "expanded clay granules" (not Hydroleca, which has an outer
> skin and is not sufficiently permeable).
>
> Mike.

> > >Hydroton
Hydroton is an expanded clay aggregate used as a soil replacement in
hydroculture. It is composed of shale that is pelletized and fired to
give properties of high water storage and balanced capillary
attraction, which accelerates plant growth Hydroton is also chemically
inert, has neutral pH, does not degrade, and is clean and completely
odorless. The pellets are uniform in size and have an attractive
natural appearance.
Available in two convenient sizes.

Hydroton 10 Liter Bag
$14.95
Hydroton 50 Liter Bag
$39.95
found at home depot
les