Low flow on 2217

[Paul76]

Noticed my flow rate was low so cleaned filter primed and running but flow is still low .the flow is nowhere as good as the day I brought it any suggestions noticed a lot of debris building up as well.

[Fisho43]

Check the impellor, sometimes the impellor blades come loose from the magnetic section, there is a small plastic bit that fits into blades. If you have a real good quality glue which is water resistant you can glue it back on. I did this with my Eheim 2213.

[Paul76]

Do u mean the white shaft that blades sits on inside impeller

[Buccal]

Water going into your canister is gravity fed,,,,, it's motor sends water back up into tank.

The canister does not suck the water in,,, hence needing to prime it for start up.

Is your canister placed low enough below your aquarium for a sufficient siphon feed ?????

If not,,, sufficient amount of water won't be entering the canister in the first place.

Sometimes the canister is placed wrongly but still just enough to still work,,, and results in working ok some of the times.

If you think this is the problem, try lowering it.

[Fisho43]

Eheim 2213 spare part - impeller & shaft

• AU $48.50
  
• 
  
• +AU $6.00 postage
  
• See where the white section is between the impeller and the round magnetic part is, this is where it comes loose.
  

[Josh]

Buccal, I will start a crap fight by saying canisters aren't Gravity feed. We had a big argument on here years ago about this.

Being that it's a sealed system, the water being pumped to the tank sucks the water into the canister.

Have you checked your pipes for blockages? I have had issues with algae growth in the past in mine.

[Paul76]

All pipes are fine water flows good through them rocked it to get air out no kinks all taps are fully open cleaned impeller The impeller only turns half a turn the back got me stumped

[Buccal]

Josh,, I won't start a poo fight,,,

You are right, gravity is only needed to prime the feed.

But with a lot of canisters, the strength of the motor relys on a percentage of gravity feed to work more freely.

Having the gravity contribute to feeding the impeller enables a smaller wattage capacity motor for better economy.

Many are built this way for economy.

Classically,,,,,, the FX5 which I run two off on a 2700 display, I had sitting on the same plain as the aquarium,, so the bottom of the aquarium and filters were at same levels.

They worked,,, a touch noisy,,, wasn't happy with the turbulence ejection.

So I lengthened the pipes and sat the filters on the ground.

WOW, what a difference.

If I pick the filters up while running,, as I lift them higher, you can see the ejection of water lessen, then pick up again as I lower.

The advice Ive given to many fx5 owners and the odd various other brands has always worked when canisters were not situated low enough.

The instruction manual of the fx5 even indicates the unit works better at lower levels inducing the gravity feed.

[Josh]

The instructions I have say " for best performance the unit must be completely below the aquarium" and doesn't mention Gravity feed. I guess mine aren't correct.

[Buccal]

Why is performance increased when completely below aquarium ?????? Because gravity feed is increased assisting the pump to expell the water more efficiently.

[Chuckmeister]

I'll start it, I'll start it

The water, assumming the cannister is below the tank is being gravity fed. the pump acts as a bottleneck or brake that is dictated by the return pumps water flow. If the pump and gravity feed are roughly the same then I'd suggest a slightly larger down pipe to reduce pump strain.

If the cannister is above the tank then the opposite is true. The pump dictates how much water is allowed both in and out but the pump has to work twice as hard to fight gravity instead of using it to its advantage.

But to help answer your question all pumps will slow down over time through natural wear and tear. Its a sign the motor is getting tired. You could replace the impeller and likely see little improvement. Nothing lasts forever. Every electric motor is different. sometimes you will get something that lasts 10 years and sometimes you'll pick up something that breaks the day after warrany expiration. Personally, if I see potential problems with pumps etc I'd rather just go out and get a new one. Prepare for the impending disaster is alot better than hoping for the best.

[Buccal]

Yes, a lot of canister brands give up the ghost a lot sooner than expected.

In this day and age, parts are made cheaper to suit affordability and profit.

I've thrown plenty in the bin after a few years in the past.

I admit I don't carry out maintenance like I should on the impeller.

But I've had the FX5 since the year they come out roughly 11 years ago, and never done maintenance on them except clean the media.

Canisters are pretty competitive and cheap these days, I'm like Chuck in the sense of any signs of problems just dispose and get a new one.

If you buy the exact same one,,, the old media can be whipped out into the new canister for easy change over and new media can be kept as spare.

[Josh]

But canisters are a sealed systems, you cannot gravity feed a canister running at 2000lph or more through a 16-20mm pipe. It needs to be sucked or pumped.

[pat williamson]

try a different impeller

[pat williamson]

does the impeller feel like the magnet still pulls as you place it in the head of the motor ?

[Paul76]

Thanks guys for all comments its all sorted was a bit of craP in the ball valve tap on top of filter

[Fisho43]

Glad you are sorted, can be a pain in the a---- when you cant find the problem.

[Alvon]

But canisters are a sealed systems, you cannot gravity feed a canister running at 2000lph or more through a 16-20mm pipe. It needs to be sucked or pumped.

Lets all agree to disagree and be friends aye..

But to throw my 2 cents in.. I have cleaned, maintained and fixed more cannisters that I would ever want to admit.. The common issue I see with lower flow is blocked/restricted inlets and outlets (this is provided the media is already clean). Another issue could be with the eheims is that if you are not using those plastic spacers, the pad or filter wool at the top could be getting sucked up onto the pump inlet, restricting the flow severely.

I would definitely check the impellar, they can break is so many places its not funny, they can even lose a blade which can reduce flow. Pull the impellars and shaft out and also run a bottle brush down into the housing. Excessive muck or algae in the housing can affect smooth impellar spin.

Josh, I both agree and disagree with your comment.. Chuck pretty much said what I think about it.. Its more of a syphon assisted pumping.

It does pump and suck the water through, I agree 100%, but think about how much easier it is to suck water down a pipe, than up a pipe..

There are only 2 reasons they recommend putting cannisters under an aquarium. 1. It assists with the function as we have all been discussing and 2. When there is a blackout, the cannister remains primed. This can be avoided though by having both the inlet and outlet completely under the water level..

Cheers

Alvon

[Alvon]

Thanks guys for all comments its all sorted was a bit of craP in the ball valve tap on top of filter

Good work.. Its a nice feeling when the issue is so obvious and you know how to fix it.

[Buccal]

Looking back at my first post on this thread I didn't clearly explain as I stated "the canister is gravity fed" which appeared meaning that's how they run.

I should have said "the canister is gravity assisted fed". That's what I was meaning there, but rest of posts made asserted this anyway.