EheimAEH2262380 Filter for Model 2262-38 with Valves for Aquarium

This review will save you hours of searching.When I was about to purchase this filter, I was undecided and was tempted on the fluval fx6. However, after much consideration and after reading reviews, I finally decided to buy this one. It seems to me that the fx6 had more equipment malfunction than the eheim 2262. (perhaps due to the technology involved… microchip) There is a difference between this 2262 and the 2260, the 2262 has an upgraded pump of an out put of 900 gallons per hour, no media included. the 2260 has media included. Now, when I unboxed it, My first impression was, "I paid all that for this"? Mind you, it seemed as if it was literally a 5 gallon plastic bucket. Then, I actually thought about the design and materials I was looking at. Nothing seemed to appear cheap. It is made of basically the best materials out there with modern technology, just like the box states. Imported from Germany, like the Volkswagen Jetta, there must be a premium to pay. I looked through all of the components (including the lingering seal) to make sure none were missing or broken. It was a 5 star. Instructions were okay, I just had to glance at the diagram to build it. It took me a while to realize the tubing had to be cut in order to attach the green tubes. The less complicated the less that goes wrong, It is a non stop workhorse that will never over heat, simply because it is run by a magnet. The type of Media can be bought at your liking. Just pack in 5 gallons of what you prefer (I would research Biome Ultimate). using poly-fill to divide sections, better yet buy the poly cushion square and cut a 12x12 inch circle to divide the media. If its too thick, just split it in half with your hand. I did not want to buy a filter with uv, Instead I wanted the uv system by itself. Its like comparing a camera, to a cell phone camera. Now, If you have a large tank 400+ I suggest looking into a combination of filters. A 3 stage pond filter (without uv) will work perfectly as an extra back up to this. Or the main unit instead of this. laguna power flow 5000 waterfall is a perfect example. It cost a little more than an fx6, But is stupidly simple and easy to clean. (It is huge to say the least) Just add a pump, Highly recommend buying biohome ultimate. keep it high above the tank, connect hoses to the outputs if you do not want the waterfall, or plug outputs if you do not want a strong water flow pump. For a planted tank, This would be a substitution to a sump, or the eheim, Depending on your tank size. some people hate the noise of sumps, tubing, leaking, others are concerned about black outs. some pond filters may leak. The goal is to look for simple but efficient equipment :)Ps. Careful on the sand you buy, as some may cause increase in PH. If you can add hardy plants, do so please, It will only help. Do not worry about activated carbon, (could be perhaps as controversial as UV) It is useful to have in case of medication use or smell, but not excessively vital. Don’t forget the poly-fill, or similar pre compacted polyester. Questions are welcome :)

UPATE .It is still working great after over 3 years and worth the money.You get what you pay for and it is made in Germany and not cheapo crapo China !!!!!! Good luck !!!!!!! So very strong filter and I am using it in my 125 gallon tank. Has a very strong water flow but you have to push it down into the water so it won’t make noise. the flow tube does not go low enough in the tank. I’m gonna look for an adapter tube to make it drop lower because if you don’t push it down it will a lot make noise. I also have a fluval fx 6 in my 110 gallon tank but this is much stronger and Will keep the tank cleaner for a longer period of time. I had my fish guy put it together for me . The instructions for this were terrible and the parts were very hard to bend and you really needed someone knowledgeable to put this together in a timely manner. I already had my fish guy at my house and had him do it. And then he had done this several times before and works with these type of filters. It still took him about 30 minutes. But being made in Germany that makes all the difference on the quality of this filter. So many things are made in China or Korea and they are made like crap these days. It is nice to get something that will hopefully last for a long time. Again the water flow is very strong but I have Mbuna cichlids and Clown loaches . So this shouldn’t be a problem . I will give an update. I am getting ready to transfer my fish from my 60 gallon tank into this 125 . I just recently moved and added this filter to this tank . I had previously had a fluval FX6 and marine land bio canister filter. But I think this filter will be enough. Sorry the tank isn’t lit up at one end but I am replacing the glass on the tops of the tank.

I am not new to fish keeping, or Eheim Filters, but I have to say I am highly impressed by this filter. I am currently running a 280 gallon freshwater setup that is heavily planted. I thought I could get away with a single FX6 unit, but was not impressed with the water quality. Overnight, the amount of suspended material was reduced substantially. The filter is virtually silent.I especially love how you can load the filter with media. I went with a nice balance of mechanical and biological media.My advice to anyone installing one of these monsters is to measure carefully before cutting the hoses, and have a ready supply of boiled water available to fit the hoses.I have read reviews suggesting that the filter is hard to assemble or leaked. I would suggest reading the instructions as carefully as possible, as they can be confusing. Get Teflon tape for any parts that screw in. Mine took two hours to assemble, configure and get running, but it was easy to prime and had no leaks.I ordered this through Amazon prime to get a guaranteed delivery, which means I paid more, and paid sales tax, but it was worth it considering another seller, who I eventually cancelled my order with, would not commit to a shipping date.

I purchased this filter due to my experience with Eheim products in the 90's. They built quality stuff and stood by it with great customer service. Well, that seems to be in the past. I have had nothing but problems with this filter and I should have just skipped trying to contact Eheim, packed it up and returned it to Amazon. However, since it was still heating my aquarium, that option wasn't appealing. I have reached out to Eheim with 2 emails and NOTHING!! Only a robo email sent back saying they had received my email and it was given to technicians to discuss. Here is another idea for Eheim. If you are going to sell your products to all different countries, why not make separate instruction books for each language. Instead of the confusing one you include now? If you happen to buy one of their products, throw the manuals away and just watch YouTube vids...you will learn more.

There is no better canister filter at any price. This is my second large Eheim classic. My first is my 2260 which is over 15 years old and still running. I purchased this so that I'd have a backup / redundancy on my 300G freshwater tank. These are not cheap but they are bulletproof.

This filter is a beast. Way stronger that the fulval fx6 by far. It holds up to 18 lt of media and it realy is a work horse. I run this on a 230 stingray tank. The only thing i didn't like is that the media doesn't come with it.

Performs well enough. Don’t care for the twist screws that tighten the lid down. One has stripped and can’t be tightened anymore which makes getting in sealed difficult sometimes. Also fairly loud and vibrate-ish. Filters well though and lots of flow.

Nothing compares...Reliable.dependable, quality..Will be purchasing another for storage..Stocked cichlid tank stays spotless..