help with eheim 2217

Congratulations on your new filter. I know the instructions can seem a bit confusing the 1st time. It is easy if you open the instructions so you can read them AND look at the pictures at same time. Also, keep the AC110 running for a couple weeks until good bacteria is established in the new filter.

Step A describes the parts. Rinse empty canister to remove dust. Put green lattice in bottom with legs down.
Step B/1 is Model with filter media. I rinse each bag of new media in a colander under running water to remove any dust/fines. Put EHFImech (hollow ceramic) in next. Then coarse blue filter pad. Then put Ehfisubstrat in media bag & place in canister. Then fine white filter pad. Finally you can put in carbon pad if you want or save it for future use. Now put 2nd green lattice on top with legs UP.

Step C- Ignore the 1st sentence, its only for the 2215. Put on the pump head making sure not to pinch the oring & latch it down.

Step D- Place filter beneath aquarium. Top of filter must be below water level.

Step E / F - Assemble the suction pipe (intake J tube) & strainer then push green hose onto short end of pipe. Attach with suction cups inside your tank. Decide how much hose you need to reach the fitting on the bottom of your filter, with a few extra inches
If you have the quick disconnects(QD), decide where you want to install them. I cut off 3" of hose & attached one end of QD then pushed other end of hose onto fitting on BOTTOM of filter. Do the same on the hose that attaches to the intake tube.

Decide where you want the outlet pipe (spraybar) in your tank. Cut off a short piece of tubing & slip onto spraybar. Then push in short green elbow & push long hose on it. Attach the QD like you did with intake hose & connect hose to TOP fitting on pump head.

Step H- It's time to prime the filter. What I did the 1st time was remove the spraybar from short green elbow & suck on it until I heard water start to enter the filter. Once the filter is full of water, reconnect the elbow to spraybar & plug the filter in. Once all the air is out of the filter, install the small green plug in the end of the spraybar.

When its time to clean, unplug the filter, close the QD's the disconnect them. Carry filter to sink. Slightly turn the bottom fitting on canister so hose is in sink. Open both QD to drain water. Unlatch pump head, remove & set aside. Remove top lattice screen. Remove white filter pad. If it's very dirty discard it otherwise rinse it out in a pail of fish tank water. Remove media bag & rinse in pail of fish tank water. Dump ceramic media in colander & rinse in pail of fish tank water. Remove bottom lattice screen & rinse canister. Reassemble all parts. Do Not fill with water before replacing pump head. Put back under your tank, connect both QD's THEN open them. Canister will refill with water automatically(if you didn't drain the hoses from the tank). Plug filter back in.

It's not really complicated. The power filters (HOB) are very simple as they come with cartridges or sponges. Canisters are really nice because they hold a lot of bio & mechanical media and are quiet, especially the Eheim cans. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by this filter. It is very efficient & really requires very little maintenance compared to HOB's.

I thought the 2217 came with a media bag but I think it was the 2260 came with the media bag.
You can always buy one online fairly cheap. I bought a few different sizes & micron ratings for different projects. I probably bought it from www.drsfostersmith.com and they do offer some good sales sometimes. They also will send you a catalog that has a lot of information about the equipment & products they sell. I use it a lot for reference. It is fairly accurate on sizing equipment & does offer lots of photos.

I also agree with what Donfish said. Once you set your filter up and are comfortable with the maintenance procedure, take another look at his recommendations. I actually use the bucket & siphon method when I have to clean out the hoses from the tank to the QD just to make sure the hoses are primed.

The cocoa puffs (Ehfisubstrat Pro) is a biological media. I am almost sure what you have is the Ehfisubstrat bio media. It looks like small gray pebbles or rocks & is usually what ships with the 2217. You can always upgrade to them if you want but there is no need to right now.

Here is a photo of my 2217 set up.