# What size uv filter for Eheim 2026 / 55 g tank?



## dough041 (Dec 23, 2006)

I was looking into uv filters for my 55g tank as an extra measure for water quality/clarity and was looking at the Coralife Turbo Twist 9 watt, but it states that the water flow through the filter should be between 100-200gph and I have an Eheim 2026 which has an approximately 250 gph? Any thoughts or suggestions? I liked what I read about the turbo twist but saw the most important factor is to "size" one for your flow rate on your filter?


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## Tonka (Mar 20, 2004)

Filter flow ratings are at zero head with nothing downstream. You have far less than this. The 2026 has 16mm inflow and 12mm outflow. Any UV sterilizer with 12mm (1/2") or greater inflow would work fine for your purposes.

However, for a 55 gallon, you should get the 18W Coralife 6X since you could then control parasites as well as bacteria.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

Actually I have several 2026s and none of them use 12/16mm tubing... only 16/22mm tubing on both inflow and outflow. (12/16mm is inside and outside diameter)

But I have seen an erroneous chart somewhere that shows the 2026 using 12/16 on the outflow and 16/22 on the inflow. I think the chart actually originated with Eheim by mistake. The Eheim classics do use different diameters for inflow and outflow.


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## Tonka (Mar 20, 2004)

OK. I was looking at Eheim-published specs. My 2128, which is supposed to be the same as the 2026 but with another tray and a heater, has a 16mm outflow. This is closest to 5/8". My comment above should have read "Any UV sterilizer with 16mm (5/8") or greater inflow would work fine for your purposes." The Coralife 6X has 3/4" inch inflows / outflows. but also has screw-in 5/8" adapters.

Laith, thanks for the catch. Perhaps I was too eager to help.

Steve


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## dough041 (Dec 23, 2006)

I appreciate all the suggestions. Yes, the outflow is about 5/8 , my only issue now is I have a hydor inline heater from the Eheim 2026 and I have to figure out how to plumb the coralife inline along with the heater. The 6X UV is quite large and I only have about a foot of tubing on either side of the heater now? Any suggestions? Again thanks for your time.
Joe


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## Tonka (Mar 20, 2004)

Maybe you can plumb the heater upstream from the filter? The sterlizer needs to be downstream because fouling will reduce efficiency. If you can't fit the 6X, well, that's another problem. The 3X will work if you reduce flow while its on. I presume that you will only have the sterilizer on for short intermittent periods....


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

Tonka said:


> ...
> Laith, thanks for the catch. Perhaps I was too eager to help.
> 
> Steve


Nothing wrong with being eager! 

And I'm surprised Eheim hasn't changed these specs yet... I've heard of people ordering the wrong Eheim Installation Sets (the gray modular versions of the spraybars etc) and wrong Eheim valves because of them.

Sorry, didn't mean to take this off topic; just wanted to avoid someone purchasing wrong sized barbs/hoses etc.

Back to UVs...


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## rohape (Feb 7, 2005)

I'm not very familiar with Eheim, I have a Fluval. You can buy rubber "boots" that fit over your hose for secure connections. Or just use a hose clamp.

Now, UVS. This is the UVS I have and I am VERY pleased with it. I've had it for about 1.5 years now. I leave it running 24/7. The only downside is the power cord is 10' long!!
Aquarium | UV Sterilizers | Advantage UV 2000+ Sterilizer with 0.75 in. Hose Barbs - 15W - AU0050 - ThatPetPlace.com

As far as your tubing issue goes, maybe just buy some new tubing and not cut it so short. 
Aquarium | Tubing | 594 Tubing - 0.625 in. - 16 mm - EH0129 - ThatPetPlace.com

The only other issue I had was mounting. I have it hanging by the power cord, on a small hook in the wall just to eliminate too many bends.

One more piece of advice, which I would think would happen with any UVS. When you do a water change, you will have to tip the UVS to get all the airbubbles out. This is due to the design of the waterflow direction.

Good Luck!!


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## dough041 (Dec 23, 2006)

*18 watt Coralife UV*

Well, received and installed the 6x coralife 18 watt UV filter. After a few days running it 24/7, don't know if its wishful thinking but, it does seem to have the water a little sharper...Glad I got it, so far so good. Thanks for all the advice.


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## PAINKILLER1009 (Jan 3, 2007)

How did you end up installing the uv?
Just wondering, I'll be in the same boat soon.


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## mazakman (May 10, 2006)

This is how I got all the filters and heaters under my 29 gallon tank. The only thing is sometimes it can be had to get primed.
As you can see I attached the UV to the under side of the stand with some short screws and the bracket that came with the UV.


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## dough041 (Dec 23, 2006)

You can adjust the coralife turbo-twist for various configurations inline. I ran it from my eheim 2026 into a 3 inch piece of tubing from the output and them ran it vertically from the other end of the uv into my inline Hydor ETH heater then to the eheim spraybar. It lined up very well and seems to have made a distinct difference in the clarity ( or maybe wishful thinking).The only problem I foresee is having the change the UV bulb or just cleaning the lines. Then I think it will be a little PITA...But, hopefully that won't be too frequently. I'll try to get a pic posted of the actual setup.


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