Im thinking about getting a Eheim 2227 Professional Wet/Dry Filter how is the upkeep costs like the filters ex

Question

Im thinking about getting a Eheim 2227 Professional Wet/Dry Filter how is the upkeep costs like the filters ex

Answer 1

I don't know about the cost of upkeep although you've chosen a good brand to go with.

If you're looking to save money you can omit carbon....a lot of people don't know that...if your bacteria population is sufficient (your biofilter) you don't need carbon at all...I keep some around in the event I have to medicate or the tank gets contaminated.

Also it's not like you HAVE to buy their substrates and pads either.

The pads can be replaced by buying a roll of 100 micron filter pad for mechanical filtration and cutting it to fit...those are nice cause you can reuse them (soaking in bleach and water) and a roll of filter pad costs like 13-14 bucks

And you can use just about anything for substrate...it also does not HAVE to be IN the filter, but it's a good idea to have something in a spot in the tank where there is water flow. It increases the surface area of the inside of the tank and hence more space for more bacteria and hence increased biofiltration....that's all it really is in essence....substrates...I use plastic pot scrubbers in my homemade trickle filter (those actually have more surface area than bioballs (which I think are sort of a gimmick to be honest)

For example, I took one of those specimen containers, drilled holes in it, filled it with bioballs and hung it backwards so that the container was inside the tank and under the water (mostly)....I have a small cheap azoo powerhead that circulates the water in the direction of the container