Rena XP's

What's happenin' ya'll...

I'm thinking about getting a little better filter.
I was looking at XP4's, since it would be kind of
over kill for the 40-breeder, and could still be used
as soon as I find a giant tank on craigslist for cheap.

What I'm wondering is, anyone ever use one?

I've read, the tubes are kind of flimsy, the joints can
leak air, and getting the 'prime' on it can be a hassle.
I'm thinking a little 'macgyvering' and thats easy to overcome.
I've also heard that if the water isnt all the way to the top of the aquarium
it can be a problem, my water level is approx 5 inches from the
brim..

Secondly, I built this tank up using 'spare parts', so I'm running
3 filters in it, so that translates to 2 filter pads, 2 'bio return pads',
a bunch of ceramic rings, and a big pad of charcoal..

If I clean one part, every few days, no ammonia spike, no bact. bloom
no fish scuffing etc... It seems the xp4 would require a kind of, "half cleaning"
in order to not bump the bact. levels at a noticeable level?....

I've never used one of these big filters so any info, or experiences
(even if theres a better choice than the xp's) I'd greatly appreciate it -JT


(I'd love to just turn the 40 to a sump once I find my
giant tank I'm looking for, but the tank is over real nice
carpeting, I don't 'own' the house outright etc etc... So
I'm leaving that for another time when I can account
for some 'error'.....)

Hey,
Every canister has some kind of negative review. Looking at longevity is that I find important. Rena is a pretty well respected brand and their filters work very well.

I know that on my canister there are plenty of people that claim they are hard to prime. I solved this problem in a few minutes as it was clearly air being trapped in the filter. Turn filter on let it get suction, turn off, close valve on output line, slowly remove output pipe from filter, water flows in from input side and pushes any trapped air out, when water start to come out from output put hose back on, open output valve, voila canister primed lol. Takes two minutes and fixes the problem. This of course is just an example but goes to show that if you use your head 'problems' can be fixed.

In regards to the water level I really can't tell you how it will work. My only question is why keep the water level that low? I would think that it is just a loss of potential water volume.

As for cleaning the filters. There is really no need to clean them that often. You will get buffer pads that catch most of the large debris and the bio-media will be ceramic beads of something to that effect. Once the bacteria is established on those beads you can clean the pads as much as you like, most of the bacteria will never finds its way to them.
You still have to be careful about the media but all I do is rinse it off in a bucket of old water. A quick dip and a little agitation.
The other thing I like to promote is the use of a prefilter. It just goes on the intake hose (in the tank) and will catch most of the bigger stuff before it enters the canister. If you use one of these you will may never have to really clean the inside of the canister. When I first got one for m planted tank it got plugged up in a week or so and I thought that I had made a mistake using one. After installing a prefilter the canister can go for months. I pull it apart and the pads look very clean. I just have to remember to squeeze out the sponge in a bucket when I do water changes to get the gunk off of it.

Hope that helps. They are really not that bad and once you get used to them you will never want to go back! Good luck!

PS: good luck on the jumbo tank!

If your really serious about spending the money and getting a great filter, get a Fluval FX5. Sure it would be huge overkill on a 40 breeder but if your getting a bigger tank then probably never going to find a tank that is overkill for an FX5. It's the best canister filter on the market, hands down.

I have two xp3's on my 125 and love them. No problems ever with them priming. I alternate cleanings between them about every 2-3 weeks and my tank is very heavily stocked. Both of them are about 2/3 full of bio balls, ceramic rings, lava rack and the star shaped bio media. Like they said, just clean the pads and leave the bio media in a bucket of tank water to keep your bacteria bed alive. FWIW, I have been debating on upgrading one of the XP3's to an FX5 cause I like overkill but I do already have alot of water movement from the two XP3's....I have been pleased with Rena products so far.

Good lookin' STM, I completely over looked a prefilter...
..let it do the brunt of the work, change it whenever, and leave
the 'filter' intact.... sounds good..

TGP, I looked up the FX5,.. with the 40 the water would
spend more time in the canister than the tank...

I may dip on the rena and go with the FX when the switch is
"right". If you're going 75% might as well go 100+..
...They say it shouldn't go on under a 200gal?
How long does it take for a filter like that to "culture"?

I figure I have until May/June to pull this off.. the loaches can snag a
good 3rd gear where they're at now but I'd love to see them
be able to 'red-line' fourth when they get excited,
if you know what I mean.....
Cien Gracias - JT

I agree if you want a big filter for a big tank the FX5 is the winner in bang for your buck category. If you intend on really bumping up the size of your tank it would not be a bad investment.
The filter itself will take just as long to colonize as any other. The big thing about the FX5 is the room it has for bio media. You can literately put pound of bio media into the baskets, making it suitable for large tanks with heavier bio loads. The bacteria will simply grow to meet the depends of the bio load.
They have been out a very long time now and you can sometimes find them on CL or elsewhere for much less then retail (still insanely high if you ask me)
I have paid 150, 125, 100, and roughly 75 for the FX5's I own. Not easy to find the good deals but they are out there and I would never pay retail for one.
Yeah the FX5 on the 40 would be pretty big overkill and it does create a strong current. You can always make up a spray bar (hint: the rubber seal on the end of the tube snuggle fits over a 3/4" PVC pipe) to help make it not so directional.