NEW WITH QUESTION

[ionas.simion.damian]

I HAVE RENA CANISTER . BESIDE BIO CHEM STARS AND SPONGER WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KEEP INSIDE ? CARBON? CERAMIC RINGS?ZEOLITE AMONIA REMOVER?NITRA ZORB?

[Don Trinko]

Their are different opinions but you need material for the bacterial filter and mechanical filter material. You should not need all the other stuff for normal use. Some people use charcoal but many do not.
Discus require clean water and a cycled aquarium. Filtering and water changes provide the clean water.
If you are planning on keeping discus do a lot of reading. Discus are not dificult to keep but there is more work involved. Don T.

[cktrimble]

I have a Rena XP3 and here is how mine is setup...

From bottom to top (since that is the way the water flows):

Container 1 - bottom: Course black sponge, then black fine sponge
Container 1 - top: 2 Aquaclear 110 biological media bags
Container 2 - bottom: 2 Aquaclear 110 biological media bags
Container 2 - top: EHFI Biological Substrate
Container 3 - bottom: course white sponge, then the special filter bag that came with my Rena.
Container 3 - top: course white sponge, then fine white sponge

This configuration has worked for me. It may not be the most recommended configuration, but it works IMO.

Thanks,
Kevin

[GrillMaster]

I have sponges on the bottom, ceramic noodles in the middle, and poly fiber in the top on my XP3...

tc
Mark

[captain morgan]

I have a rena xp 4 and xp3 on my tank and use the following for both:
Bottom tray: pre filter noodles - keeps the major crud and crap in the very bottom of the filter and works great - "EHFIMECH" by Eheim or Rena has some also, just a different shape and a little larger, I have 1 of one kind in one filter and the other kind in the other filter, I like the ehfimech the best of the 2. These pre filter noodles should not be confused with the biological material which is something different. In the next trays I use the coarse and finer foams followed by the biological material- the foam keeps the bio material cleaner this way. For bio I use
"SUBSTRAT" by Eheim or "MATRIX" by Searchem both are great and I preferred them over Rena's plastic "Chem Stars" that came with the pump because they have more surface area, their made of sintered glass and have tiny micro pockets. Lastly I use fine filter floss and occasionally add in a bag of Purigen to polish the water. There is no need for carbon, zeolite, nitrazorb or any other product unless your having some particular water quality issue.

[rickztahone]

i have a xp3 coming in the mail and i was wondering what it is that already comes with it as far as media. is it just sponges? how many gallons are you guys running for the xp3?

[captain morgan]

Both my rena filters came with everything you need - coarse& fine foams, 1bag of carbon, still never been used, saving incase ever need to medicate tank - to remove medication afterwards. Also came with the biostars which I switched out for the Eheim "substrat" . I have the xp3&4 on my 100 gallon tank and they keep the water very clean.