canister filter combo?

[rickztahone]

there is a member who is selling a fluval 305 for $70 and i was wondering if that filter in combination with my xp3 would be enough filtration for my 125 which will house 10 discus 3-4", 7 rummynose, 5 BNP, 7 cory's? i'm not really familiar with the 305 due to the fact that the xp3 was my first canister filter. does the 305 stay primed like the xp3 does? is it as easy to maintain? noise level? these are questions that i did ask the seller but just wanted to ask in case he/she does not know. i'm still contemplating getting another xp3 because it's what i know. any input is much appreciated.

[poconogal]

I know of a few people who are filtering 125s with an XP3 only, and its doing a good job of it, too. Both have planted tanks and adult discus though, along with other tankmates, don't know how much difference that makes. So your XP3 and any other filter should be more than enough for a 125. Sorry, don't know anything about the Fluvals.

[philip69285]

On my 120gal XH I have 2 xp3's running my tank. I dunno how the fluvals work but al I have heard from where I work (which we sell them and renas) is horror stories of things breaking ad what not... even my manager doesn't like them. So that thee has made me stay away from fluval totally... unless I got the FX5 which a friend has on his 250gal and its working great along with his wet/dry system. So ultimately the choice is yours... but I would just buy another rena... they have more space anyways.

[rickztahone]

On my 120gal XH I have 2 xp3's running my tank. I dunno how the fluvals work but al I have heard from where I work (which we sell them and renas) is horror stories of things breaking ad what not... even my manager doesn't like them. So that thee has made me stay away from fluval totally... unless I got the FX5 which a friend has on his 250gal and its working great along with his wet/dry system. So ultimately the choice is yours... but I would just buy another rena... they have more space anyways.

i was thinking along the same lines, i have had a good experience with Rena so far and i'm thinking why stray from what has worked for me right? thanks for the advise, i really appreciate it. i seriously thought that a single xp3 wouldn't cut it for a 125 though. i will add another 3 later down the line as well and a bunch of rummynose (roughly 30) if that makes a difference at all

[captain morgan]

Hey Rick: contemplate no more and stick with getting another Rena, the fluvals are a pain to take apart and clean, because of the rubber o-ring on the units top you litterally need a screwdriver to pry apart the lid from the base. No they are not self priming, they provide you with a little plastic lever on the top of the unit which you must pump forever to expell the air from the canister. Second the hoses are solid black so you cannot see how dirty they are getting inside. Third the Renas have much more room for media inside. I replaced my fluvals with Renas and would not buy anything else except maybe an Eheim but they would have to match the low price of the Rena for me to consider switching from a filter I already love. I run an XP3 & XP4 on my 100g planted tank.

[rickztahone]

Hey Rick: contemplate no more and stick with getting another Rena, the fluvals are a pain to take apart and clean, because of the rubber o-ring on the units top you litterally need a screwdriver to pry apart the lid from the base. No they are not self priming, they provide you with a little plastic lever on the top of the unit which you must pump forever to expell the air from the canister. Second the hoses are solid black so you cannot see how dirty they are getting inside. Third the Renas have much more room for media inside. I replaced my fluvals with Renas and would not buy anything else except maybe an Eheim but they would have to match the low price of the Rena for me to consider switching from a filter I already love. I run an XP3 & XP4 on my 100g planted tank.

thank you very much for the advice, i was looking for someone that had experience with both. thanks again, i hadn't even thought of getting an xp4 due to the fact that i thought 2 xp3's would be enough. i will try to get one at a reasonable price, thanks again

[poconogal]

Before you spend the extra money on an XP4 check the flow rate, WITH media, compared to the XP3's flow rate WITH media. The box gives, at least it used to, the flow rates for both, WITH media and WITHOUT MEDIA. 2 1/2 years ago when I bought my XP3 I was all set to buy the XP4, until I compared the flow rates of both, WITH media. The XP4 did not have much better flow rate than the XP3, but was a lot more expensive. IMO its not worth the extra money, unless someone really needs that one additional media basket. In fact, when I bought mine I could almost purchase two XP3s for the price of one XP4.

[rickztahone]

Before you spend the extra money on an XP4 check the flow rate, WITH media, compared to the XP3's flow rate WITH media. The box gives, at least it used to, the flow rates for both, WITH media and WITHOUT MEDIA. 2 1/2 years ago when I bought my XP3 I was all set to buy the XP4, until I compared the flow rates of both, WITH media. The XP4 did not have much better flow rate than the XP3, but was a lot more expensive. IMO its not worth the extra money, unless someone really needs that one additional media basket. In fact, when I bought mine I could almost purchase two XP3s for the price of one XP4.

thanks for the heads up. i will see what prices i find and if it isn't a huge difference i might pick up a xp4 (highly doubtful). i am still leaning towards the xp3

[poconogal]

I was very shocked to see how much they went up in price since Aug. 2006 when I bought my XP3. I paid $89.98 at Big Al's Online and I think the XP4 was about $169! Then I saw your post in another thread about the price of an XP3 now and I couldn't believe it! Wow!

[captain morgan]

The difference in the flow rates as stated on the boxes: xp3-350gph & xp4-450gph only a difference of 100gph not that much that it will make a huge difference. Yes having the extra basket is nice but I agree, not necessary. The reason I bought the xp4 is because that is the one I bought first, The xp4 was on sale for the price of the 3. The 3 for the price of the 2 and so on. It was later when I decided to add a 2nd filter that I bought the xp3. If I were buying both at once I would have just bought 2 xp3's
Cheers

[rickztahone]

i wish there were deals to get them at 89 dollars now a days

[poconogal]

The difference in the flow rates as stated on the boxes: xp3-350gph & xp4-450gph only a difference of 100gph not that much that it will make a huge difference. Yes having the extra basket is nice but I agree, not necessary. The reason I bought the xp4 is because that is the one I bought first, The xp4 was on sale for the price of the 3. The 3 for the price of the 2 and so on. It was later when I decided to add a 2nd filter that I bought the xp3. If I were buying both at once I would have just bought 2 xp3's
Cheers
You got a good deal then. The 350gph rating for the XP3 is without media. I can't seem to find the gph rate with media though, but I remember it dropped quite a bit, I think to somewhere around 187 and the XP4 with media was not much higher, even though without media there was a fairly big difference. Regardless, I have no complaints about my XP3 or even about my XP1. Love them both.

I do wonder though if they've improved the gph rate with media for the XP4 because of something I saw on the net today. Maybe buying an XP4 today would be more worth it.

[poconogal]

i wish there were deals to get them at 89 dollars now a days
Lowest I found, today, was at amazon for $134.95 I think plus about $13 shipping. Thought that was a good deal since the lowest I've seen them now was about $160!

[rickztahone]

i see them on ebay for 140 shipped but i'm hesitant to buy from ebay for big parts like that

[poconogal]

Then amazon might be the way to go. I've bought things like that on Ebay though with no problems, but at least with Amazon you know there won't be any problems with returns, etc.

[Patr1ck]

I love my fluval 405. Has only had one problem in 2 years and that was my fault. I pulled alittle too hard on the impeller cover to clean it and cracked one of the locking tabs. I bought another one for 4 dollars at the lfs. To answer your question, the 305 in addition to the xp3 wont be enough filtration.

Pat