Problems with my Rena filter and thinking of changing................................

[yikesjason]

If the Rena is sucking up sand, I think you will have the same problem with any filter if the intake is close enough to the substrate. A prefilter like a sock or sponge would take care of that problem though. It would probably be good to take the impeller out and make sure there is no sand in there.

[nc0gnet0]

xp3 is underfiltered for a 150 gal tank IMHO. If your sucking sand with an xp3, your gonna suck a ton more with an fx5.

lets see, I have 2 fx5's, 2 x 404's (same as 405's), an xp4, a 40 gallon sump, a via aqua something or other, an eheim 2028, 3 magnum 350's with bio-wheels, and a few scattered HOT 250's. Not to mention several Mark V and Mark IV sponges. Did I mention I can't stand HOB's?

So, lets see, I like my rena, love my fx5's, think ehiems are incredibly overated, any fluval filter less than an fx5 is marginal at best (don't know about the new gx series) and love my magnums (although the bio-wheels I am not too crazy about).

As much as I love the fx5's, I don't use them on a discus tank, a lot of current, which can be overcome at the expense of throttling down the filter.

Honestly, I think the best filtration for discus is sponges with a magnum 350 or two thrown in for mech. Remember, just because the debirs is sucked in your filter and trapped, it is still very much in your tank. It only gets removed when you clean your filter. It's easy to pull a micron filter out of the magnum and replace it (an they can be re-used over and over, just need a few for rotation).

[Darrell Ward]

All great ideas guys.......I am going to purchase the FX5 tonight and get it going. The problem I am having with the Rena is that it is sucking in sand and I think it is causing the pump to work harder then it should. As much as i like the sand I think im going to take it out and do something different.

A filter sucking up sand is easy to fix. All you need to do is shorten the intake pipe. If that don't fix it, then you must have a type of sand that floats around in your water column, or a converted shop vac for a filter.

[prolude006]

I dont understand the problem of sucking up sand with your xp3? in that its not a problem with the filter just how you have it set up. I have my xp3 about an inch from my sand bottom and it doesnt suck up any sand. If I stir up the sand it will suck it up but it wont hurt the motor at all. Just wondering too if you have your tubes cut to the correct length on your filter as if you leave them too long you will get considerably less flow. The xp3 is not rated for a 150 gallon tank either so you need two or an xp4. I would not have a problem using an xp3 on a 150 by itself though, we tend to over filter our tanks anyway.

DAvid