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

[TURBOFROG]

Hi everyone! Im having problems with my Rena XP3 and am going to change.......what would be the best for my 150 gallon? I have 14 Discus and a variety of Corys and Pleco's. It is not a bare bottom tank as I do have sand and a few plants. Just trying to get some ideas of which way to go.

[Discus master]

Hi everyone! Im having problems with my Rena XP3 and am going to change.......what would be the best for my 150 gallon? I have 14 Discus and a variety of Corys and Pleco's. It is not a bare bottom tank as I do have sand and a few plants. Just trying to get some ideas of which way to go.

I would say the best thing for you to do is give it to me, oh and your discus, lol ha ha I wish my wife would let me have something that large.

I would seriously consider a wet dry trickel and even with a canister filter for extra filtration power. i always wanted to try a wet dry I do not know what kind of canister filter to tell you to use. I went cheap 120$ for a cascade 1000 for my 55 gallon works great! I also recently added a HOB rated for a 30 gallon just for extra mechanical filtration.But I have always been interested in the wet drys you can put your heater and whatever else in there plus you can make it your self and you can make it as large as you need it, plus it would give you tons of biological filtration as well and the only thing you would have to worry about is the sump pump! plus you cn see everything thats the one thing I hate aout my canister filter is I can not visual see when it gets dirty I have to shut down and take hoses off at least with a wet dry you can see everything and replacing things like filter pads would be a breeze

Just my opionion

[DiscusOnly]

Hi everyone! Im having problems with my Rena XP3 and am going to change.......what would be the best for my 150 gallon? I have 14 Discus and a variety of Corys and Pleco's. It is not a bare bottom tank as I do have sand and a few plants. Just trying to get some ideas of which way to go.

Do you have some room behind the tank? The cheapest route is to get a few AC110 if you don't mind using HOB filters. Running 2 would be sufficient and 3 would be even better. I run 2 AC110 along with 2 eheim 2029 wet dry on my 180gal heckel tank. It does a great job of keeping the water clean.

If you decide to go with cannister, look for a used eheim Pro II. I run 2 Eheim 2026 in my 90 gallon and the water is crystal clear.

[Chad Hughes]

Hi everyone! Im having problems with my Rena XP3 and am going to change.......what would be the best for my 150 gallon? I have 14 Discus and a variety of Corys and Pleco's. It is not a bare bottom tank as I do have sand and a few plants. Just trying to get some ideas of which way to go.

The Fluval FX5 would be my choice for a tank of that size.

Best wishes!

[TURBOFROG]

Was just looking at that filter Chad! I was looking at either doing that or a wet/dry set up. not to sure yet.....

[yikesjason]

I would go with the FX5 as well.

But that is the problem with the Rena? That might be an easy fix.

[DerekFF]

Wet/drys are nice, easy to clean, maintain and use however they take up probly about twice the room as a canister.

[Chad Hughes]

Was just looking at that filter Chad! I was looking at either doing that or a wet/dry set up. not to sure yet.....

I actually use both in a 150. :D

[calihawker]

I have 3 xp3's and an xp4 and have never had a problem. What's going on with yours? I mean before you spend any money that is.:)

[Darrell Ward]

You don't need both, it's a waste of money. I run an Ocean Clear 354 polybead canister on my 150 gal., and it's way more than enough for a dozen adult discus. I could put more fish in the tank if I wanted, and it would carry the load fine, but the tank would be crowded. I took it it off another tank when I set up the 150, because it was already cycled, and I'm cheap. I say go get your FX5, or even better, and less money, an Eheim 2250, or 2260. I wouldn't put a wet-dry on it unless the tank is drilled with a proper overflow box.

[Chad Hughes]

I say go get your FX5, or even better, and less money, an Eheim 2250, or 2260.

The FX5 and the Eheim are about the same price. The nice thing about the FX5, if you're not in a big hurry, is they are all over Ebay. If you have time and can wait out an auction, you could score one for as little as $200. That's what I did when I bought mine. In fact, I bid on two of them for $199 and won both of them. I sold the extra one for $250.

Best wishes!

[Darrell Ward]

That's a good price. I've seen the Eheims cheaper than the FX5, but that goes to show it's all about where you shop. :D

[vstar]

I would choose a cannister over a wet/dry filter. The bad thing about the wet/dry is the dry section is so oxygen rich for the bacteria, that it break down the ammonia and nitrite so fast that you have higher nitrates reading in a shorter time then a cannister filter. Believe me, I had one one time, and was growing algae so fast, I couldn't keep up with it. Got rid of it. A lot of times I have talk to people and they call these (wet/dry filter) nitrate factory.

[TURBOFROG]

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.

[YSS]

What kind of problems are you having with your XP3? I have XP4, two Fluval 405s, FX5, and a cascade 1200. By far I like XP4 the best. I also have many AC HOB filters. HOBs are nice, but I like my XP4.

[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. :D

[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