Habitat - Indoor :: Filstar XP3 Setup

[Muirner]

After reading the very positive reviews on this forum about the XP3 i decided to purchase one. While i was there i decided to look to see if i needed to buy media, and here is what i found was included:

Bottom Basket:
4 Black foam pads. ranging in coarseness. From biggest on the bottom to smallest on the top.

Middle Basket:
Completly Open. This is where i bought some Fluval Biomax Rings. I was told Biomax was the way to go because it helps to control ammonia. So i figue that the rings can go in the bottom half of the basket. Do you think the whole box??? It's a 500g box. What about the top half of the basket. Can i put stars or something in there??? Or do i leave that space open?

Top Basket:
A fine white almost felt like square is in the top... i assume its a "water scrubber"... Also in the bottom half of the chamber it's empty, is where the carbon package that came with it goes??

Lastly, there for some odd reason isnt instructions on setting it up, does anyone know where to find an online guide or something? I'm at aquariumpharm right now. And on the "maintenance sheat" it shows after hooking everything back up (after cleaning) and when you flip the lever down, it says 2 Minutes... and then On. Is that supposed to indicate that i should wait 2 minutes after putting the lever down before turning it on?

[Spookster]

Ok in the bottom basket you should have 4 dark foam pads. You want the more coarse foam pad on bottom. You want the less coarse pad on top. This is your mechanical filtration. In the middle basket fill it with ceramic rings and/or stars. I have both. In the top basket I have the Seachem matrix rocks. The ceramic rings/start and seachem rocks grown beneficial bacteria that break down the turtle waste.

I used to use activated carbon in the middle basket and the microfilration pads that you are talking about in the top basket but I have seen no benefit to using those.

[Muirner]

Sounds good, i will look for some Seachem matrix rocks tomorow... I should be setting it up and i found the manual on the website... I couldnt find stars today i dont know why, but i'll be on the hunt.

Another question, other then just biomax rings, should i have looked at the other rings?... So sense i have 4 pads in the bottom i should take 2 out. And by most coarse, you mean finest holes? or biggest?

[Spookster]

That was a typo. I meant 4 pads. You should have the 2 that have the largest holes/coarse on bottom and the 2 with smaller holes/fine on top of those.

You don't have to use the filstar rings/stars. You can pretty much use any ceramic media. The beneficial bacteria grows on the surface area of those rings/stars as well as the seachem matrix rocks.

It will take several weeks for the tank to cycle. What that means is it will take that long to grow a colony of the bacteria on the bio media. And when you clean your filter make sure you only rinse the bio media in the tank water. You don't want to kill the bacteria otherwise you will have to start over and wait for the tank to cycle again.

Other than that you will rarely have to clean the filter. I take the pads out once a month and clean the bottom one because that one usually starts getting a buildup of gunk.

A suggestion also with the XP3 is to use the spray bar and have the water level above it so it is under the surface of the water. Then point the spray bar towards the surface so that the spray agitates the surface of the water. Keeps the water from getting stagnant.

[Muirner]

That's the way i have my current filter set up with the spray bar, AT first i couldnt figure it out and i had it spraying above water, and it was causing bubbles. So i ended up not using it. I then used just the output and put it up twards the top o the water.

After that, i changed back to the spray bar, and have it underwater spraying across the tank. (underwater), spraying up at a very slight angle, this creates current and allows me to aggitate the water a little bit. I will be setting this up when i get out of work today, and i cant wait. The new tank is a monster, but i have it clean, and ready for water...

How will i know when the rings/stars are ready?

[Spookster]

It can take anywhere from 2-8 weeks for a colony to grow.

[Muirner]

cool, i'm going to set it up now.. Thanks for your advice spookster. I need to keep my eye open for the matrix rocks... I dont have them at this point, but it should be ok with out them for the first month till i change it right? Or should i get it now?

And like the rings/stars i assume to just rinse these in the tank water, not tap when cleaning time comes.

[grey goose]

Rinse the rings/stars AND the sponges in a bucket of old tank water....I recall seeing those seachem rocks at a Petsmart near me. I heard those things are great.

[Muirner]

Ok, i just set up the XP3 and it's great. Nice and quiet, the only thing that sucked was putting the hosing onto the accessories. Onto the quick release was good the others sucked.

Now my question is, i have from my previous tank, Turtle Clean, which is a liquid additive, as well as ReptiSafe which is a water conditioner. Should i use these in my tank now that i have the XP3? Because i used tap water, and if i need to i will, but i dont wanna harm my filter.

With the media. Rings, Stars, or the matrix rocks, at least in the info that came with my rings it said to change them every 6 months? How often does everyone here change theirs?

And how long should i have the filter run, and everything before i let the turtles inhabit the new tank. ANd with the few plants i have, how do i anchor them down? I went to a state park and went to a pond picked up some small ones, and boiled them for 30 minutes. What can i use to tie a plant to a rock??

Also grey goose - i have heard that sponges need to be rinsed under the sink to dislodge some of the crap in them. I've only heard that rings and stars need tank water. Someone can correct me if i'm misled.

[grey goose]

Well, you can rinse the sponges in tap water, but there is beneficial bacteria in the sponges as well as the stars/bio rings. If you rinse the sponges in chlorinated tap water, you'll lose much of the bacteria, along with the gunk. NEVER rinse your stars/bio rings in tap water.....and I would just use a water conditioner (to knock out the chlorine/chloramine) follow the directions, don't over do it, and toss that turtle clean stuff....

[Spookster]

You can use the Reptisafe in your tank to remove the chlorine from the tap water when you do your partial weekly/bi-weekly water changes. Follow the directions on it. I believe it says something along the lines of 1 tablespoon for every 5 gallons. When you do partial water changes you only need to add enough reptisafe for the amount of water that you are adding back in. As for the bio rings/stars and matrix.... you don't need to replace it. Not sure where you got info that says you need to replace it every 6 months. That is wrong. They are good indefinitely. The green foam pads are also good indefinitely. You only need to replace them if they every wear out/fall apart. I usually clean the pads under the faucet. They get quite nasty and it is much easier to clean in the faucet.

Good luck in finding a way to anchor the plants down. No matter what you anchor them down with the turtles will rip them loose. Every time I put anacharis in our tank our RES shreds it immediately even if she is not hungry at the moment. She always eats it later but tears it up like a toy initially.

[Spookster]

Oh just had a though as to try and anchor a plant to the bottom of the tank. Try and find a suction cup with like a spring loaded clip. It would have to be stainless steel though so it doesn't rust/erode. The suction cup could be attached to the bottom and the clip could hold the stalk of the plant.

[Muirner]

Could i use a zip tie or something small like that? i thought about an elastic but that seems if that breaks it could be dangerous...

I'll check into the clip, but the thing is it's a live plant i dont want it to die because i pinch it... and it is an anacharis plant, my babys are sleeping in it right now... Thank you for all your help spookster you've been great, i'll add the reptisafe by the directions orders, and you are right, 1 tsp for every 5 gal. I just have to estimate how much i have in haha.

[Spookster]

I wouldn't use any plastic or metal parts that can come loose in the tank because the turtle can eat it. Anacharis from pet stores often come with a metal band that is wrapped around the base to hold it together. I didn't notice it the first time I put some anacharis in the tank and as soon as our RES ripped the plants apart the metal band came loose and she went after it but luckily I was able to fish it out with a net before she could eat it.

The clip doesn't have to be so strong as to pinch the stalk in half. The turtles will rip it loose anyways eventually no matter how you attach it. They eat every part of the plant to include the stalk. You will inevitable have anacharis floating on the top of the water.

[Muirner]

i wish my lil turts ate the plant... They just hide in it for now... And one of them dosent eat anywhere infront of me... I'll be looking for those today.

Also how long do i let the tank cycle? before my turts can go in? I knowtice the water temp is about 79 right now and dropping down to 78... i'll type more when i get back