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I have an XP3 in the mail coming to me, and so I'm trying to get ready. I need to get carbon and the media bags in preparation for setting up. Can anyone tell me if this is good, both as a deal, and as the carbon media? If not, what are some good, preferably cheap, options? I'm looking to go with Amazon if I can, since I get Prime shipping.

http://www.amazon.com/Acurel-LLC-Extrem ... rel+carbon

Second, what bags should I get? I know they can be reused, but having extras on hand never hurts.

Third, what bulbs should I get? My best option for my setup will probably be something that will reside in the deep dome fixtures from Zoomed. It's also easiest to change the bulbs and adjust the distances for burn-in and safety. So, being conscious of the eye problems some of the bulbs caused in the past (it looks like that's mostly passed now), what bulbs are best? Zoomed or ExoTerra?

If you don't care about them being black, you can get a dome light from a hardware or farm supply store. They are way cheaper but silver usually not black.

Eltemp wrote:If you don't care about them being black, you can get a dome light from a hardware or farm supply store. They are way cheaper but silver usually not black.

Thanks - I'm not concerned as long as they're deep enough to swallow the bulb. I'm Casper white, and to paraphrase Captain Rameus, "Some things in here don't react well to UV." I'll just paint them black with a gloss high temp paint so they look good in the area and such.

Get:
Prebagged Purigen + Activated carbon (I just buy what's on sale and in bulk @ Big Al's)

http://www.amazon.com/Seachem-165-Purig ... 0002A5VK2/
http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-PA0373 ... 0002566WY/

Any medium sized media back should do... I think people use pantyhose for it too.

The last time I used them, the Reptisuns were the longest, so it might be better in a deep dome. Use them with caution, but since you're in build mode, explore ways where you can use a tube UVB.

I've started using cheap $1 from walmart mesh laundry bags to hold my bio media in a sack. The bags are huge and need to be cut with scissors down to a better size, but the mesh is just large enough to hold the bio rings in without restricting much water flow. Makes for easier cleaning when it's time to rinse the bio media. Lift the sack out, rinse it out... put it back in.

As for which regular media bags to get. They're pretty much all the same other than size and price. Get the cheapest ones that are the size you need. There always seems to be a scratch and dent / half open package of media bags in the clearance bin of my local fish store for a few cents. I grab them when I see them.