Habitat - Indoor :: why is my xp3 return water slow?

[2Daughtry8]

I have 2 female RES, one is quite big the other, not so big. I started noticing recently that my XP3 filter is not returning water to the tank as fast as it used to. I only clean the filter once a month at the end of the month, after I fully change the water. I noticed though that the micro filter pad at the top seems to be getting gooey and brown faster than before. My tank is also starting to get cloudy for some reason as well. I think I might be overfeeding them so I started going back to only feeding them twice a day every other day, and they also get lettuce when I give them pellets, but on the day I don't feed them, they get lettuce in the morning and at night.

I was thinking of getting rid of that micro filter pad at the top so I don't have to keep replacing that, and putting another 20 ppi pad at the top like what is in the bottom of the filter. Does this sound like it would work?

Any ideas on why the tank is all of a sudden getting cloudy? I bought Tetra Water Clarifier and that seems to help, along with Tetra AquaSafe, but I didn't need the water clarifier until just recently, I was just using the AquaSafe.

Thanks!

[Chrisbarnett]

Do you have Biomedia in your filter?

Sounds like more frequent cleanings are in order. And if you do have biomedia are you washing it out with tank water?

[StevenAkaProek]

Maybe the impeller has debry stuck in it?

[2Daughtry8]

Yes, I have biomedia. I rinse everything out with tap water except the bio stars and the ceramic rings. I was only cleaning the filter every month, but now that this has started happening, I guess I should clean it every 2 weeks or every week. I just cleaned it last night because the water was coming out slow.

I just recently started cleaning the impeller. It's pretty simple to clean, I just pulled on the impeller part and rinse water over that and the weighted black thing that goes down into the top of the filter and then put it back in. I just started cleaning the impeller maybe the end of March and this just started happening.

[Chrisbarnett]

That all sounds okay.

But the fact you're still experiencing slow flow is strange. Do you notice an increase in flow after cleaning? If not you may have a blockage somewhere in the intake or outflow.

[2Daughtry8]

Yes, the flow increases after cleaning, but then only lasts for a few days.

[marisa]

You don't really need that microfiltration pad. I stopped using them when I found that they seemed to be affecting the water flow. You might try using the filter without it and see if that makes a difference. If the water has already been filtered by a 20ppi pad, adding another at the top probably won't make any real difference.

[2Daughtry8]

ok, after doing some research today for other threads about people having trouble with their xp3 or wanting to know about what kind of biomedia to use, I decided to get rid of the microfiltration pad and the bio chem zorb. I went to Petsmart and got a box of Fluval Prefilter and put the Rena stars I've been using in the same basket with a divider in between, after the basket with the black sponges, then another basket with Rena ceramic rings on top of that. Hopefully that is ok and will work.

Now, if I could only get a 120 gallon tank cheap and prevent my turtles from fighting...