Equipment Review and Discussion :: problem with XP3

[kneecole]

I got the XP3 filter a year ago, and it has been amazing up until now.

The motor is running but water is not cycling through. This happend about a month ago too and I just cleaned it all out and replaced the pads and it worked fine for another 4 weeks. But now it has started acting up again.

I only notice it once the water level drops beyond the out flow tube b/c there is no sound of water coming out. So who knows how long it's been running w/o cycling water this time around.

I'm afraid it might have something to do with the hundreds of tiny snails that have been living in the filter. (GGGRRR) Does that sound possible? How do I get rid of them??

Has this happend to anyone else? Any suggestions of how to make it work?

I really hope I don't have to pay 100$ again for another one.

blah! help!

[octpusgirl8]

Hmm snails living in the filter can't be good...that could definitely be the problem. Have you taken it all apart to make sure there's not a snail stuck in the impeller?

[SpotsMama]

I think it's possible the snails have stopped your filter up. What about the intake and outtake hoses? Maybe they are blocked. Have you looked in the filter lately? Maybe one of the pads has gotten wadded up or something.

Is the water getting crudy looking? If it hasn't been filtering for four weeks, then it's probably getting pretty bad.

I've always got a few little bitty snails in my XP3 but they've never multiplied much....knock on wood! I don't know of any way to get rid of them but to disinfect. This would be a last resort if nothing else works because it would be a mess. And you'd have to clean them out of your tank too or else they'd just multiply again.

Open up that filter and check everything first before considering disinfecting. If it is the snails that have stopped it up, it might be easier just to clean them out of the filter every month when you service the filter. Come to think of it, that's what I do.

[octpusgirl8]

Where are all these snails coming from? They sound like a big hassle, i'd like to avoid having them in my tank. Do they hitchhike in on plants?

[SpotsMama]

They come in on water plants. The very first bunch of anacharis I bought had them so I've had them in my tank every since. You can avoid getting them by rinsing off the plants really well before you put them in your tank.

They haven't been a big problem for me - my turtle eats them. There are always some - though not lots - of them in the filter. I just clean them out. But I've heard of other people's tanks being completely overrun with them.

[octpusgirl8]

Ooh i'm gonna watch out for that next time i get plants!

[iac637]

we haven't had a problem with ours try calling the help line rena has. It may still be under warranty

[kneecole]

Yeah I guess I'll take the filter apart tomororw and clean it out again. Hopefully that will work. I just get so spolied with that XP3 cause I never have to change the pads or take it apart! (up until now) The water is always crystal clear!

And yeah the last 3 days or so things have been starting to get cloudy. I'll clean the filter in the morning and let you guys know what happens. Thanks for all your help.

[Spookster]

Yeah I guess I'll take the filter apart tomororw and clean it out again. Hopefully that will work. I just get so spolied with that XP3 cause I never have to change the pads or take it apart! (up until now) The water is always crystal clear!

And yeah the last 3 days or so things have been starting to get cloudy. I'll clean the filter in the morning and let you guys know what happens. Thanks for all your help.

You should clean the filter once a month. The dark green pads in the bottom will get very clogged over time if you do not.

[SpotsMama]

Yeah, every month or, at the most, every six weeks. When you do, rinse out the pads and the rings/stars in a bucket of tank water to help preserve the colonies of good bacteria on them. Every so often you'll have to replace pads because they just get too crudy.

There should be a paper bag of bio chem zorb or something else with carbon in it. This should be replaced monthly.

There should also be a pad with a very find texture on the very top of the canister. This is supposed to be replaced monthly.

[marisa]

I used to have a lot of snails in the XP3 but never enough to stop it up. It sounds like the media needs to be cleaned/rinsed out.

The microfiltration pad at the very top of the baskets has been know to cause the filter to clog much more quickly. It used to do so for me, and I stopped using it. It's really not necessary to use one.