Equipment Review and Discussion :: I got reamed by the Rena rep!! (long-ish)

[mini]

marisa, what suggestions did the rep give you to put the hose on? i had a hard time putting it on, too. took my hubbie a long long time to fit 1 3/4 inches in.

[grey goose]

You could try lightly spreading some KY jelly (it's water soluable) on the part that the hose goes onto.....

[SpotsMama]

The only difficult thing about the XP was, like grey goose said, hard to get the hoses attached the first time. One other minor complaint - this last filter cleaning I broke the whole thing down and cleaned every piece thoroughly. When I re-assembled the intake pipe one of the pieces of pipe split from the pressure. They are none too sturdy. It wasn't a big problem - the joint is above the water line so I just wrapped electrical tape around it and it works fine. I wish they had a more substantial design for the pieces of intake pipe. The outflow design is different and it is more substantial.

[DavidY]

Can you buy a thinner walled piece of flexible hose at the hardware store that would fit better? A thinner walled tube will stretch a little easier than the thick ones, especially if you soak it in warm water for a while before putting it on.

grey goose - KY? I never would have thought of that, but I guess if it works, why not...

[grey goose]

KY comes to mind only because when my big guy Bozo had an impaction, the vet said to offer some shrimp with a small amount (tiny) of KY (unscented) every day for 5 days. So it's harmless....I have used a light amount of silicone lube on the gaskets on my Fluvals with no ill effects.

[marisa]

mini, please reread my post above. The tubes are easier to put on if you heat the ends to make the plastic more flexible (the basic advice I was given). I used very warm water and twisted/inched the tubes on.


BTW, some of my intake pipes have small cracks as well as some of the outlet pieces. I think they break down over time as they're taken apart and pushed together.

[yertle_the_girl_turtle]

How much time and moneya and effort can possibly be put into a filter/ calling a rep?

[mini]

Thanks for the advices! next time I'll soak it in warm water before putting it on. And if I still have a hard time, I'll get the KY gel.

[SpotsMama]

On the cracked intake pipe, I just ordered some replacement parts, although the cracked one is working fine now with the electrical tape. Seems like there would be a better way to make the pieces fit together than just shear force.

Although getting the hoses on the first time is a big pain (maybe a smaller pain if you heat them up first like marisa suggested) but I don't know that you'd want to use thinner tubing because it probably wouldn't hold up over time as well. I bet it would streach out and not make as good a seal as the thick tubing does. Like I said in another post, when I cleaned my xp3 the other day I disassembled the intake and outflow parts for the first time and found it was much much easier to get them back together this time than it was at first because the tubes had streached out.

[dudio]

Sorry .. didn't wade thru all the replies,
so if this has been said, I apologize.

Odd that the Rena Rep says they are not suited for Turtle use.
Per an online FAQ at PlanetRena.com ( http://www.planetrena.com/Filstar-Rena-FAQ.html )


Q - What is the best media for an aquatic turtle tank? What is the best setup for a turtle tank using the Rena Filstar XP2? What is the difference between the Spraybar and Power Jet Nozzle.


A - With turtles, my goal would be to remove as much solid organics as possible with mechanical filtration, use the biological filtration to keep ammonia levels down and the BioChem Zorb to remove odors and colors which are real problems with turtles. I would also recommend dosing the tank with API Stress Zyme. This is live bacteria that will help break down the solid waste by boosting the action of biological filtration.


You would definitely benefit by having BioChem Zorb in the canister. However, turtle tanks are most known for the large volume of solid organic waste emitted by the critters. You must make sure that you have as much mechanical filtration as you can get. The unit comes with 2ea 20 and 30ppi foams which is about all you can put in the unit. I would use the top basket for BioChem Stars or Ceramic Rings and the upper half of the basket for the BioChem Zorb. I wouldn't use the Micro Filter in this unit since you only have 4 total media chambers.


The Spraybar gives a more gentle agitation of the surface which some aquatic life prefer. However, you won't get as much gas exchange at the surface with this method. The Power-Jet nozzle can be mounted in such a way that it sprays over the surface and creates strong surface agitation that will release harmful gasses from the water and infuses the water with additional oxygen which is very beneficial in breaking down pollutants but not so important for turtles since they don't rely on gills for oxygen exchange.

[Blue Flamingo]

So we shouldn’t be using the white cotton square pad? We replace that with a BioChem Zorb. Is that a charcoal bag? Also has any one here been doing this, what have been your results.

[SpotsMama]

I use the thin white pad that goes on top of the XP3. Fortunately I haven't had a problem with it wrinkling up or slowing the flow. It does get fairly grimly by the end of a month so I think it's doing useful work removing stuff from the water. The BioChem Zorb is a charcoal bag and the filter instructions say to use it along with the white micro filter square (and the other elements of the filter, of course.) Both the biochem zorb and the white micro filter square should be changed approximately monthly.

[marisa]

I first used the microfiltration pad, but later stopped using it when it seemed that the filter was getting clogged (flow was being reduced) more quickly. I've read of others having the same experience, and what most people did was to just not use it (I stopped using it as well). I used to use carbon along with the biomedia and sponges.

[DavidY]

The sponges should be enough to filter out the solid waste particles. The microfilter is for much finer particulates and would definitely keep getting clogged quickly because of the mess turtles make.

Marisa, what do you use now?

[marisa]

For media? Once I get the XP3 into workable condition, it will be the same (carbon, biomedia, sponges).