Equipment Review and Discussion :: Love my new XP3!

[DavidY]

Wow, I just setup my new Rena Filstar XP3 and I gotta say it is really nice! Very well built, fairly easy to follow directions and pretty quick and easy setup. I think they may be using a new type of flexible tubing too. It looks more like silicone tubing instead of the stiffer clear stuff. It was easier to attach to the fittings than I had expected. It's running on my new 90gal right now and it has some really good flow. I'm very impressed!

[turboturtle8]

That is good to hear I am also doing an upgrade on my turtles tank and I was going to get that filter.I am curious does it cost around 100$

[DavidY]

Yea, I got it at BigAlsOnline for $89. That's the best price I've seen anywhere and it's a really good deal for such a nice filter.

[turboturtle8]

That is a good deal

[SpotsMama]

Glad to hear you've joined the ranks of XP fans! They really are nice. Monthly cleaning is not bad either. It takes me around 15 minutes start to finish to clean the filter. The tank itself, of course, takes more time.

[DavidY]

Yea I love the way they designed it so you just disconnect the housing from the hoses and then you can carry it the sink to clean it out.

[Crazy Girl Turtle]

Hi. I am waiting for my XP3 (will arrive Monday!) and am hoping I bought the right and enough media. I bought Ceramic Rings, Bio-Chem Zorb, Zeolite Ammonia Remover, Filtration Pads Micro-Filtration Pad, Filtration Pads Coarse Foam, Filtration Pads Fine Foam, and Filtration Pads Progressive Micro-Filtration Pads.

Did I miss anything? Do I need all of that?

Thanks!

PS: You got a great deal - I paid $110.00 from Foster and Smith!

[SpotsMama]

Congratulations to you too, Crazy Girl! The XP3 usually comes with media except for the ceramic rings - you have to get those separately. But never fear, you'll use it all in the long run.

You replace the bio-chem zorb and micro filtration pads monthly, so at the end of the month you'll need your new ones. The coarse and fine foam pads last longer - you can just rinse them out each monthly and reuse them until they start to looking really bad, then you can replace them. I don't replace all the coarse and fine pads at once, though. I'll replace one this month, then another next month and so on. You lose colonies of good bio filter bacteria every time you throw away a pad so you don't want to lose them all at once.

You may wind up getting more ceramic rings if the package you got doesn't have enough to fill a basket. It took two packages to fill my middle basket.

[DavidY]

Wow, you sure did get a lot of extra filter media. Like SpotsMama said, you'll wind up using it up eventually. My filter came with the 20 and 30 foam pads and a bag of chemzorb. The only thing I needed to add was the biomedia, which I had a bunch of from an old wet/dry trickle filter I used to have for saltwater tanks. The ceramic rings you got are perfect for that section so you should be all set. It's definitely worth the money!

[Kallistos]

Yeah, the XP3 does a great job cleaning, and is easy to clean itself. Plus it's cheap, I haven't had to replace any of the media either which is pretty cool. I truly believe that cleaning the XP3 is a LOT easier than cleaning those small hang-on filters.

[britt]

What a deal! When I get my bigger tank that's the filter that I want. I've heard great things about it.

[Safdar]

Congratz on your XP3

[DavidY]

Thanks. I still love it too!

[untsmurf]

I just got mine yesterday and it's awesome. I didn't see it didn't have the bio filter until I set it all up, so I had to get some today. But it's so quiet, I love it.