Canisters: Rena xp vs Penn-Plaxx Cascade vs ?

[vr6fan]

^^ I personally have the black pads on bottom, all my stars and rings in the middle (2 trays for mine bein an xp4) and the polishing pads up top.

x2

 

[Moloch]

Ok something I've noticed...I'm getting deposits and clouds of the black (assuming carbon?) dust from that bag that came with the filter in my aquarium. The powder settles on the bottom of the aquarium and the filter doesn't pick it up (Its still devoid of substrate or decoration so its very easy for me to notice right now). I took the filter down yesterday after it had run overnight so I could add ceramic rings to the trays, and I might do it again today to add a 'pre-filter' layer to the bottom before the black sponges. When I hooked it back up and got it going again, clouds of the carbon got spit into the aqarium through the spray bar.

A) Is this supposed to happen, or what have I done wrong?
B) Is it worth continuing to mess with this bag and what its doing, or is there a better option for the chemical filtration?
C) Where do I go from here? I should be adding sand tomorrow and hopefully rocks and driftwood. Should I just do a partial water change with that and let it roll? My cycle has just started with low levels of ammonia, the water is a little bit cloudy and I don't know if its from the bacteria starting to grow or if its all from this carbon problem, but there is no waste or decomposing matter in the tank at all....

 

[creepyoldguy]

B.) better option for chemical filtration is take it out, throw it away and get more rings! well, you could save it in case you need to use meds or something but i never use chemical filtration. i very rarely treat w meds either, ive been lucky and anything ive had a prob w has been fixed w a higher temp and salt

 

[jclyde13]

B.) better option for chemical filtration is take it out, throw it away and get more rings! well, you could save it in case you need to use meds or something but i never use chemical filtration. i very rarely treat w meds either, ive been lucky and anything ive had a prob w has been fixed w a higher temp and salt

I agree. Chemical filtration is a pain and really isn't necessary. I threw out all of my carbon a while back because I got sick of changing it, and I just replaced it with more bio-max.

 

[Moloch]

Sweet, I'll probably take your suggestions. I just picked up some fluval pre-filter things that look like the bio-rings except they have flat sides. I'm going to put these in the very bottom (maybe bottom 2 layers), move everything else up as necessary and throw that carbon bag away.

I just added 50 pounds of sand (cleaned it pretty thoroughly first) as well...how long do I need to wait before turning the filter back on? I can't really tell if my water is just cloudy or if the sand is still settling, but I'd imagine that it shouldn't take more than an hour or so to be safe for the filter? Its not time-critical, I still have no fish in there, I'm just boiling rocks and letting the driftwood soak a little longer before I add it.

Which reminds me...if the driftwood is still turning water brown, will it hurt to add it now since I still have another couple of weeks worth of cycling to do on the tank? Will the water eventually clear up through filtration? Or do I just need to soak the wood until it doesn't tint the water anymore?

 

[creepyoldguy]

Sweet, I'll probably take your suggestions. I just picked up some fluval pre-filter things that look like the bio-rings except they have flat sides. I'm going to put these in the very bottom (maybe bottom 2 layers), move everything else up as necessary and throw that carbon bag away.

I just added 50 pounds of sand (cleaned it pretty thoroughly first) as well...how long do I need to wait before turning the filter back on? I can't really tell if my water is just cloudy or if the sand is still settling, but I'd imagine that it shouldn't take more than an hour or so to be safe for the filter? Its not time-critical, I still have no fish in there, I'm just boiling rocks and letting the driftwood soak a little longer before I add it.

Which reminds me...if the driftwood is still turning water brown, will it hurt to add it now since I still have another couple of weeks worth of cycling to do on the tank? Will the water eventually clear up through filtration? Or do I just need to soak the wood until it doesn't tint the water anymore?

I would use the big black prefilter pads in the bottom, rings in the middle and polishing pad up top. Unless youre using another filter? Or is this the only one?I have experience w black moon sand and pfs. the black moon sand was light and took a while to settle. The pfs was put in before the tanks were filled. To fill the tank after the sand, I put a plate on the sand and a hose on the plate and let the water fill up slowly. The sand didnt have to settle at all done this way with the pfs. As far as your last question, I never dealt with driftwood, but I would imagine that if it is still turning your water brown, just let it out of the tank and keep changing new water to wash out the driftwood as much as possible

 

[Moloch]

The xp3 is the only filter, and I actually just finished redoing the filter trays.

From bottom to top I have:

Fluval pre-filter media
2x 20ppi pads
2x 30ppi pads
Mix fluval pre-filter media/fluval bio-max ceramic rings
Used Top-Fin large filter cartridge/Rena stars
Fluval bio-max ceramic rings and polishing pad

I did go ahead and take out the bag of carbon, so we'll see how that goes for me.

My thinking on the driftwood: Some people put the pieces in early specifically for that brown water effect, so I can't see it being harmful to the aquarium. So how long does that brown water last? Will it filter itself out after a few weeks? Or will it just finish seeping all the tannin out of the wood after a few weeks and then I'll have to do a series of water changes to get the clear water back?

 

[Bderick67]

What I do is, use the pre filter rings in the bottom half of the bottom tray follow by two 20 ppi foam pad. Two 30ppi foam pads in bottom of middle tray followed with your "filstars" pack them tight but don't squish them. Top tray all ceramic bio media, bio max, matrix or ehfisubstrat. I don't use polishing pads as the clog quickly. With this setup I go at least 2 months between cleanings, some of them even as long as 4 months.

Myself I have 7 XP3s running and love them, however I don't use as the sole filter on the tank. They are wonderful bio filters, but their low turnover(less then 200 gph actual) make them inefficient mechfilters. I would recommend running in tandem with an AC110.

 

[Moloch]

What I do is, use the pre filter rings in the bottom half of the bottom tray follow by two 20 ppi foam pad. Two 30ppi foam pads in bottom of middle tray followed with your "filstars" pack them tight but don't squish them. Top tray all ceramic bio media, bio max, matrix or ehfisubstrat. I don't use polishing pads as the clog quickly. With this setup I go at least 2 months between cleanings, some of them even as long as 4 months.

Myself I have 7 XP3s running and love them, however I don't use as the sole filter on the tank. They are wonderful bio filters, but their low turnover(less then 200 gph actual) make them inefficient mechfilters. I would recommend running in tandem with an AC110.

I'll try taking the polishing pad out after a while, I think I'll leave it in for now while I'm trying to get everything set up and get the water clear though. I dunno I'm expirimenting

I'm really hoping to make this xp3 the only filter on the tank, at least for now. I definitely don't want to use any HOB filters, I just love the canister so much already So what about eventually putting a second XP3 on? Right now I have the intake in one corner and the spray bar running along the opposite side (the actual side of the tank...the spray bar fits perfectly across it and I feel like that gives a more even flow across the tank)

I do still have a marineland emperor 400b biowheel filter, but it needs a new impeller, and hopefully thats ALL it needs aside from new wheels and filter media (its been sitting in an attic for 3 or 4 years now

I'm really tempted to add my driftwood tonight... I've got it in a bucket with boiling water poured over it, its only turning that water a little bit brown, so I might drop it in and see how it goes.

I know its one of the worst traits to have with keeping aquariums...but I get to be pretty impatient

edit: Instead of a second xp3, what about a Magnum? I'd imagine these are just as silent as any other canister, would be enough additional filtration to keep the water sparkly and is about 100$ cheaper than a second xp3.

Now I'm considering sticking one of these on my 20 gallon to get rid of this top-fin power filter...

 

[Bderick67]

There are a few people who have had real good results with using the magnum and H.O.T magnums, you can get multiple fine filtration cartridges and change them every 4-7 days.

What ever you do the mechanical filtration will improve just because of increased turnover.