I have a rena xp3 and was wondering what media should I put inside the three compartment from bottom to top? Another confusion that was brought up that some people don't recommended putting activated carbon inside the canister filter, is this true? and how long will the rena star last should I add ceramic rings in the canister?
Rena Xp 3
- Thread starter PufferFreak88
- Start date
I would put eheim effimech in the first layer followed by two layers of either ceramic rings or a media such as eheim pro or equivalent. In a word, bio.
People dont run carbon basically because it is quickly exhausted and vurtually useless in a relatively short time. After carbon has absorbed all it will, it can actually release back into the tank just what it was used to remove. Plus, it isnt exactly cheap unless you get it bulk and then the quality comes into question.
Use carbon to remove medication in the water and then remove the carbon...a properly functioning biofilter will most likely meet all your needs.
I'm not familiar with the rena filter personally but I have heard they are very reliable and a good bang for the buck.
People dont run carbon basically because it is quickly exhausted and vurtually useless in a relatively short time. After carbon has absorbed all it will, it can actually release back into the tank just what it was used to remove. Plus, it isnt exactly cheap unless you get it bulk and then the quality comes into question.
Use carbon to remove medication in the water and then remove the carbon...a properly functioning biofilter will most likely meet all your needs.
I'm not familiar with the rena filter personally but I have heard they are very reliable and a good bang for the buck.
Yeah the Rena XP3 is a great filter....I have one that i have had for about 1 1/2 years with no problems....the bottom tray I put the foam 20 and foam 30 pads......then I have a tray filled with ceramic rings....then in the third trey at the top I put crushed coral(to keep my ph at 7.1) and charcoal into fine mesh bags.....its important to use bags on things like charcoal and such because if it gets to the motor or impeller magnets you are in trouble....last is the micro filtration pad that sits on top.....and another great thing is that all you really need to replace in the filter when you clean it is the micro filtration pad and the charcoal.....the foam 20 & 30 pads in the bottom tray are as tough as steel and can be rinsed 10-20 times before they even come close to breaking down......and that my friend is the XP3
so i should use ceramic rings and the rena star on the second tray. So I guess activated carbon are not recommended for canister filter? btw how often should ceramic rign be replace?
I use effimech in the bottom, stock foam in 2nd tray followed by bio, top tray another fine foam pad to filter bypass with bio on top and polishing pad over that. I run the foam in the top two trays to keep the bio media cleaner extending the service intervals.
Use the foam blocks in the bottom chamber, put stars, ceramic media, or some other type of media in the upper two chambers.