Just cleaned my XP3 and when It was put back together and plugged in, it started spewing white floaty crap out of the hose.. Where the heck does that stuff come from? I'm assuming the tubes, cause there wasn't anything in the filter.. New tubes??
XP3 or hose issue? A little help?
- Thread starter kcinimod
- Start date
Howdy,
It's perfectly normal that deposits from tubing come off during filter maintenance or even just by turning the filter off and on again. I generally let the first 5 gal flow into a bucket, because I prefer not to have that crap in my tank.
HarleyK
It's perfectly normal that deposits from tubing come off during filter maintenance or even just by turning the filter off and on again. I generally let the first 5 gal flow into a bucket, because I prefer not to have that crap in my tank.
HarleyK
Nitrosonomas and Nitrobacter both produce thin sticky films as they grow and divide on biomedia. These films grab organic fines from the water passing by which feed competing heterotrophic bacteria. Over time, unless actively grazed by detritovores like snails, these films become thick enough and organic rich enough that heterotrophic bacteria colonize them, and begin feeding on the trapped organic fines as well as the film itself. Because the hetertroph population can grow so much faster than the two N's they eventually outcompete and destroy the colony by consumming most of the available oxygen.
If this happens in your filter it will be evident in milky,stringy discharges (rotting film) at start up and periodically while running. Generally its nothing to be concerned about since the heterotrophs will eventually die off and the media will be colonized by the two N's again.
What it indicates is that the media is not optimized for nitrification and your system would benefit from a mechanical prefilter to reduce the amount of suspended organic material channeling through the filter and fouling the thin film created by the two N's.
I like XP-3's but find that they do run better when using ceramic media and a healthy population of snails to coduct regular maintenance on the bacterial film. The impellor has no problem crushing the odd snail up from time to time. Eventually the hoses will be colonized and kept clean by snails as well.
When I clean these filters out annually, I always make sure to toss a few adult snails back into the filter before putting the lid on. I don't run with the filter pads, but still have low turbidity in my tanks.
The ability to house snails for this synergistic biofiltration aproach is what sets the XP series of filters apart from the rest of the cannister herd in my humble opinion. LOL
If this happens in your filter it will be evident in milky,stringy discharges (rotting film) at start up and periodically while running. Generally its nothing to be concerned about since the heterotrophs will eventually die off and the media will be colonized by the two N's again.
What it indicates is that the media is not optimized for nitrification and your system would benefit from a mechanical prefilter to reduce the amount of suspended organic material channeling through the filter and fouling the thin film created by the two N's.
I like XP-3's but find that they do run better when using ceramic media and a healthy population of snails to coduct regular maintenance on the bacterial film. The impellor has no problem crushing the odd snail up from time to time. Eventually the hoses will be colonized and kept clean by snails as well.
When I clean these filters out annually, I always make sure to toss a few adult snails back into the filter before putting the lid on. I don't run with the filter pads, but still have low turbidity in my tanks.
The ability to house snails for this synergistic biofiltration aproach is what sets the XP series of filters apart from the rest of the cannister herd in my humble opinion. LOL
Howdy,
I wouldn't go that far! Growth in tubing has nothing to do with insufficient biofiltration.
Number one, snails inevitably end up in every canister, if you want it or not. If they're in your tank, then they are in your filter. Second, they are a PITA when they get stuck in the spray bar but that happens just as inevitably. Third, I have yet to see squeaky-clean tubing in a used canister despite decades in the hobby and plenty of snails in my canisters. 
HarleyK
Potts050;3552334; said:
I wouldn't go that far! Growth in tubing has nothing to do with insufficient biofiltration.
Potts050;3552334; said:
Potts050;3552334; said:
Number one, snails inevitably end up in every canister, if you want it or not. If they're in your tank, then they are in your filter. Second, they are a PITA when they get stuck in the spray bar
but that happens just as inevitably. Third, I have yet to see squeaky-clean tubing in a used canister despite decades in the hobby and plenty of snails in my canisters. Could you link me to a blueprint of the XP? Everything you described can happen with any canister IMO.Potts050;3552334; said:
It makes my tank messy, I call it crap12 Volt Man;3564895; said:
HarleyK