i bought a Rena XP4 for a 100 gallon tank. I notice that i have to keep cleaning the darn thing every 3 to 5 days and that gets annoying. If i do NOT clean it by 5 days, i notice that the water begins to cloud pretty bad. Does anyone else have this problem with the XP4?? im running salt water.
Rena Xp4 cleaning? (how often on 100 GAL)
- Thread starter XeoNoX
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eliterecon14
Pajama Cardinal
huh, I have a xp3 and never had this problem with mine.............................
i have had some 6 damsels living in it for about 5 days and only 1 has died (i think i bought him sick, died in less than 24 hrs of my possesion). i just pull out the entire filter and clean, i notice at the bottom of the filter there are sometimes crap that gets stuck at the very bottom (not even stuck the the media, i mean the dead bottom of the filter) the top sponge just seems like it is kinda slippery so i rinse it. i have it setup in this order from top to bottom. i have the dual density micro filtration pad, super activated carbon, bio chem zorb, Filstar Phos Zorb, bio stars and ceramic stars, 4 foam pads. any ideas??
i have the CPR bak pak with the maxijet 1200 mod.
i have the CPR bak pak with the maxijet 1200 mod.
packer
Well-known member
How long has this tank been set up?
jjmloper
Member
I have the xp4 and even before I had a skimmer I didnt have cloudy water. Maybe you need new filters in it, or more filters?
jjmloper
Member
Forgot to add..We just cleaned ours for the first time last weekend and weve had our tank up since November..so its been 4 months. And the only reason I cleaned it is because were trying to sell it.
joshinjosh
Cnidarian
"i just pull out the entire filter and clean"
not good, this is a very common beginners mistake. you need to allow your filter to be established with bacteria for your tank to be able to sustain livestock. everytime you clean out your entire filter you are removing your established bacteria. i would probably leave the filter media alone and only clean out the filter to replace carbon or remove large debris from the sponge, etc. anyways, since you are concerned about water clarity, you should look into running more carbon. also since your tank probably doesnt have a source of nitrogen export you should look to expect to (at the very minimum) clean your glass as often as you are currently doing.
josh
not good, this is a very common beginners mistake. you need to allow your filter to be established with bacteria for your tank to be able to sustain livestock. everytime you clean out your entire filter you are removing your established bacteria. i would probably leave the filter media alone and only clean out the filter to replace carbon or remove large debris from the sponge, etc. anyways, since you are concerned about water clarity, you should look into running more carbon. also since your tank probably doesnt have a source of nitrogen export you should look to expect to (at the very minimum) clean your glass as often as you are currently doing.
josh
DonW
R.I.P.
Not really in the reefkeeping hobby anyways. Canister filters should be cleaned very often and not allowed to build up and become biological. Letting them become biological creates nitrates.
Don
joshinjosh
Cnidarian
"Not really in the reefkeeping hobby anyways. Canister filters should be cleaned very often and not allowed to build up and become biological. Letting them become biological creates nitrates."
Yes in the case where a canister filter is utilized as a mechanical filter. But when one (such as the OP) uses a canister as their primary source of filtration (bio/chem/mech), cleaning out all the media as often as the OP does is not nessesary and probably more harmful than helpful. Nitrates will be inevitable in fish only tanks without a source of export (water changes, macroalgea, etc.)
Yes in the case where a canister filter is utilized as a mechanical filter. But when one (such as the OP) uses a canister as their primary source of filtration (bio/chem/mech), cleaning out all the media as often as the OP does is not nessesary and probably more harmful than helpful. Nitrates will be inevitable in fish only tanks without a source of export (water changes, macroalgea, etc.)
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DonW
R.I.P.
DonW
R.I.P.
Thats what I was assuming. Clean the filter very frequently and dont let it turn into a nitrate factory.
Don
What does your baskets come with ? I use Fluvals... but I removed those ceramic stones cause they have those bacteria that produce lots of nitrates..... I put carbon in all my baskets in both of my Fluval 205's.
its been over a week and so far its great..my tank is crystal clear...the flow is good still. And my protein skimmer has less skimmate.
My next change up I am going to use:
Purigen in the top basket both canisters for Phosphate removal
Live rock rubble in mid basket for the nitrate eating type bacteria
First basket to filter will have "Black Diamond" Carbon
Thought I share my canister use infomation and plans next...
I would listen to DonW about that nitrate bed...get rid of it.
its been over a week and so far its great..my tank is crystal clear...the flow is good still. And my protein skimmer has less skimmate.
My next change up I am going to use:
Purigen in the top basket both canisters for Phosphate removal
Live rock rubble in mid basket for the nitrate eating type bacteria
First basket to filter will have "Black Diamond" Carbon
Thought I share my canister use infomation and plans next...
I would listen to DonW about that nitrate bed...get rid of it.
