Rena XP2 set-up question

[hal3146]

I just went from a Fluval 205 to a Rena XP2 on my 29g tank.

How are people running the media baskets?

In my fluval I had a coarse sponge and filter floss in the bottom chamber. In the top two chambers I have ceramic biomedia.

The XP2 has two media buckets. The bottom one has 20ppi then 30 ppi sponge. Then there is empty space up to the second bucket. The top bucket has my biomedia out of the 205 with the fine filter pad on top.

The filter came with two grates or bucket dividers that when shipped and in the diagrams are supposed to be on either side of the fine filter pad. In the top bucket the biomedia goes over the half way mark where it looks like the grate should rest. Is this OK.

I guess the real questions is how are people layering their media and do all the buckets have to be full.

I will probably add more biomedia on top of the sponges since there is space if this is ok, is it?

Oh and why oh why do they include a bright blue intake tub it gives me gas every time I look in the tank.

[OldMan47]

The bright blue tube comes with all Rena filters. When it gets covered with algae and has a few years to fade it is not so bad. You don't need to fill every cubic inch of space but why not use it? The bio-filtration of a filter is ultimately determined by how much media there is for the bacteria to grow on. Leaving a basket half empty, or even half full, means wasting that part of the filter's capacity.

[ChrisK]

The baskets don't all have to be full. I'd go sponges on the bottom then bio balls, and then a microfilter pad at the top. I put bioballs in any empty areas

[msjinkzd]

from the bottom up, I go coarse, med, fine sponges, then ceramic rings, then filter floss

[tarquin375]

I have an XP3, same concept, just one more basket. From bottom up: coarse, medium, fine, bio, chemical, fine. My last setup was: coarse, med, bio, chen, fine (this will fit in two baskets, with or without the chem because a single fine pad can share a basket half with the chem, when I had this setup, there was an empty half a basket and the fine was by itslef).

[CBWMN]

from the bottom up, I go coarse, med, fine sponges, then ceramic rings, then filter floss


Ditto, except I use Rena Stars and pillow polyfil.
Charles