I searched the two filters for the past hour and its great but i'm looking for anyone w/ personal experience on either filter up to date....i would like it to be quieter than my air pump that i have puttin air into my 30 gal and 10 gal, b/c i cant hear 3 aquaclears over my air pump. Second, the search says Eheim is the best, but a lot of people were complaining about media that you cant or is difficult to clean as opposed to trays that the xp3 comes w/?? Can anyways explain this? I also read a problem w/ xp3's that they have air leaks or something that requires a rebuild kit of seals? I dont want to worry about rebuilding a brand new filter that i'm spending $100 on. Also the rena is cheaper by 40 bux at big als....yet it cycles 100gph more than the ehiem and will handle a 25 gal larger tank. Overall i'm looking for something that will not give me any problems, quiet, but efficient enough to handle the new 125 gal i'm getting. Let me know what you all think. Thanks
XP3 OR 2217 (searched, need more info)
- Thread starter FishNthings
- Start date
You should get atleast 2 canisters for 125g tank. That way you can have an inlet at each end of the tank and eliminate any dead spots. If you go with the Eheim 2217, use it biological filteration only. You can get a prefilter pad that goes over the inlet. The Filstar XP2 or XP2 would be good for mechanical/biological filteration because of the ease of maintenance.
If I was on a budget and wanted to keep it simple, I'd get 2 Filstar XP2's. They'll do the job well, biologically and mechanically.
If I wanted the best of both worlds, I'd get the Eheim 2217 and Filstar XP3.
If price was no object and I wanted the best, I'd get 2 Eheim 2028's professional II
If I was on a budget and wanted to keep it simple, I'd get 2 Filstar XP2's. They'll do the job well, biologically and mechanically.
If I wanted the best of both worlds, I'd get the Eheim 2217 and Filstar XP3.
If price was no object and I wanted the best, I'd get 2 Eheim 2028's professional II
Thats a good point, i never thought about putting one at each end, so now i'm looking at more money i think i'll go w/ 2 XP2's....good choice? The only thing i'm worried about is if they end up being defective like this leak i keep hearing about, and how noisy they might be....i'm going to be getting this set up in my bedroom so if its gonna create a drone louder than the p.o.s whisper air pump i had a couple years back, my whole house heard that thing.
The Eheims are completely silent. The Filstar's may make a slight humming sound. I have 8 Filstar's in operation and I don't notice the noise they make most of the time.FishNthings said:
The Eheim 2217 have no baskets, they are like a pipe that you shove media in. The Eheim Professional II series uses tray's and are easy to clean. They cost more though. The Filstar's are made for ease of maintenance. Big baskets, that pull out easy, and are easy to clean.
I've never had that problem. It was probably due to having cut the hoses too short, which would create tension on the top of the canister resulting in an air-leak.
The only problem I've had out of the box, is that I had to open up the holes (with a drill) on the spray-bars. The spray bars made an annoying whistling sound if I didn't. Maybe the new models don't have this problem though.
What I think is in the previous post.
2 XP2's is a fine choice.
IMO, you don't need to get any additional bio-Media. The Sponges that come with the unit will be all the bio-filteration that you'll need. Don't throw the sponges away when they get dirtly. To clean them, just squeeze them out a few times in a bucket of aquarium water.
So,
In the bottom basket, you put in the 4 sponges.
In the Top basket, you can put anything you want (like bio-media or activated carbon). I pack my entire top basket with Filter Floss (from Big Al's). I replace the filter floss about once every other month.
IMO, you don't need to get any additional bio-Media. The Sponges that come with the unit will be all the bio-filteration that you'll need. Don't throw the sponges away when they get dirtly. To clean them, just squeeze them out a few times in a bucket of aquarium water.
So,
In the bottom basket, you put in the 4 sponges.
In the Top basket, you can put anything you want (like bio-media or activated carbon). I pack my entire top basket with Filter Floss (from Big Al's). I replace the filter floss about once every other month.
If you want the eheim but are worried about cleaning the media, maybe you should get some nylon mesh bags to put the various media in? I thought about doing this for mine before I set it up but was too anxious to get things moving in my tank. Obviously, if you go this route, you should get mesh bags that have a mesh just small enough to prevent your media from escaping so they don't cause too much of a drag on the water flowing through the filter. I'd imagine it'd be pretty easy to clean the media once you do this. Just lift out the bags, rinse in some tank water after a water change and put 'em back in. Should be pretty easy. Anyone else do this? Check out jcaquatics.com(here I go plugging them again.........I swear, I don't work for them). I think they're cheaper than big al's.
I'd personally get a pair of 2217's for a 125. I currently run a 2217 and a 2213 on a 75 gallon. On my 100 gallon I run a 2260. I think thats overkill but I purchased it for when I upgrade to a larger tank.
I have a 125 long with a rena xp3.. it's silent, and easy to clean. I only use mine for mechanical filtration though.. the idea of putting a xp2 at either end sounds good, but would'nt you get a standing wave in the middle of the tank where debris would churn? If you're going to spend the money on 2 xp2's, I'd rig em up to create a one way current in my tank, then set one up for bio filtration and stock sponges, and one for purely mechanical filtration with some floss in the midcompartment. Anywhoo, I've no complaints at all with my xp3, runs quiet, strong, and the fish love the current.
I have a single 2215 on my 72 gallon and it works great. It is not allthat difficult to clean. You could get 2 Eheim 2215's. They are cheaper thatn the 2217. And as others have said, it is very quiet. I have a Penguin mini on my 10 gallon and I hear it but I never hear the Eheim.