Fluval 306 or Rena xp3?

[Cksnffr]

I'm a complete noob, so I have little to no experience, but I can tell you that I just got a Rena XP3 (XP-L) and it's great. Maybe it even says something that I'm a noob and I was able to get it up and running with no trouble.

It seems very well made and easy to maintain.

If you have trouble getting the lever to go down, try pressing the entire quick-release head unit down. I think the lever can be stiff if the QR unit is not completely seated.

 

[gmh]

I would agree this filter is easier to set up and service than the other canisters I have owned. I think my initial problem with the quick release is I didn't open it fully to the open position when I first set it up. Did you set yours up with just the minimal media included with the filter? I had the luxury of having other sponges and media available. I also ditched the biochemzorb stuff after a week. I noticed a weird dead algae type growth on my plants and driftwood after a few days and my plants seemed to be wilting a bit. It may not be the chem zorb's fault but I don't trust chemicals. I replaced it with floss.

 

[Cksnffr]

Nope--I knew to get extra bio stars ahead of time.

I'm using their plain "super activated charcoal" now because I've got some driftwood in the tank. Two weeks of separate soaking was still not enough to keep it from stinking up the tank. Charcoal makes it odorless.

 

[gmh]

I bought mine off Amazon and there was no description of how much media came with the filter. Some sites that sell it do show this information. I should have researched a bit more, but no matter. I'm glad I bought it. Good filter.

 

[gmh]

Well, my Rena stopped working after a couple of weeks. I unplugged it to service the tank and when I plugged it back in, Nothing, No electricity getting to the motor housing. I think water somehow got into it. Fortunately Amazon has an easy return policy. I did go ahead and reorder a new one. Let's see if the quick release is easier to use on the replacement.

 

[sCeRaXn]

Sorry to hear that gmh. I hope you have better luck with the next one. Ive been running an XP3 for 7 years now and haven't had a single problem out of it. I haven't had to replace a single part on it and its always worked flawlessly. I wish I could say the same for one of the Fluval units that I was using on another tank. It was great when it comes to filtering, but it was a pain to clean and set back up and it always seemed to leak from somewhere. I love Fluval as a brand but that canister filter(old style 403)really let me down.

 

[thacarter546]

Ive been running mine for about 5 years now. I just replaced the impeller and shaft this year which I was more than impressed with. I bought two more and threw my AC 110 and Emperor 400 in the trash. My aquarium is sooo much quieter now.

The spraybar wasnt a big deal for me because I have always used the jet output anyway.

Something cool is if you want a little bit more flow out of these canisters they all use the same motor head with different impellers. As the impellers need replaced I am replacing them with XP4 impellers. You can also use a RIO 2100 impeller which flows just a tad better than the xp4 impeller.

As for the biomedia I bought a gallon of matrix for 30 bucks.

For mechanical the sponges that come with tend to wear out pretty quick and need more maintenance. I use two AC110 sponges. You can cut about 2 inches off the length then squeeze the two in the tray and lower your maintenance on the filter. I have also tried the fluval mech rings with a bonded pad and it didnt work near as well.

bigalsonline.com has them for the same price as amazon plus free shipping. I usually get my big als orders before my amazon ones come in.

Edit: also keep your eyes on the clearance section at your local petsmart occasionally I find the 20 pack of biostars for 2 bucks.

 

[gmh]

I also use a couple of AC sponges in the bottom of my XPl. (Oh, the replacement arrived and so far no problems, although that quick release lever is still it's weakest part). Those AC sponges are so versatile. I use them as prefilters sometimes too. Don't the different XP filters have different sized motors in that casing? I wonder how a smaller impellor would effect flow on mine. Without the spraybar it is a bit aggressive for my 40 gallon.

 

[thacarter546]

Motor is exactly the same. You can swap motors, clamps, gaskets, impellers, shafts, buckets. The renas are very versatile.