Rena XP3: What should I expect to hear?

[ChiaJesus]

I have never seen a canister filter in use before so I was pretty green tonight when I setup and turned on my XP3 for the first time. It seems to work well, but I have noticed a couple of things and I have no idea if they're good or bad.

First, I attached the power jet nozzle on it instead of the spray bar - I read somewhere on here that it provides more current. Although the nozzle itself is completely underwater I can see the outflow.

The outflow seems to dwindle away (meaning I can see less bubbles coming out) and then the filter makes this sound that I can best describe as a quiet flushing sound, kinda like when you flush the toilet. Then I can see the outflow increase again, and the cycle continues.

Is that how these things work? Or did I mess something up when I hooked everything up?

 

[irishspy]

Sounds like there's some air trapped in the system.

 

[ChiaJesus]

Yup, that's what it was. I tightened up the hoses and now it's dead silent.

Do I need to add anything to supplement aeration when using a canister filter? I don't mind getting a powerhead if necessary...just want to know if it's needed.

 

[Riiz]

It depends on how big the tank is? What size is your tank and what other filters do you have also?

 

[ChiaJesus]

It depends on how big the tank is? What size is your tank and what other filters do you have also?

Thanks Riiz. The tank is 150G and I will be adding an internal Fluval 4 Plus filter (well established) tonight to seed the tank and get it ready for stock.

I'm guessing that adding the power filter will be good enough to get enough aeration but a powerhead would be required if I remove it.

 

[DAVIDFBT]

Or you could just attach a vynil tube that is the right size onto the output of the filter and aim it up to increase surface agitation.

 

[247Plants]

Stock very lightly with only that much filtration.

 

[ChiaJesus]

Stock very lightly with only that much filtration.

Hmmm? An XP3 cannister filter rated for 165 gallon tanks isn't good enough for a 150 gallon tank?

 

[Ozymandias]

surprisingly no. i use a Marineland C-220 on my 30 gallon and its rated for a 60 and i fine if perfect for that tank but if i actially used it for a 60 i dout it would be adiquite filtration and would probably have two of them. most people here over filter and use two filters. also i think the XP's flow is different with media and usually flow makes the biggest different with canister filters

 

[jmhart]

I used an XP3 on my 46g tank and thought it was a nice amount of filtration. I'd put 2 on a 150g.