Aquaclear 110 or Filstar XP3

[Vinylmation]

I am currently shopping for a 2nd filter.

I currently have a Aquaclear 110 running the foam it came with, Biomax it came with, Purigen, and a little bit of Carbon.

Should I buy a 2nd Aquaclear 110 or buy the Filstar XP3.

I know the Aquaclear has a higher GPH than the Filstar.
I also know the Filstar holds a lot more media.

Whats better/more beneficial? Price different is 20+ for Filstar but not a big deal.

I'm looking for both better biological and mechanical filtration. Water is clear but not crystal clear. Also want to reduce my nitrates/nitrite levels. I currently do weekly water changes.

Fish/Bio Load.
12 Panda Corys
BN Pleco
6 Panda Garra
1 Rainbow Shark
10 Molly/Platty
1 Angelfish

All of my fish are juvinile.

 

[bob mccoy]

i will never buy anything but aqua clear. by far the best hob in my opinion

 

[cmwalters]

I agree. I run aquaclear on all my tanks.

 

[Vinylmation]

So 2 Aquaclear 110 is better than Aquaclear 110 / Filstar Combo?

 

[bob mccoy]

i would say yes. what size of tank are u putting them on

 

[Vinylmation]

Standard 75 Gallon

 

[bshenanagins]

Yeah I'm not gonna agree here. If I had the opportunity to run an Xp3 with an aquaclear I would. You get the best of both worlds, the AC will take care of surface agitation promoting gas exchange and the Xp will properly circulate the aquarium. The more biomedia the better which the Xp3 surpasses the Ac110. Don't get me wrong an AC110 is an excellent hob and I'm a big proponent. But the Xp will supplement your AC profoundly

 

[bshenanagins]

Btw let me help you with your media. What is currently in your AC is not enough. Ditch the carbon, it is unnecessary. Keep the purigen if you'd like its much better than carbon and doesn't exhaust nearly as quickly. Your going to want to get more biomedia (ceramic rings) to fill the chamber to the brim. If you decide to get the Xp which I highly recommend, you want to stuff that out as well with biomedia. I would top off the the top basket with polyfill (quilt padding) and you will see crystal clear water (given your already cycled?) but the addition of the new filter may initiate a bloom as more bacteria will grow and adhere to your new filter media. Hope this helps

 

[severum mama]

XP3. The Aquaclear is a great filter, but my preference is almost always going to be a canister. I have 2 XP3s running a 120 gallon tank so you're going to have plenty of filtration. The media sponge in the Aquaclear is huge, and with the Bio Max you've got plenty of media in there already. Add more if you want to, but it isn't going to make any difference, really, especially once you put a canister on the tank.

 

[Vinylmation]

Thanks guy. I’m definitely getting the XP3. The only reason I use carbon is because I have it. Once I run out I won’t buy anymore and I’ll stop using it period. XP3 has three trays I plan on leave the bottom tray with the included Foams/Pads. I plan on tossing the included carbon. For Biological it includes Bio Chem Stars, from reading online it only includes a handful of stars and does not fill an entire tray (True Story?). For additional Bio filtration I plan on buying Seachem Matrix. Seems to be a good popular product and it’s a good bang for your buck.

Question – Is it OK if I mix both Seachem and Bio Stars together in one tray?
Question – Dedicate an entire tray to Polyfill? (Polyfill same thing as filter floss?)

Yes my tank is cycled.

So I’ll be running 3 different Bio media in total. Biomax, Matrix, and Bio Stars.

Suggestions and input is welcomed.

 

[severum mama]

It comes with enough bio stars to fill a moderate sized media bag, but iirc it is not enough to fill up the whole tray. You can mix the bio stars with any other media you want. All the bio max or bio stars or (insert brand name here) are just surface area for your nitrifying bacteria. I would place the sponges into the filter in the order the instructions tell you. They are placed this way for a reason (coarse sponges on bottom, then finer in the middle). For the rest, go nuts.

 

[mohican]

XP3 fan here too. I run XP4 and XP3 on my 125 and they work great. Its hard to compare HOB vs canister; they kind of function differently. HOB will usually have higher turnover, but hold less media. Either way, your in the ballpark.

 

[Vinylmation]

Mohican, What media do you use in your two filters?

 

[foster53]

I use both brands of filters on my tanks. In the Aquaclears I use the sponge, and the rest is filled with ceramic rings. In the Filstar XP's I use the sponges in the bottom tray, and ceramic rings in the rest of the trays. I took the stars that came with the filter out. I hated how they float. Basically anything that is inert, and provides surface area can be used in the trays in the XP.

 

[Scooterdragon]

I hate the filstar I have that same filter on my 55 and it manages to suck air in around the so after three days it will stop pump so u have to unplug it and break the airlock tell it let's the air out and fills with water and had the quick disconnect break after about six months

 

[severum mama]

I have 5 or 6 filstars now, they range in age from 2 to 8 years. I do not have any trouble with them. I have experienced what Scooter mentioned, and it turned out my hoses were simply too long. If you trim the length of the hoses to only what is necessary, without much slack, IME you will not have this problem.

 

[bshenanagins]

I've only had issues with air in the intake. The plastic pieces come loose and when water gets below it starts getting loud and the water level in the filter drops. I love my XP4 it filters my turtle perfectly and so much media room.