Lovegasoline
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2017
- Messages
- 44
I have a single male Red Ear Slider about 18 yrs old with approx. 6" shell. He lives in a 37 gallon tank (filled to the brim) plus an above tank basking area. Unfortunately tank size is limited due to the built-in nook (apartment) where the tank is located (tall format 37 gallon tank).
My canister filter is a vintage 2006 Rena/Filstar XP3 (rated capacity I believe is 100 gallons) which is about 16-17 years old. Not too long ago one of the filter canister's molded-in attachment points snapped off (where a removable clip mounts: 4 clips - one per corner - secures the filter head/motor assembly to the canister). This filter is no longer produced and a replacement canister alone would be about approx. $75 shipped. A bar clamp now serves temporary duty to keep things together until I figure out how to proceed.
I'm thinking it may be worthwhile to just buy a new canister filter. The XP3 has served well, can be a little noisy at times when it traps air at times, the aforementioned broken attachment point for the clips is a design weakness poorly implemented and not robust or confidence inspiring.
What's considered a very good canister filter these days? Quiet is good but reliability, user friendliness, and ease of maintenance (disassembly/cleaning/etc.) are paramount. Although a filter that requires more frequent attention and routine maintenance isn't a problem for me, occasionally I need a friend to be a turtle caretaker if I'm out of town, which may require cleaning the filter, changing sponges, etc. then reassembling and getting things up and running properly with minimum fuss. A finicky, poorly designed, difficult to clean/disassemble/reassemble filter, or one that requires too frequent tinkering will just exacerbate things.
Rock solid reliable, high built quality, easy to maintenance, and user friendly without requiring advanced mechanical aptitude to operate?
Any suggestions?
Thanks a bunch!
My canister filter is a vintage 2006 Rena/Filstar XP3 (rated capacity I believe is 100 gallons) which is about 16-17 years old. Not too long ago one of the filter canister's molded-in attachment points snapped off (where a removable clip mounts: 4 clips - one per corner - secures the filter head/motor assembly to the canister). This filter is no longer produced and a replacement canister alone would be about approx. $75 shipped. A bar clamp now serves temporary duty to keep things together until I figure out how to proceed.
I'm thinking it may be worthwhile to just buy a new canister filter. The XP3 has served well, can be a little noisy at times when it traps air at times, the aforementioned broken attachment point for the clips is a design weakness poorly implemented and not robust or confidence inspiring.
What's considered a very good canister filter these days? Quiet is good but reliability, user friendliness, and ease of maintenance (disassembly/cleaning/etc.) are paramount. Although a filter that requires more frequent attention and routine maintenance isn't a problem for me, occasionally I need a friend to be a turtle caretaker if I'm out of town, which may require cleaning the filter, changing sponges, etc. then reassembling and getting things up and running properly with minimum fuss. A finicky, poorly designed, difficult to clean/disassemble/reassemble filter, or one that requires too frequent tinkering will just exacerbate things.
Rock solid reliable, high built quality, easy to maintenance, and user friendly without requiring advanced mechanical aptitude to operate?
Any suggestions?
Thanks a bunch!
