Upgrading my HOB filters

[jkalfsbeck]

Well over the weekend before I got clobbered by Wilma I went out and bought a RENA xp3 canister filter. And I have to say my amonia level dropped to almost 0. (was around .25 before each water change.) My 2 emperor 400's couldn't keep up w/ the bioload.

Anyone else have experience w/ these filters? My water is also crystal clear . It looks very simple to do maintenance on these also. Priming it took like 20 secs. So far i'm pretty happy w/ this thing, sometimes you forget it's running b/c it's so quiet. I'm not using the spray bar on it however i'm using the outlet more like a powerhead to disturb the surface.

If anyone else knows anyone or has one let me know what you think I'm curious.

Thanks.

 

[tecwzrd]

Sorry to hear you got hit by Wilma

The RENA xp3 is fairly new on the market but it’s gotten some great reviews so far. I would like to see it on the market for a couple of years and see if people have any long term issues with parts breaking or leaking.

I find it surprising that 2 emperor 400’s couldn’t keep up with your bio load considering each one is rated for up to an 80 gal tank! Just how big is your tank and what kind of fish do you keep in it?

 

[jkalfsbeck]

Like I said so far it's a fantastic filter.

As for the tank it's a 210 gal. (72L"x24W"x30H")

I have a coralife Super Skimmer 220 on there along w/ a CL 36w UV sterilizer. Now w/ a Rena xp3

And for livestock:
Harlequin Tusk
Blue Jaw Trigger
Leopard Wrasse
Yellow Tang
Naso Tang
Fox Face
Juv. Emperor Angel (My pride and joy, He's also hand fed)

And for some reason the HOB couldn't keep up w/ the load.

I run the mechanical, biological, and chemical in the 3 chambers of the RENA.

 

[tecwzrd]

Nice tank & livestock The XP3 does look pretty easy to take care of but I’m kind of surprised you didn’t just use a sump/refugium with a tank that size. Unless noise was an issue

Are you also using the emperor 400's along with the XP3? Glad it’s working out for you & I hope you have power.

 

[jkalfsbeck]

Luckily my area only had winds from 60-80 mph. Never lost power and only lost my satellite signal for like 20 mins.


The plan is to just run the xp3 filter along w/ the super skimmer.

The 400's are eye sores considering the amount of salt creep they create. And I'm still playing around w/ the fuge idea just not any good and figuring out the calcs. for amount of flow and all that.

 

[lando]

Sorry about the storm. The filter may help but I am worried that you are still battling NH3. This should not be the case in a stocked tank. My suggestion is to lighten the bioload of the tank and let the tank's own biological filtration catch up. Otherwise it is going to be an endless game of catch-up for you. Cut way back on feedings and consider thining things out for a while. You can certainly slowly start adding your livestock again once the tank is ready. Good luck!

 

[jkalfsbeck]

Well I haven't had a good size water change since the new filter system, so I'm going to try that first and then see how or if anything creeps back up. If it does I've already determined that I'll give up either the Fox face or Naso or the Yellow.

The blue jaw, emperor , leopard wrasse, and tusk are definately staying. I know the bioload can handle those 4.

 

[tecwzrd]

I'm still playing around w/ the fuge idea just not any good and figuring out the calcs. for amount of flow and all that.

You can find a good calculator for that here http://reefcentral.com/calc/sump.php As for water flow you want to turn your tank over about 10-15 times per hour and that would include the pump in the sump & also the total PH’s you use.

For a 210 that would be around 2500-3000 gph total movement. A 1500 gph sump pump and 4 250 ghp PH would do it. Or you could do a closed loop system with a larger pump and a couple of SCWD wave makers.
http://www.melevsreef.com/closedloop.html
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=10668&OVMKT

 

[jkalfsbeck]

Ya I've been looking at those and other fuge plumbing set ups. As for flow besides the 330 gph on the Rena I have 3 Via Aqua 4900 PH (1321 gph) So I think i'm ok on surface turnover.

Just thought if I did a descent amount of water change I would give my skimmer and the new filter a chance to see what they can really do and that way I can figure out just how fast the amonia creeps back up if it does so I can make a determination on which fish to trade in. They're all like pets to me so I want to do everything I can first (without making them suffer of course) before I do the trade in.

Another Idea i'm playing around w/ is growing my own calupera in another tank and try to get it to grow in the main 210. Don't know how bad the two tangs would do in disturbing it.

 

[greenmaji]

you might want to investigate your skimmers setup to see if your application of it promotes effecency.. here is a link.. HTH
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=554786