# Rena Filstar xP3 canister filter



## lochness

Any advice on the best way to setup 2 Rena Filstar xP3 canister filters for a 90 gal would be greatly appreciated. I had the thought of using one for biological and chemical and the other for biological and mechanical filtration, but I'm not even sure as to which is the best combo for this - have only ever used HoB filters so I'm a tad intimidated. :withstup:


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## ron v

What "chemical media" are you considering????


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## lochness

ron v said:


> What "chemical media" are you considering????



activated charcoal, of course

mebbe my question was too confusing --

basically should i run the 2 filters identically with all the media and filtration or would it be better to split their functions? (i.e activated charcoal and floss/foam in one and zeolite and ceramic rings in the other? or activated charcoal and zeolite in one and the floss/foam with the rings in the other?) which set up would be most efficient?


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## ron v

lochness said:


> activated charcoal, of course.
> 
> Gosh, you say that as if everyone uses charcoal....... The only time I ever use charcoal if if I'm trying to get meds out of the water after a treatment for something. In my humble opinion, charcoal should not be routinely used as a filter media. Same with zeolite.


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## lochness

ron v said:


> lochness said:
> 
> 
> 
> activated charcoal, of course.
> 
> Gosh, you say that as if everyone uses charcoal....... The only time I ever use charcoal if if I'm trying to get meds out of the water after a treatment for something. In my humble opinion, charcoal should not be routinely used as a filter media. Same with zeolite.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> LOL i'm sry, again I have been out of the hobby for about 7 yrs and my methods were pretty old-fashioned even at the height of my breeding and maintaining - the fact that there are tanks that dont even use charcoal and zeolite boggles my mind atm - i've only ever used HoB (hang on back) filters and i'm completely new to canisters -- please enlighten me :smile:
Click to expand...


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## ron v

Old fashion.. old fashion.. LOL. You don't know old fashion. I remember burning a candle under the tank for heat... LOL. ( not really ). Actually, under normal conditions, there shouldn't be anything in your tank that charcoal is needed to take out. Right? And besides, charcoal cost money and if it doesn't do anything............ Also if charcoal is left in and it does absorb something, it will just leach it right back into the water. Of course all the people that sell charcoal will disagree with me..


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## lochness

interesting....

All I've ever known about activated carbon is it removes impurities (like chlorine) from the water and keeps that *fishy* smell to a minimum (and to remove meds from a tank). I will also have a bit of bogwood in my tank so will need the charcoal to remove the tannins they will emit - personally, I would feel more comfortable having it than not, at least in the beginning and since it would be changed every 3 weeks, the cost isn't really a factor. With this in mind, I can definitely see someone opting not to use it. Anyhow, back to my orig. question: should i run the 2 filters identically with all the media and filtration or would it be better to split their functions and if so, how?


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## ron v

You need to use something like amquel or start right to remove chlorine. Frequent water changes should help with smell. The charcoal would help with the tannins tho. It certainly won't hurt anything. Keep in mind, that when the charcoal is completely saturated, it will start to leach back into the water, and I don't know how to tell when it's saturated. I don't think how you set your filters up is important. Just make sure your mechanical media is first. To me the most important is the biological! But, I wouldn't have any chemical media at all , so maybe someone else can jump in here.


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## lochness

Thank You so much ron! It's this kinda of exchange and feedback I need to reintroduce me back into the swing of things and shed some new light on seasoned methods  I really appreciate it!


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## ron v

You are quite welcome. Let's get you back into the hobby and a regular on this forum. You would be a valuable addition. BTW, we need to talk about that dead piece of rotten meat you are planning to cycle your tank with..... LOL.


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## lochness

ron v said:


> BTW, we need to talk about that dead piece of rotten meat you are planning to cycle your tank with..... LOL.


ROFL it wouldnt be rotten when i put it IN the tank silly 

ps 
you made Jimmy laugh :grin:


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## TheOldSalt

I have to agree on the chemical media thing. Most of them only work for a short time before becoming either saturated or covered in bioslime and rendered useless anyway. They're great for short-term use for specific reasons like medicine/phosphate removal or water conditioning or whatnot, but otherwise they aren't usually worth the money & hassle.

Two filters are always better than one. You can clean one each month, but not the other, alternating each time, and that way you can maintain cleanliness without disrupting the stability of the system.


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## lochness

thnx  I finally opened the boxes last night and familiarized myself with them - they are now pretty much ready to go - i just gotta buy a black background and the sand (i wanted black or bleach white but my b/f wants the natural brown *sigh*) i havent dealt with live plants in ages so i think i'm going to go plastic for now until some time passes and i feel more comfortable - approx how many bags of sand ya think i will need for 3 inches of sand for a 90 gal?


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edit note:

sand topic has been covered in another thread where it was suggested sand should only be about 1 1/2 thick to avoid bad bacteria accumulating under the substrate. (thanks ron v  ) i will update once i get the sand and let you know how much sand it took to cover a 90 gal with 1 1/2 inch sand :fun:


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