Rena Filter XP

[Pop Eye]

I have a Rena Filter XP3 Filter and I was just wondering what is the best stuff to put in it. Do I need to be buying the carbon and all that other stuff? or not? I dont want to be wasting my money buying needless stuff. So I was just wondering what is the best stuff to be sticking in it?

Thanks

[Kevin]

I have only owned mine for about 3 months, but my experience with this and my eheims says that it is really up to you. That is what is great about the baskets.

What I use is open celled sponge at the first layer. Then I use 2 types of media to support biological growth and then I use a ton of the fine cottony filter media. Some of it comes with the filter. You don't have to buy the Rena stuff - you can improvise to make it cheaper. The only filter media I find that cannot be cleaned up and reused is the micro filtration pad. I buy this in squares from any of the major pet stores and cut it to size.

Kevin

[andyg]

I'll second Discus's comment that it's up to you.

I use 2 coarse foam pads in the bottom basket with fiberfill sandwiched between them,

2 medium and fiberfill in the middle and bio rings and the micropad in the top basket.

Every month or so I rinse the sponge under running water ( I'm on a well so no chlorine) and replace the the fiberfill ( around $3-4 at Walmart for a large bag ).

I replaced the micropad twice in one year of use. ( Not much gets past the two bottom baskets.)

[seajays]

Popeye, As per the info on this site. http://www.wernersponds.com/biofiltermedia.htmI put potscrubbers in mine. Hope they work. Three for a dollar at Superstore. But I am just a newbie going on what other people say. I will be talking to you about some fish when I get cycled.

[neatfreak]

I :heart: :heart: :heart: Rena's

in one of my xp3[i have2,and 2 xp2's] I put:

bottom[coarse spong,fine spong]:

middle[carbon]

top[bio-max,micro pad]

only rinse sponges in fish water, not under tap water.

:thumbs: :thumbs: :thumbs: