Rena 722 Filstar XP3 Canister Filter

Searched long to find the right filter. These Bio filters with multiple chambers for media is the way to go with turtles. We have a female red ear slider about 7 inches front to back of shell (she was about the size of a silver dollar when we got her two years ago). She is very messy and the in tank filter was just not handling it. This filter with fresh water and a good shell scrubbing of our baby has worked fine. We used to have to clean her tank and change water every week to keep her water from getting too filthy. This filter in a forty gallon aquarium has been set up for three months now and other than adding water as it evaporates and cleaning her rocks we haven't had to do anything else except feed her. We did clean out the filter once because she made a mess of some fresh aquatic plants we bought for her. She chewed up fifteen dollars worth of plants in just two days. She probably ate some but most of them were chewed and left floating. The filter clogged from all the plant material. But I can't blame the filter for that. The water is always crystal clear. She seems to love her environment now.

There is a couple of things to keep in mind when using the filter for turtles. The intake tubing inside the tank comes in sections that have to be pushed together. They tend to loose prime at the connections because turtle tanks are only about half full and some of the connections are above the water level. I had to glue them together to keep the prime. The filter has to absolutely be at least 16 inches below the tank bottom. I set ours on the floor and the tank on the top of a 29 inch high credenza. When priming remember to fill the tube with water with the filter hose valve in the off position (the instructions will explain). Make sure there are no air leaks and screw on the cap tightly on the prime hole when you are done priming. With no air leaks in the intake hose, the tank about half full or more and the top of the filter about 16 inches below the bottom of the tank when you lock the hoses in place which opens the valves the weight of the water in the intake hose should pull water through the intake tube to fill the filter and you should at this point have a prime. This should now let you turn the filter on without loosing prime and your tank should stay clean like ours for months. This filter has three cannisters and each cannister has two chambers. We are using the foam layers as they came with the filter, two large pore followed by two small pore foams filters in the first cannister (this is from the bottom of the filter to the top). The water moves around the cannisters to the bottom of the filter and is pulled up to the top. So the set up is from the bottom up. The second cannister we used for the biomass. We used the round pellets in the first (bottom) chamber with a mesh top (included), followed by the star biomass media in the second chamber (top). In the third cannister we used nitrate/nitrite (white amonia media) in the first chamber followed by a mesh and then charcoal media in the second chamber with a micron filter on top followed by another mesh. Then we placed the top on that and closed it. After about a month and a half we had the plant incident and had to clean the filter. I just rinsed everything out real good except for the biomass media which I lightly rinsed (you want to keep the bacteria that collects on the media because this helps eat the chemicals in the water and solids). I then replaced everything again and it has been working great since. They recommend changing the carbon every month but we haven't yet. They also recommend changing the nitrate/nitrite media every ten months, so we have a while to go. The micron filter needs to be changed also after a few months. I wouldn't change the foam unless it is clogged to the point were I can't get it cleaned out. It is only to collect solids and retain them till they decompose and are absorbed by the bacteria.

I think any multiple chamber filter would work as well. I am skeptical about anything below three chambers for turtles. One large turtle I think is the equivalent of a thousand fish in feces and pee (that's just my guess). This filter is rated for a much bigger tank but I think a smaller filter would not have worked for a turtle as large as ours. Turtles do grow fast and keep growing. They also live for forty years so get a large filter that will handle larger tanks. If you can afford it I would go for the XP4 which is bigger and rated for larger aquariums. For turtles I think multiple chambers are really important because they do not need oxygen in the water since they do not have gills but they do need clean water to stay healthy and they are super, super, mega super messy.

The biggest complaints I have read from turtle owners about filters is getting a prime. Remember, you can not have any air leaks in the intake tube or hosing. We are going to look for a solid tube that we can cut to use for our intake so we do not have connections above the water.

Cons: Only the tubing, It should be a solid piece that you cut to size instead of multiple small pieces you connect together. But then again this setup works fine for fish tanks since the level of the water would always be above the connections. For turtle tanks which are only filled a little above half way you need to glue the connections above the water or find a solid tube to use instead.

The XP3 is a very good canister filter.

The good? 3 decent sized trays, "priming" intake tube, configurable outflow tubes, all-you-need-in-a-box package (with exception of biomedia).

The bad? The quick disconnect is not heavy duty and can be distorted by any tension on one of the tubes (especially the output)--resulting in a leak because the O-rings do not seat. Also, the o-ring are not a "tight" fit and cannot handle much pressure. If you have any inline accessories that constitute a significant load (ie. uv sterilizers, CO2 reactors, etc), water will leak past the disconnect o-rings and onto your floor after flooding the top unit on the inside! Worst of all, this happens after about an hour or so and is not readily apparent!

Bottom line: I would much rather NOT have the convenience of the quick disconnect and instead have some external ball valves. My XP3 leaked on my the first time I used it. I searched online and this is a common problem.

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Sorry to the 1 star reviewers, they seem like they are a little instruction-inhibited. Priming yes, took a minute but get the valve right and it works fine. You're right, no tension in the tubes but who places their filter in the bedroom when the tank is in the living room? I think they provided AMPLE tubing and i have a 75 gallon tank sitting on a standard 75 gallon stand with inflow on one side and outflow on the other.

THIS FILTER IS AWESOME END OF STORY:

Cleaning cleaning cleaning and more cleaning. I have a 75gal tank and will have 53 live plants and several fish as soon as the water is completely conditioned. Needless to say, as you're conditioning water, you clean the filter daily for a few weeks (except the bio filter, more on that in a minute). This filter is incredibly simple to clean. You unplug the power, raise the shutoff valve and carry the entire filter to the sink or bathtub. Wipe down each piece, rinse the particle filters and you're done. Attach the shutoff valve and turn it back on. you only have to prime this thing once, right out of the box. then every week when you routinely clean it's MINIMAL water spilling, if any. the hoses remain full of water so no more priming necessary. This is hands down without a doubt the most genius design; it actually makes the "hastle" of filter cleaning a piece of cake.

The design of the filter is also genius. it pumps water to the bottom and then sucks upwards through the filters, using gravity as an advantage for extra filtering. instead of shoving water through a filter and discharging to the tank, it sends the unfiltered water to the bottom and "pulls" it upwards. Large trash sits completely in the bottom of the bucket, before ever entering the filter systems. Large particle filter at the bottom, then the bio filter in the middle, then the fine particle filter at the top. The bio filter is also awesome. Consider it a miniature wetlands for your tank, in my opinion being the most effective of all types of filtering.

The thing is totally silent and the outflow tube sits BELOW the water surface. no waterfall noise all night long, it's a completely silent tank. also excellent that there's no surface disruption to release your CO2 if you use a feeder for your plants.

all in all one awesome filter. top to bottom left to right the most convenient easy-to-use system i have ever seen. if you have problems priming the lines to begin with, i did too, but after a few tries it finally started flowing. that's why it's called PRIMING. done deal never to need to be done again til i ever have to clean the hoses. to those that had problems with customer service, i can't comment as i didn't need them. good luck though, thankfully my product worked right out of the box. highly, highly recommended

Read Best Reviews of Rena 722 Filstar XP3 Canister Filter Here

Using on a 72 gallon bowfront. A couple notes from experiences: After cleaning filter, fill up with warm water, snap the top on and then connect the quick connect hose fitting. Allow time for water/air to bubble up and clear in tubes. Turn on. May need to turn off power and rebirp the quick disconnect to get a good flow started. Never had a priming problem doing this.

Don't wash the ceramic bio disks vigourously. They hold and multiply the good bacteria you want to keep. Quick rinse/shake container and don't let them dry out. Keep the chlorine level low in cleaning water contacting the cermamic bio disks to avoid killing beneficial bacterial.

Clean off the rubber sealing gasket and apply a lite film of petrolium jelly to the rubber.

Change the impeller and stainless pin guide every year.

Change the charcoal about once every 1-2 months. Between changes, a gentle flush of the bag is all that's needed.

Very good filter.

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Note for video: This is what an XP3 sounds like (not much at all), and the appearance of water running into the intake side when properly primed. The hum in the background is mainly from the air pump nearby. The couple of loud clicks at the beginning are unrelated to the filter.

Enough has been said about the performance of the XP3, which is highly dependent on media setup, environment, tank specifics, etc. This will focus on the little things that will hopefully help out other owners/prospective buyers.

With any canister filter, there are a few major concerns.

1. Setup (get it to work/how do I know it is working)

2. Reliability (no leaks/consistent performance)

3. Maintenance (cleaning/disassembly/replacement parts)

4. Tweaks and optimizations

Point by point:

1. Setup

The most difficult issues most will encounter center on two things: A) Pulling the tubing over the connectors and B) Getting the quick-disconnect to easily lock. Point A is trivial provided you have the proper diameter tubing (the stuff that comes in the box or comparable 5/8" ID 11/32" OD or thicker tubing) and Super Lube Synthetic Grease with Syncolon Multi Purpose Lubricant 3 oz or a similar silicone-based lubricant. Simply apply lube to the ends of the filter pieces that need to be covered, wipe your hands dry, and apply moderate force, twisting a bit as needed. Heat can also help (warm water), but the lubricant should make this unnecessary.

For point B, note that the quick disconnect lever cannot be forced down without damage-simply tilt forward and press the entire assembly down slightly, and then with your other hand gently push the lever down.

2. Reliability

There are again two primary issues here: A) Securing/clamping the tubing to the filter parts, and B) proper filter placement to allow the built-in priming (siphoning) mechanism to work. For point A, get some stainless steel hose clamps (any hardware store-the worm gear type) and use those instead of the plastic clamps supplied in the box. If you used lubricant to put the tubing on, you should have no issues covering all of the barbs and then a bit of smooth (non-barbed) area beyond. Use the hose clamps on this smooth area, making sure you don't apply too much force; generally, you should only tighten the clamps with your screwdriver until moderate resistance is felt and you can see the steel has started to clamp into the body of the tubing, but not severely so.

Getting the filter to prime can either be the easiest task in the world, or a significant challenge. If you have a typical setup where your aquarium/tank sits on an elevated surface with your canister filter below (and in a relatively straight line with respect to the intake/output hoses), simply follow the instructions on the box, and all will be well. If, however, your tank/aquarium is level with, or only slightly elevated relative to your canister, prepare for an uphill struggle to get the filter to run as designed, whether from the start or over time. The best advice here is to rethink your setup (speaking from experience).

If primed properly (properly being you start without water in the canister, lift up the quick disconnect, fill up the intake tube, screw the cap back on, lock down the quick disconnect, and the filter fills itself via siphon action/gravity), once you plug the filter in, it should work. You should barely see any disruption on the intake end when shining a light and looking at the top of the filter through the clear body. Your output stream, when set to full open, should also be very robust (a stream of water, unless you are using the spray bar). There should barely be any noise coming from the canister body/motor during operation.

3. Maintenance

This is one of the better aspects of the XP3, at least if it's set up properly. Simply unplug, remove the quick disconnects, and clean out as you need. Examine the seals around the quick disconnect nozzles a few times per year and grease with Super Lube as needed (yes, this would require you to unscrew the hose clamps and pull the hoses off, which should be a challenging but doable task if you used grease to put them on). The same goes of the outer (rectangular) seal.

Make sure you don't overfill the media baskets, and ensure that the baskets make a tight seal against one another. The four clamps at the top should close easily-if you encounter resistance, check that your media baskets are stacked flat on all sides and the top lid is in place.

Most parts of the XP3 should need little care beyond common sense inspection. Do note that the motor of the XP3 does NOT run properly on stepped sine wave battery backups (you'll burn the motor out)-get a true sine wave model if you want to hook the XP3 up to a UPS.

4. Tweaks/Optimizations

Pre-filters: I use the XP3 for a 4.5" red eared slider, for context. Thus, most of my focus is on mechanical and biological filtration, and I use the XP3 to perform more of the latter than the former. A sponge pre-filter over the intake dramatically cuts down on the cleaning intervals required (based on water chemistry parameters and flow rate), from monthly to 3-4 times/year. However, this also means that a supplemental filter is required to handle large particulates.

Upgraded tubing: Tygon is the industry standard for quality tubing (non-toxic, extremely pliable, and tough), but it isn't cheap, and the XP series requires somewhat difficult-to-find specs, at least if you don't want to buy 50'-100' quantities. I've re-tubed my XP3 with Tygon R3603 5/8" ID, 15/16" OD tubing (about $4/foot) with excellent results. The ID is the more important factor with respect to fit, while the OD just needs to be high enough to withstand operating pressures. Feel free to go higher on the wall thickness, but be very careful if going lower than the Rena spec calls for (11/32", I believe). A tubing cutter helps immensely. Check computer watercooling boutiques. See images for reference.

Intake/output connections: A common complaint is less than optimal seals between the modular piping Rena supplies. There's no reason you can't bypass the piping altogether and use flexible tubing instead; various adapters/sheer force + hose clamps can be quite effective. Ball valves are available for output flow control, and these attach/insert directly into tubing ends.

Remember, there are a few absolutes with this (and any) canister filter, the most important being application of lubricant to put tubing on (and using steel hosing clamps to secure the connection) and proper filter placement with respect to the tank/aquarium and the intake/output ends. After these criteria are met, the other details need not follow manufacturer guidelines, so have fun and experiment.

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