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.

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

Buy Rena 722 Filstar XP3 Canister Filter Now

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.

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.

Want Rena 722 Filstar XP3 Canister Filter Discount?

The Rena XP series filters are the best bargain in the canister filter market. Eheims may have more bells and whistles and Magnums may be more well known, but Rena XP's occupy the best bang for your buck slot.

I've used my XP2 now for a year and a half on a moderately stocked 65 gallon with excellent success. I don't clean the filter as often as I should and I don't do water changes every week like some say is essential. Still, the XP2 keeps the water clean enough to raise and house 5 large discus, 4 large clown loaches and assorted other cleanup crew. While this product page is for the XP3 and I've commented on the XP2, I have also used the XP3. In fact, it's replacing my XP2 on the 65gallon and the XP2 is moving to my 29gallon. The 29 currently is serviced by a Magnum HOT with biowheel (which in turn is moving to the 20gallon).

Servicing the filters couldn't be easier lift the center handle and away you go. Like I said, I don't service it monthly, but when I do, it's simple and straight-forward. The baskets are generous in size and hold a lot of filter medium. I was fortunate and got a large service "kit" on sale one day. It had 10 or so filter pads, plus bags of charcoal and other media. That has sufficed for the past 18 months.

If you know about discus, you know how finicky they are about water quality. The fact that the XP2 services them for a couple of months at a time between cleanings says a lot about the filter.

Just get one! At the price, you can't beat it.

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