# Advice needed: Replacing Rena XP3 with either Eheim Ecco 2236 or Pro 3 2073/2075



## Kyle D (May 15, 2010)

Last night when we got home from work, we discovered something we didn't want to find. Our Rena XP3 was running but not pumping any water in our 50 gallon. When I looked at the canister there was about 4 inches of air in it. I tried re-priming (twice) it and got all of the air out (couldn't see any through the side of the canister) but it still wouldn't pump any water. I even tried shaking/tilting it to see if I could move whatever air was in there so it could be expelled, no luck. So we packed it up and took it back to the store we bought it from (over an hour away), the manager hooked it up and primed it without a problem and then it ran flawlessly. We left it running at the store for an hour to see if the problem would occur, but nope it just kept running fine. So we again packed it up and brought it back home. I then set it back up and primed it the way the manager recommended doing it, it wouldn't prime. I kept trying and eventually got it to some semblance of being primed and plugged it in, it was barely moving any water. I have a strong feeling we're going to find the filter not pumping anything when we got home from work today. We did plug in our air pump/stone so there will be some aeration in the tank in case the filter quits again.

So, we are in need of some advice. We are going to be replacing our Rena XP3 because it's not working and we don't trust it anymore.

We're looking at replacing it with an Eheim. I've been looking at the Ecco 2236, Pro 3 2073 and the Pro 3 2075. We're not looking at the classics because I'd prefer to have the media baskets, the quick disconnects for ease of cleaning and the self priming feature.

We have the Ecco 2232 on our 20 gallon tank and so far it's been perfect. It was really easy to setup, easy to prime, and it is dead silent. So, that's why I'm considering the Ecco 2236 plus the filter media will be interchangeable between the two (meaning if we buy a package of foam we can use it in both).

However, I've also looked at Pro 3 series because of how much they flow. The XP3 was rated at 350gph and the 2073 is rated at 276gph and the 2075 is rated at 330gph. Although since we've put Angel's in the tank we've had the flow turned down on the XP3. The Pro 3 series also appears to have a pre-filter but I'm not entirely sure on what that is.

I guess, long story short, is there really that big a difference between the Ecco and the Pro 3 series to warrant the $100+ price premium?


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## Daniil (Oct 30, 2009)

Check inlet hose, maybe something got stuck in it.


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## bosmahe1 (May 14, 2005)

Personally, I've had a Rena XP2 for 6 years and If I have to buy another filter, that will be a Rena also.

But I think you should go with what you are comfortable with and interchangability is definitely a plus. I would go with an Ecco.


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## Kyle D (May 15, 2010)

Daniil said:


> Check inlet hose, maybe something got stuck in it.


I checked everything out, it's was all good. It just wouldn't prime or work.


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## Kyle D (May 15, 2010)

bosmahe1 said:


> Personally, I've had a Rena XP2 for 6 years and If I have to buy another filter, that will be a Rena also.
> 
> But I think you should go with what you are comfortable with and interchangability is definitely a plus. I would go with an Ecco.


I know a few people who swear by the Rena XP's but the inability of it to prime, pretty much from day one, was annoyance but the fact that it stopped working is a huge problem! I'm glad we didn't loose any fish!

Also, some people in the aquarium society I'm a member of have highly recommended the Classic series, so now I'm considering those too.


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## jeremy1 (May 6, 2007)

I have both, the Rena XP3 and Ehiem classic 1117. I have had both filters for about a year and am happy with them. I do clean them about every 2 months so that certainly helps with the performance. The ehiem has more biological filtration, but you can always add more to the XP3 if desired.


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## cbwmn (Dec 18, 2007)

Did you check for a kink in the hose.
On an XP series that has been running, you normally do not have to prime it unless you've drained the water from the hoses somehow.
I dunno about Eheims but I love my Rena XP.
Charles


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## Izzy (Jun 4, 2006)

How are you restricting the filters flow for the angels?


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## Aquaticz (May 22, 2009)

For over 20 years I fought the price of an Eheim. What an idiot....lol
Now I would use nothing else & have three. I find that when there is a problem its easiest to disconnect the filter and then siphon water from the inlet & outlet into a bucket. It's usually the inlet if these is a problem. HTH


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## Kyle D (May 15, 2010)

The filter ran dry again last night so we packed it up and took it back to the store. We picked up an Eheim Classic 2215 to replace the XP3. We are actually planning on picking up a second 2215 to put on the tank as well to act as sort of an insurance policy in case one fails.



jeremy1 said:


> I have both, the Rena XP3 and Ehiem classic 1117. I have had both filters for about a year and am happy with them. I do clean them about every 2 months so that certainly helps with the performance. The ehiem has more biological filtration, but you can always add more to the XP3 if desired.


We did add more biological filtration to the XP3. We added some more Rena bio-stars and about 1 litre of Seachem Matrix bio-media. But the coco-puffs that come with Eheim's are really nice!



cbwmn said:


> Did you check for a kink in the hose.
> On an XP series that has been running, you normally do not have to prime it unless you've drained the water from the hoses somehow.
> I dunno about Eheims but I love my Rena XP.
> Charles


I did check for a kink in the hose and there wasn't any. As for repriming, I'm referring to the fact that after I clean it you need to let it fill the canister, it would always stop with about an inch of air in the top. But twice in the past two days it would run itself dry, there would be about 3-4 inches of air in the top of the filter.



Izzy said:


> How are you restricting the filters flow for the angels?


We were using the flow adjuster that came with the XP3 kit on the spray bar and had it somewhere between 1/2-3/4 of wide open.



Aquaticz said:


> For over 20 years I fought the price of an Eheim. What an idiot....lol
> Now I would use nothing else & have three. I find that when there is a problem its easiest to disconnect the filter and then siphon water from the inlet & outlet into a bucket. It's usually the inlet if these is a problem. HTH


Thanks for that advice. I'm thinking that we should have also went with the Eheim from the beginning as well. We know currently have an Ecco (on our 20L puffer tank) and a Classic and are planning on adding another Classic to the 50 planted tank. The Eheim's are so much easier to assemble than the XP3 was. The tubes on the XP3 gave me fits, I think it took me 3-4 hours to get the tubes onto everything far enough. The Eheim's took about 20-30 minutes to completely setup from start to finish.


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## psusaxman2000 (Dec 22, 2009)

Just like everyone else, I think it comes down to preference. Yeah, the canister is going to have to fill after you clean it, but as long as you have not modified the inlet line, it should fill fine. If the water level in your tank is to low or your head height is to much, you could have a problem with the water getting to the filter. 

Needless to say, that is in the past now since you got the new filter. Hopefully this one works out better for you.


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