# Help needed with XP3 ASAP



## jeffk (Apr 14, 2006)

Today i cleaned out my xp3. Once i put it back together and tried to restart it it wouldn't prime. No idea why. So I figured i'd use the funnel and reprime it. I've poured gallons of water into it, it seems to not fill the tube, but possibly go back into the tank or something? I dont understand, i've tried tons of things, it will not prime, so i can not get it to start. It won't fill. Any help is appreciated, as I need to get it started again to filtrate my fish, its only a few months old. I don't get it.


Thanks,

Jeff


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## Yeaulman (Jun 23, 2005)

what i do is fill the xp3 in the sink with treated water... then let it do its thing.


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## jeffk (Apr 14, 2006)

I'll try that. Was thinkign of that, but wanted to see if anyone had any ideas here first, but I'm going to try that now.

thanks



Yeaulman said:


> what i do is fill the xp3 in the sink with treated water... then let it do its thing.


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## jeffk (Apr 14, 2006)

That, along with rocking the xp3 a little bit worked. Not sure what happened, but all is good now, thanks.

Jeff


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## Linda (Mar 3, 2006)

i don't know why either, but maybe the disconnector piece wasn't sealed properly therefore not allowing any movement to begin.


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## vicpinto (Mar 27, 2007)

Is the o-ring installed correctly? Is the cap on top of the inlet providing a tight seal? Those caps are flimsy and sometimes crack.

Sometimes, during a 50% water change I forget to lift up the lever on the filter. The water falls below the inlet/outlet and I loose my prime. When this happens I do the following about 10 times and I am able to re prime my filter:

1) Lift up lever on unit.
2) Disconnect from filter.
3) Reconnect to filter.
4) Lower lever on unit.
5) Repeat 10x.

Hope this helps.


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## ingg (Apr 8, 2007)

Glad it is working again for you, I've only run into this where it could suck air instead of water at water change time...only because I use surface skimmer intakes and the top part wasn't submerged yet when I put the filter back on.


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## fattyratrat (Jun 19, 2007)

i always stick the output of a powerhead right up the the input of the canister... works awesome everytime.


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## 954baby (Feb 8, 2008)

I had the same problem with my sp1, thanks.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

I would check that hoses are not kinked, but I often need to prime them (not just Rena Filstars) with a pump. Run the pump until all the air has been purged, then plug in the canister while the pump is still running.


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## cbwmn (Dec 18, 2007)

I was having trouble with an air leak on the inlet side.
I contacted PlanetRena.com and a rep emailed me. He asked me what I had done.
One thing I told him is that I would put the canister in the sink, insert baskets and media and then fill with tank water to overflowing. Buckle it down and install it.

He told me that it should not be done that way. The baskets could be out of alignment and the canister could be damaged when it's buckled down.
He said always assemble it and install it empty, without water.
When the hoses are installed and the quick release engaged, the canister automatically fills with water. It's even in the manual that came with the canister.

BTW, the air leak was apparently a tiny crack in the inlet pipe. I was told to tape it with electrical tape (aquarium safe) from below the water line to the top where the priming cap is. That stopped it from spitting air out the spraybar.

Good luck,,
Charles


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## JugBandBanjoCat (Apr 26, 2006)

cbwmn said:


> I was having trouble with an air leak on the inlet side.
> I contacted PlanetRena.com and a rep emailed me. He asked me what I had done.
> One thing I told him is that I would put the canister in the sink, insert baskets and media and then fill with tank water to overflowing. Buckle it down and install it.
> 
> ...


That's fine if you don't mind blasting a canisters worth of air into your tank then having to top off the tank and monkey with the silly funnel. I prefer to fill mine in the sink. If you just pay attention to what you are doing when you buckle down the top you'll be fine. I was getting air leaking through the priming cap. Caps from 250ml Seachem fert bottels work good as a replacement. I ended up sealing it on with silicone since I never remove the cap.

The other air leak I had was due to a worn out impeller seal. That will make it start sucking air into the canister. I've had it for 3 years and never replaced the seals so I guess it was due. After I did that it was fine.

I use my Rena XP3 with a Filter-Max III pre-filter, Hydor FLO rotating water deflector and an inline Danner Mag 3 needle wheel pump.


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## cbwmn (Dec 18, 2007)

JugBandBanjoCat said:


> That's fine if you don't mind blasting a canisters worth of air into your tank then having to top off the tank and monkey with the silly funnel. I prefer to fill mine in the sink. If you just pay attention to what you are doing when you buckle down the top you'll be fine. I was getting air leaking through the priming cap. Caps from 250ml Seachem fert bottels work good as a replacement. I ended up sealing it on with silicone since I never remove the cap.
> 
> The other air leak I had was due to a worn out impeller seal. That will make it start sucking air into the canister. I've had it for 3 years and never replaced the seals so I guess it was due. After I did that it was fine.
> 
> I use my Rena XP3 with a Filter-Max III pre-filter, Hydor FLO rotating water deflector and an inline Danner Mag 3 needle wheel pump.


Jug,
I'm like you, don't like to funnel, it spills when you overfill.
When you disconnect the hose assembly for cleaning, water is trapped in the hoses.
When you latch down the hose disconnect, water siphons from the tank and fills the canister to within about an inch of the canister top. 
The only time I've had to prime was the first setup and then when I put new hoses
on it.
I do get a few bubbles but they don't bother anything, they only spit bubbles for a minute or so.

I checked the user guide and it explains the procedure on pages 16 and 17.
I don't want to break anything by filling in the sink like I used too.

Charles


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## bosmahe1 (May 14, 2005)

I think it is key to unlatch the hose quick connect before lowering the water level lower than the intake and spraybar. That way you still have water in the hoses. With water still in the hoses, the filter will fill up to 1 inch from the top because of trapped air. You can tilt and jiggle the canister after its running to remove some of the trapped air.


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## bosmahe1 (May 14, 2005)

Oh, and just in case. Go get a real funnel from Advance Auto. But you will have to fill it real slowly or you will have water on the back wall, power strips etc...


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## cbwmn (Dec 18, 2007)

bosmahe1 said:


> Oh, and just in case. Go get a real funnel from Advance Auto. But you will have to fill it real slowly or you will have water on the back wall, power strips etc...


That's right, happened to me twice. 
The only two times I've had to prime in almost a year.
Charles


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## jart (Mar 13, 2005)

fattyratrat said:


> i always stick the output of a powerhead right up the the input of the canister... works awesome everytime.


And what powerhead (brand, model) do you suggest for this purpose?
I would love to know... sometimes my canisters will prime, sometimes they will not. I fought with a Fluval for about 45 minutes on Sunday evening.


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## JugBandBanjoCat (Apr 26, 2006)

jart said:


> And what powerhead (brand, model) do you suggest for this purpose?
> I would love to know... sometimes my canisters will prime, sometimes they will not. I fought with a Fluval for about 45 minutes on Sunday evening.


I had a Maxi-Jet 1200 attached to the inlet of the filter. I cut some hose off of an old gravel cleaner and used that to connect the powerhead to the inlet. Also put a prefilter sponge on the inlet of the powerhead. The Maxi-Jet 1200 is 295gph. It gave a nice boost to the XP3 and I left it running all the time. Now I have the needle wheel pump, which is 350gph, connected inline between the filter and the outlet.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Any kind of pump or powerhead will work to prime filters. 
You need to stick the outlet of the pump into the inlet of the filter. This can be done directly, or with a piece of vinyl tubing between the pump and inlet. I have even held the parts together by hand. You get some loss, but no leaks, it is all underwater inside the tank. 

I find pumps from about 100-200 gph work best. Slower, and they take too long, and may not have the power to blow out the air toward the end. More powerful and I have had one intake tube come apart. 

I seem to have quite a few small fountain pumps in about that size range, so I just grab whichever one is nearest. Most tanks also have a power head such as the Aquaclear series, but I am getting away from them, and using the Koralias. These cannot be adapted to prime the canister filters. (well, not very easily). 

I also seem to get water behind the tank each time I try to prime Rena Filstars 'by the book'.
Yes, it is important to be sure the baskets are all properly seated. I reassemble it all near the tank, and prime with tank water, or refill water that is prepared in a garbage can. Refill water is being pumped into the tank with one of my fountain pumps via vinyl tubing. Easy to stick it into the canister inlet. 

Yes, electrical tape works inside the tank to seal the parts together pretty well. Not entirely waterproof, though.


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## jart (Mar 13, 2005)

Thanks for the replies.
Priming these filters, for me, is by far the most frustrating part of this hobby. Moreso than algae.

I unplugged my XP3 this morning to do a spot treatment with H2O2.
Plugged it back in 15 minutes later... loud rattling noise, but no water flow (nothing new) 

After attempting to prime it several times, with no success, I placed the outflow from a new (bought for this purpose) Maxijet 600 directly over the XP3 intake. I did this with the quick disconnect valve in both positions... there was no water movement, not even any air being expelled. The filter continued to make loud noises, but no water movement. I fiddled with all the connections. Any thoughts? With the quick disconnect up, shouldn't air be expelled when the Maxijet is on? Time to buy Eheim?


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## bosmahe1 (May 14, 2005)

jart said:


> Thanks for the replies.
> Priming these filters, for me, is by far the most frustrating part of this hobby. Moreso than algae.
> 
> I unplugged my XP3 this morning to do a spot treatment with H2O2.
> ...


Do you by chance have an inline co2 reactor on the output? When I used to use a reactor, sometimes it would give me problems restarting the filter.


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## jart (Mar 13, 2005)

I can't imagine why anything on the output would make any difference. But for the record, I do have both a reactor and an inline heater on the output. Perhaps that is the reason it is so difficult to prime.

It still strikes me as odd that the filter would not prime, even with the powerhead on the intake (it did eventually prime, but only after about 45 minutes of nonsensical repetitive fiddling).

Thanks for the response, bosmahe1. I eventually plan to replace both my inline reactors, one with a Hagen Elite Mini Underwater Filter setup, the other with a needlewheel pump. Maybe that will help.


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## bosmahe1 (May 14, 2005)

When I had the reactor attached, the canister would fill with several inches of water and then stop filling. I would lift the release handle and hear a rush of air expel and start filling another several inches and stop. Lift handle again, hear air expel and fill another several inches. I would continue this scenario until there was enough water to reach the impeller. I have since removed the reactor and used a power head for a while which worked well but co2 bubbles hitting the impeller was rather noisey. I am now using an inline defuser on the output. So far that is working real well, no noise and no priming issues.

In retrospect, I didn't always have priming issues with the reactor. I did use it for over a year and was happy with it. I do like the better water flow without the reactor though.


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