# Disappointed with lights AND leaking filter



## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

_This is a double topic thread, so in my best John McLaughlin voice..._

*"Issue number ONE! Leaking XP3."*

I was rudly awoken this morning at 3am to the sound of splashing water, like when your water levels get down around the output of the powerheads or filter return. As I laid in my bed still mostly unconscious, I thought, "That's not possible, I just topped it off before I went to sleep...unless..." Sure enough, the inside of the cabinet was wet and the carpet all around the left side of the stand was wet. I felt around the cannister and the leak seemed to be orginating on the backside where the electrical cord comes out of the motor housing! Seemed kind of dangerous but I'm sure everything is epoxied properly so I wasn't overly concerned about it. Still, I shut the filter off because I didn't want anymore water getting on the carpet and went back to sleep because in an hour and a half the alarm clock would be going off.

So what could be the source of this leak? The XP3 had been running on my 85gal for over a year before I replaced it with an Eheim, then it sat in my parent's garage for six months or more, then it was working wonderfully on this 50gal I'm trying to get ready for discus. Arg. I was so excited because it was working very very quietly, almost as quiet as my Eheims. I hope I don't have to replace the top housing because those cost almost as much as a brand new filter! Any suggestions?

*"Issue number TWOOO - Disappointing Coralife lights"*

My LFS received the 30" 2x18 T5 Coralife fixture yesterday and I sped home at 100mph to test it out on the 50gal. I should have taken my time. It was nothing impressive. In fact, I'm pretty disappointed with it. It's probably great for a 20gal long tank, but not enough for even the back half of the Oceanic. I like having the ColorMax bulb on there, but the light output doesn't seem anywhere near what I thought it would be. I don't even think I could grow hygros very well directly below this light. I'll have my CO2 and some plants ready by this weekend, and hopefully I'll fix the filter leak described above, so I can test it. I'm _really_ not expecting much. I had just started thinking about growing a full riccia foreground but this light certainly won't do that...at least that's my first impression.

I'm not sure what to do at this point. Should I return it and replace it with two 1x55W PCs, should I keep it across the front and add a 1x55W across the back, etc.? Does anybody know if these Coralife T5 fixture are NO or HO? If they are NO, is there an easy way to overdrive them and make them HO? I really like the fixture and the fact that it's only 3" wide and 1" high, so if I can use two of these and grow a riccia foreground, I'll be happy...but there is not _nearly_ enough light as is.

*"Buh-bye!"*


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## freydo (Jan 7, 2006)

XP3: it's possible the o-ring had dried out while it was sitting in your garage. you might have to just replace that.

Lights: 18 watts? seems to me those are only NO T5 lamps and NOT HO. i think the only way you can overdrive the lamps is replacing the ballast to something like a fulham workhorse ballast: http://www.fulham.com/

you might be able to get them at home depot. they're not available at the ones here in my city, but they may be in your city.

another option is going with AHSupply, but then you lose the slim size of the corolife fixture.


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## DonaldmBoyer (Aug 18, 2005)

Sorry Troy to be the bringer of bad news but.....

Coralife is NO. I don't know if you can overdrive them or not. To grow Riccia, you will need much more lighting than what you have. I would keep the fixture, but you will need to add at least another PC if not two. Are you planning a Riccia lawn, or will it be further up on driftwood in the tank?


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Thanks fellas.

The foreground is going to be mostly Japanese riccia (thanks Roy!.) I really thought this light was going to be more than what it has turned out to be. I may just bite the bullet and return it and build some small housings for single 1x55W AHS lights. 2.5" high housings are still pretty small, so I'd be comfortable with that.

If I do decide to overdrive these, what wattage ballast should I look for?


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Yes, those are NO, but the color makes up for it.
Yes they are great for a 20 long, but I think they will make a great compliment to any sized tank because of the colormax bulb.

You could get a Tek 3 foot and add an aquamedic Planta bulb for similar results in HO, but that will be 
pricey. I think your best bet is to get a 30" 65 watt PC, if you want to stay with black, get the Current Sattelite here www.tricitytropicals.com if they have the refurbished in stock it is only about $65 (check I might be wrong) and you will have to call to check stock as the website is not kept up to date. But adding this and keeping your T5 NO fixture, you are still at just above $100 for lighting (shipping not figured into that price) which is not bad, and I think you will be happy with that combo.

If you are able to get the Refurb, when ordering ask for the 10,000k, or dual daylight 10,000k / 6500k or the 6500k bulb, or else it will come with the 10,000k / actinic bulb and you will have to buy a new one (you will have to call to request this). They have dont this in the past for free sometimes, or they charge about $5 but worth it. Also, that Current light has a moonlight which the Coralife fixtures lack. Not at all necessary, but kind of nice IMO

Filter, best bet is that PetSmart was running a special for XP3's of the website for $79 with promo code XP3/XP4 (I think, there is a thread here with this info) or you get $30 off the Xp4 or $15 off the Xp2 or Xp1. If you go to the web, you can find the filter, put in the promo code, print it with that price, and go to a petsmart, get the filter, go up to the cashier and show them the online price and they will price match it in the store, or you can order online and they will ship free.

That is my best case for you on both fronts, maybe they work, maybe not, either way let us know what you do.


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## freydo (Jan 7, 2006)

Troy McClure said:


> Thanks fellas.
> 
> The foreground is going to be mostly Japanese riccia (thanks Roy!.) I really thought this light was going to be more than what it has turned out to be. I may just bite the bullet and return it and build some small housings for single 1x55W AHS lights. 2.5" high housings are still pretty small, so I'd be comfortable with that.
> 
> If I do decide to overdrive these, what wattage ballast should I look for?


i think if you get a workhorse ballast, you don't have to worry about that, because they go by the total amount of watts it can handle. i would suggest the workhorse 5. they're small and light and are electronic ballasts.


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## cwlodarczyk (Sep 18, 2005)

The most common cause for the type of filter leakage you describe is due to the o-rings on the quick connect piece being worn. Get 'em here: http://rena-aquatics-outlet.planetrena.com/Rena-XP-Filstar-Parts.html

Better to spend $3 before replacing the whole filter.


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Of course, only go to petsmart if you have to replace the filter, spend the $3 first.

I don't think I would spend the money trying to make that NO fixture a HO fixture.
It doesn't have single bulb reflectors and they bulbs are way too close to each other IMO to make it a HO light. The color temp is good enough to keep, Roy Deki is the first I saw to use these fixtures and he has pretty much replaced all of his fixtures with them, but his tanks are not that deep. If you want more punch, then add that PC and leave this one NO. Another thing you can do with the coralife is add another one or two fixtures, you will be supprised at how well they do work.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

[edit]You know, I started typing this post before noon but called away from my desk so when I submitted it, there were two new posts...looks like we all came to the same conclusion![/edit]

Wow, I'm impressed by the price on those Current lights!!! I will definitely be returning the Coralife today and get two of those 30" Satellites. I can always add the Coralife ColorMax/6700 50/50 bulbs later. Thanks goalcreas, mega kudos!

For those who have XP filters, check out this site if you haven't already http://www.planetrena.com/ The FAQ is great and they have every part you'd ever need, though it is a bit pricey. I guess they figure if you need parts, you _need_ parts and will pay for them. The prices are comparable to Big Al's but I'm sure they probably ship faster than Al's. I'm going to order new o-rings for the quick-disconnects, the canister, and the impeller. I read on their website that leaks in the QDV can cause leaks coming from the cord area. The filter is about two years old, so it was probably time to replace them anyways, though I'll be humble and admit I didn't know any better.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Troy,

The Coralife fixture:

Two drawbacks:
- There is one reflector for both bulbs.
That reflector is basically a flat piece of aluminum behind the bulbs. It's not bent in a shape that helps direct the light from behind the bulbs around them.

- The 2 tubes are VERY close to each other.
Meaning that the 2 tubes essentially create a single compact fluorescent with a 36 total wattage, but much less actual wattage because the light between the 2 bulbs is very much lost bouncing between them.

Three good things:
- Very low profile
- Lightweight
- No heat emission at all

I'd personally return this fixture to the store today if they take it back. 
Get one or two of the Giesmann Midday bulbs:
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...00K_Midday_Sun_T5_HO_Fluorescent_by_Giesemann

Reflectors for them:
http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5...t_Reflector_for_1-24W_Bulb_by_Sunlight_Supply

Ballast:
Either one Workhorse 5 (It will power up 1, 2 or 3 bulbs, but you cannot turn them on/off separately) or two Workhorse 2 or 3 (will allow you to turn on/off the bulbs).

The Giesmann Midday T5HO bulbs have a spectrum that seems to be not only good for plants, but also very pleasing for the human eye. When reflectors are used you could find out that only one 24 bulb is all you need to grow even high light plants in that 50 gal. tank. No kidding.

Read this too:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showpost.php?p=292081&postcount=12

--Nikolay


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Thanks Niko! Those sound really nice and I could easily build single 30x2x1 enclosures for the reflectors. They are only 22" long though, will that create dark edges? It looks like I'd need the end caps and mounts as well. The total for just that stuff alone is $100, plus the ballast which is another $30 if I want two and $25 if I want one. Then I'd have to find enough time to make the enclosures, wire everything, etc. I really would like to use these though, assuming they will be enough.

Then compare that to the Current fixtures - 65W each, fans, moonlights, nice black fixture, no assembly time. Two complete fixtures for $90-100.


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

I will say you have a choice to make.
The ease and cost of the Current is nice, but...

T5 is the way to go IMHO - and if you are going HO, you can't go wrong, but...

that is prividing you have the money and time.

If you have the money but not the time, you can always go TEK, you will get a 36" fixture, but then you won't have to worry about dark corners

you will have to make a hanger, but it took me about 1 hour - 2 with paint drying time to build mine, see my thread in DIY "hanging my tek over my 75 gallon" 
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ojects/38593-hanging-my-tek-over-my-75-a.html 
and it cost me under $25 for materials
or there are some other good ideas discribed in that thread also.


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## AMP (Nov 11, 2006)

> Reflectors for them:
> http://www.reefgeek.com/lighting/T5_...unlight_Supply


I thought i read somewhere here for the extra 10 the Icecap Reflectors had a better refraction of the light to them? Did i miss understand that?


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## goalcreas (Nov 20, 2006)

Icecap, or the newer Tek, might be one and the same, they are said to reflect 98% back into the tank.
If that is an option, might as well go for it, but if money is an issue, 92% to 95% is still alot of light.


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## boink (Nov 29, 2006)

So, Troy, if you had to buy a new filter, would you go for an xP3 or an eheim with similar specs


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

Good question, boink. If I -had- to buy a new filter for this 50gal, which I don't, I would probably get an Eheim Ecco 2236 that's rated up to 80gal. However, I would be perfectly happy with another XP3. It's my fault the thing is leaking because it's been sitting in a garage for a long time, through a hot summer and a cold winter. It's a good filter and it was almost as quiet as my other large Eheim canisters.

As for the lighting, I'm talking with a fellow SWOAPE member about getting something together soon. I have an extra 2x55W AHS kit at my parent's house that I can use as a stop-gap until I get these 2x24 T5HOs, like what Niko suggested.

BTW...I'm leaving right now to return the light. When I get back I'm going to swap out the QDV from my XP1 and place it on the XP3. If it works, that will buy me some more time to get the replacement parts in and still be able to get this tank stable.


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

I'm getting ready to test the QDV from the XP1 to see if it leaks. I took apart the housing a few minutes ago and it was filled with water. In the picture below, the part on the left was full of water that had leaked in....oy...


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

OK, so far so good! No leaks yet but I'll check again in the morning.

[edit]
*Still no leaks as of 6am!*


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## Troy McClure (Aug 3, 2005)

36 hours later and still no leak. I think I can safely say this problem is fixed, and the lighting will be worked out in the next week or two. Thanks everybody for your help, I really appreciate it!

btw, I bought a 1lt bottle of Purigen and The Bag. Wow. Polished is an understatement. The water in there looks incredible!


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