# Why God Doesn't Want Me To Have A Fish Tank



## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

so i picked up a 75g tank from my buddy. it had been sitting around for a few years, had a bunch of calcium...etc...the glass was etched leaving a little line of "fog" across the whole tank...no biggie, i dealt with it, perservered. cleaned the whole thing up, grabbed some sand, hauled 75g of water 1 5gallon bucket at a time up a flight of stairs since there's no close proximity faucet...fine, no biggie.

i hook up the fluval 204, slosh slosh slosh, barely pumping water...i figure it's because of the long return line...blah...i move on to the fluval 404 which should work great, and i can just run the tank off of that until i get a seperate HOB to supplement. so i clean up the 404, attach the lines...thing doesn't pump for sh*t. i jerk with it for about a half hour until i notice it's leaking everywhere at the seam. i pull it apart, and the impeller is worn out in the middle. awesome! so that filters out until it can be repaired.

back to the 204, i cut the line and jerry rig it to fit. i bought special lines, but due to the retarded way fluval hooks them up, they wont work without kinking over the side of the tank. i jerry rig the original fluval line and fire it up. beautiful. it's pumping water like a champ, working like a well oiled machine. i can rest easy. i dont know if i looked at it wrong or what, but just then the intake line blasted off the intake nozzle, a simultaneous syphoning started. the return line popped off the outlet, the filter was pumping water all over the floor, and two lines were syphoning water torrentially all over the floor. at least 5g i'd say on a carpeted floor before i could stop it all...

i gave up and went to bed.

i was determined to get this tank kicking today, so i went to petsmart and payed WAY too much for a rena xp2. i followed all the instructions, even though it's pretty dumbass proof. set it up, washed all the media...i was getting excited at the notion this thing was finally going to be up and running. i plug in all the lines, prime the intake tube and cap it. just as i go down to the filter to start the syphon, i see water blasting out from around where the intake go's into the filter, around the rim...im sitting there in disbelief, a NEW filter, on top of all the sh*t luck i've had in the past 24 hours, im sitting there looking at this new filter leaking...not drop by drop, but a solid leak coming from around this things rim. i pull the connector off the filter, and get white grease all over my hands from the underside of the lever. since i cut the hoses and got everything ready to go...im wondering WTF to do now. at this point, im pretty pissed off, and getting discouraged. maybe i'll just drain this thing. it was a free setup, was supposed to cost maybe 70-100 bucks max in supplies. it's run me well over 300 dollars at this point.


----------



## PhantastickFish (Dec 29, 2006)

try a fx5?

other then that, i wouldnt leave the house at all. you wouldnt wanna risk life or limb on that bad luck dude.


----------



## sapir (Jun 20, 2008)

im surprised about the brand new filter being such pain in the ass. return the f*cking thing and look around craigslist for a used fx5, i found mine for 100 bucks.


----------



## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

can't return it to the store (sweet customer service right?) as a part of setup you have to cut the hoses.


----------



## Domelotta (Apr 25, 2007)

The xp2 shouldn't be broken. I have a Rena xp4 and it did the same thing. The baskets need to be perfectly leveled in the container, otherwise the rim won't fit on all the way and will let water leak. Try fixing that. If that doesn't work then it may be broken. It just sounds like the same problem I had.


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

I hate to be the one to say it but everyone knows bad things come in 3's.


----------



## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

You gotta be kidding me man......I literally have a whole stable of rena's and have never came across that problem.......

Is your o-ring that makes that big seal upside down by chance?


----------



## Ba20 (Jan 29, 2003)

XP2 is going to be to small for that aquarium, take it back and get a XP3 or eheim if you can afford it. Dont give up, All good things take time and patience.


----------



## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

negative ak. this part is between the actual spout and the carrier. its in there with 2 screws, im sure the o-ring is the culprit, but it says in the manual that it has to be returned to the manufacturer for service. and im not in the mood to void a 2 hour old warrantee. haha. the quick disconnect is off the filter, thats not the problem. its where the swiveling apout actually go's into the disconnect piece.

as for the filter being too small, after i order new hoses, the 204 fluval will work fine, once i repair the 404, i'll have that as well. i also have an aqua-tech 30-60 HOB...that tank is going to be turning over 7+ times an hour at minimum.

im calling them tomorrow. i'll keep u posted. hopefully the tank doesnt split at the seams on me...:knock on wood:


----------



## Ba20 (Jan 29, 2003)

Cheap filters with low turn over rate looks like you have everything figured out







Good luck

PS - Dont forget head loss


----------



## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

Ba20 said:


> Cheap filters with low turn over rate looks like you have everything figured out
> 
> 
> 
> ...


i've been keeping fish for almost a decade, i think i can handle it.


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

Bad things come in 3's... WTF i'm screwed! My heater went and my tank was diagnosed with ich... so help me my $200 rhom dies or something ill be ticked!


----------



## wally43 (Feb 23, 2007)

I just had kinda a hard time getting my xp3 to work right. First it was leaking back by the plug in, then i found out the big o ring around the top was out of place put that back and it was good for a bit. Then the handle on the right started filling with water and leaking out the side. So I took it apart again and it was the o ring that goes down on the filter box was busted so i replaced that and finally got it working no leaks. Sometimes they can be a pain in the ass but just keep working at it you'll figure it out


----------



## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

i wish it was one of those things, but the o-ring for this assembly is inside the actual quick disconnect assembly, and im not sure if i take it apart i wont void my warranty. i know once i get it figured out the filter will haul ass, just crossing my fingers for good customer service.


----------



## klink67 (Feb 14, 2010)

I would take that filter into petsmart tell them it doesnt work and you want your money back. They cant get away with sell you a broken filter. When I bought a powerhead at petco that wasnt working right they took it back and gave me a full refund.


----------



## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

im going to after i call rena. see what they say. this thing cannot be reboxed, the tubes are cut to fit my tank, everything is assembled, the charcoal is washed. haha. but if they're going to ship me something to fix it, i'd rather just return it to petsmart, and buy an xp3 on ebay for the same money. gotta wait for shipping anyway right? (they got me 150 bucks for the xp2...but i was willing to pay it because i just want this damn thing set up already).


----------



## klink67 (Feb 14, 2010)

Good filter

Thats what I would get. I am getting one for my 120 once I set it up. It even comes with a uv sterilizer and warranty. For the price you cant go wrong.


----------



## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

nice find! i wonder about reliability, never even heard of that thing. 700gph...looks good though for 90 bucks. haha.


----------



## r1dermon (Mar 9, 2005)

up and running!!!

no thanks to rena.

i tried to call them ALL day today, like 8 times. figured if i got ahold of someone, for sure they'd expedite the part out to me, seeing as i paid 50 bucks more than i could've got it for on ebay...

finally i call and someone answers "holy crap is this a real person?" "no" that's what they said...BAHAHA. i explained that i couldn't get ahold of them all day. i asked about taking the quick disconnect apart, "ohhh no, yeah definitely dont do that, the quickest thing i can do is order the part, and you're probably looking at sometime next week". im like WTFSAUCE! next WEEK! even DHL ships faster than that. long story short, i told him i was going to return it and buy a fluval on ebay because his customer service was horrid and i already hated the product before even plugging it in. he bid me good luck.

then i called petsmart. asked for the manager, and explained the situation. said i needed the entire quick disconnect piece, and that they can give me the piece off the shelf, or from a different cannister, or i'll just return the unit and buy something cheaper online. i explained if i was going to have to wait for shipping anyway, i might as well get the best bang for my buck. she said we can definitely help you, we'll pull one from one of the other filters off the shelf, and leave it at the register for when you come in. i pulled the old piece off the tank, ran up there, and they had it waiting for me. plugged it in and dropped the lever. listened to the sweet sound of the cannister filling, and then watching water gush all over my floor from the seam!!! i hit the quick disconnect, inspected the gasket, turned the cannister around and latched it down again, and then let it rip again, and finally, no more water on the ground. haha.

after ALL that, i must say a few things about rena.

as a company, they need to figure out their customer service scenario. i've had better service on the phone with someone in india who doesn't even speak english.

they also need to figure out the gasket seal, because that seems to be a common problem looking around the internet. i never had a leak, or really any issue with the fluvals in the years that i owned them.

i love the stacking design a lot better than the design of the fluval. the trays are well made, and it seems to be a good efficient design, and leaves open plenty of customized media choices.

the unit is sufficiently quiet. a bit quieter than the fluvals. it's also wider, and thus, more stable than the fluvals i had, and it looks to be easier to clean, and it certainly is a LOT easier to prime.

the hardware is also very good. the plastic pieces that go over the tank are clutch, and much preferred to fluvals crappy custom hoses.

all in all, i can't say im totally satisfied, however, i AM satisfied that the thing is finally functioning without destroying my carpet. haha. hopefully its filtering ability is above par.

in all sincerity, AK, thanks for the suggestion. i think overall i will like this filter better than the fluval due to the design of the cannister and the hardware it comes with. if i screw a hose up on this thing, im confident that i can go to the hardware store and grab another and make it work. it also looks to be a lot easier to service at regular intervals. i absolutely hated taking the fluvals apart because there was no room in them for my hands. even for a smaller unit, this xp2 affords plenty of space for my hands to fit in and get things done.

i will post a setup picture after the cycle, and once i aquascape a bit. then im gonna grab me some cichlids!


----------



## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Yeah my luck with rena seems to be like you and fluval

Seriously can't believe the headaches you have had to go through...I have never a problem nor had to deal with CS....


----------

