Hard deposit inside Rena XP filters

Deep Sea · 11/02/2011, 06:16 AM

I have two seperate setups and each one has a rena xp cannister filter on it. Inside both of them the first time I cleaned them out they had hard calcium like deposits and it was beige to white in color and was very hard. I scraped it off and have not ever seen it since. A couple of other people here locally told me they believed it to be benificial, but didn't know why or what it was or even how to get it to come back. Please, any ideas what it could have been and if I did need it and if so, how do I go about gettting it to grow back again?

Thanks,D.S.

GTR · 11/02/2011, 08:41 AM

Sounds like precipitated calcium carbonate. Not really beneficial and if it builds up around the impeller it will shorten the life between repairs.

thegrun · 11/02/2011, 09:49 AM

Use white vinegar to clean it.

Dustin1300 · 11/02/2011, 10:03 AM

I usually have backup procedures and pull a pump out for vinegar bath from time to time to remove these buildups as they will shorten the life of equipment like earlier stated!

zigzag1 · 11/02/2011, 10:50 AM

Soak the parts in vinegar to remove it. Usually an hour or two is enough to make them easy to remove. The build up is not beneficial and may destroy your canister filter if not addressed. You should plan on maintaining your canister filter at least monthly. The calcium build-up usually happens on impellers and heaters first as they are warmer, which promotes precipitation. As these warmer areas are hard to avoid, I suggest keeping your Calcium level around 420 PPM for good growth and less precipitation. JMTC & GL!

zigzag1 · 11/02/2011, 10:59 AM

Soak the parts in vinegar to remove it. Usually an hour or two is enough to make them easy to remove. The build up is not beneficial and may destroy your canister filter if not addressed. You should plan on maintaining your canister filter at least monthly. The calcium build-up usually happens on impellers and heaters first as they are warmer, which premotes precipitation. As these warmer areas are hard to avoid, I suggest keeping your Calcium level around 420 PPM for good growth and less precipitation. JMTC & GL!

zigzag1 · 11/02/2011, 11:19 AM

Soak the parts in vinegar to remove it. Usually an hour or two is enough to make them easy to remove. The build up is not beneficial and may destroy your canister filter if not addressed. You should plan on maintaining your canister filter at least monthly. The calcium build-up usually happens on impellers and heaters first as they are warmer, which promotes precipitation. As these warmer areas are hard to avoid, I suggest keeping your Calcium level around 420 PPM for good growth and less precipitation. JMTC & GL!

Deep Sea · 11/03/2011, 05:46 PM

Thanks for the replies and information. I had a little problem to reply to this because I apparantly posted in the wrong place and couldn't find this again, sorry about that, plus the problem with the board issues, but all seems well now. I have lurked in here a bit in the past while, but I plan on trying to be more active from here on.

Thanks, D.S.

11/02/2011, 06:16 AM	#1
Deep Sea Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 12	Hard deposit inside Rena XP filters I have two seperate setups and each one has a rena xp cannister filter on it. Inside both of them the first time I cleaned them out they had hard calcium like deposits and it was beige to white in color and was very hard. I scraped it off and have not ever seen it since. A couple of other people here locally told me they believed it to be benificial, but didn't know why or what it was or even how to get it to come back. Please, any ideas what it could have been and if I did need it and if so, how do I go about gettting it to grow back again? Thanks,D.S.

11/02/2011, 08:41 AM	#2
GTR Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Twin Falls, ID Posts: 7,152	Sounds like precipitated calcium carbonate. Not really beneficial and if it builds up around the impeller it will shorten the life between repairs. __________________ AKA, Riff

11/02/2011, 10:03 AM	#4
Dustin1300 Reefaholic Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Carmel, IN Posts: 5,135	I usually have backup procedures and pull a pump out for vinegar bath from time to time to remove these buildups as they will shorten the life of equipment like earlier stated! __________________ INDMAS President Check out my tank in the Large Tank Forums, "A Reefaholic's 1000+ Gallon Mixed Reef System Build"! Current Tank Info: 600 Gallon DT, 140 Gallon Grow Out Tank, 125 Gallon Sump, 90 Gallon Fuge, 200 Gallon Fish QT, 15 Gallon Frag QT

11/02/2011, 10:50 AM	#5
zigzag1 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Anderson, Indiana Posts: 1,276	Soak the parts in vinegar to remove it. Usually an hour or two is enough to make them easy to remove. The build up is not beneficial and may destroy your canister filter if not addressed. You should plan on maintaining your canister filter at least monthly. The calcium build-up usually happens on impellers and heaters first as they are warmer, which promotes precipitation. As these warmer areas are hard to avoid, I suggest keeping your Calcium level around 420 PPM for good growth and less precipitation. JMTC & GL! __________________ :beer: Mixed Reef, started 10/2004: 6' BB 125g DT, 100lbs LR, 40g sump, Dual Ehiem 1000 returns, Eshopps dual overflow, JBJ ATO, Vertex IN-180, PM Ca reactor, 250w MH w/VHO Actinic, AC3 w/Aquasurf, Tunze 6105 pair & 40B frag tank 8 Fish, 20+ corals, shrimp, snails, worms, bugs, etc.

11/02/2011, 10:59 AM	#6
zigzag1 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Anderson, Indiana Posts: 1,276	Soak the parts in vinegar to remove it. Usually an hour or two is enough to make them easy to remove. The build up is not beneficial and may destroy your canister filter if not addressed. You should plan on maintaining your canister filter at least monthly. The calcium build-up usually happens on impellers and heaters first as they are warmer, which premotes precipitation. As these warmer areas are hard to avoid, I suggest keeping your Calcium level around 420 PPM for good growth and less precipitation. JMTC & GL! __________________ :beer: Mixed Reef, started 10/2004: 6' BB 125g DT, 100lbs LR, 40g sump, Dual Ehiem 1000 returns, Eshopps dual overflow, JBJ ATO, Vertex IN-180, PM Ca reactor, 250w MH w/VHO Actinic, AC3 w/Aquasurf, Tunze 6105 pair & 40B frag tank 8 Fish, 20+ corals, shrimp, snails, worms, bugs, etc.

11/02/2011, 09:49 AM	#3
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	Use white vinegar to clean it.

11/02/2011, 11:19 AM	#7
zigzag1 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Anderson, Indiana Posts: 1,276	Soak the parts in vinegar to remove it. Usually an hour or two is enough to make them easy to remove. The build up is not beneficial and may destroy your canister filter if not addressed. You should plan on maintaining your canister filter at least monthly. The calcium build-up usually happens on impellers and heaters first as they are warmer, which promotes precipitation. As these warmer areas are hard to avoid, I suggest keeping your Calcium level around 420 PPM for good growth and less precipitation. JMTC & GL! __________________ :beer: Mixed Reef, started 10/2004: 6' BB 125g DT, 100lbs LR, 40g sump, Dual Ehiem 1000 returns, Eshopps dual overflow, JBJ ATO, Vertex IN-180, PM Ca reactor, 250w MH w/VHO Actinic, AC3 w/Aquasurf, Tunze 6105 pair & 40B frag tank 8 Fish, 20+ corals, shrimp, snails, worms, bugs, etc.

11/03/2011, 05:46 PM	#8
Deep Sea Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 12	Thanks for the replies and information. I had a little problem to reply to this because I apparantly posted in the wrong place and couldn't find this again, sorry about that, plus the problem with the board issues, but all seems well now. I have lurked in here a bit in the past while, but I plan on trying to be more active from here on. Thanks, D.S.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Running NP Biopellets Inside Large Canister Filter?	SoLiD	Lighting, Filtration & Other Equipment	3	01/15/2011 09:36 PM
LF: Rena XP strainer	cocoaandme	Southern California Reefers	0	08/22/2009 11:32 PM
calcium deposits inside mixing barrel?	Dorado13	Reef Discussion	3	04/13/2007 08:01 AM
rena xp giving me micro bubbles.	BrassMonkey	New to the Hobby	1	08/08/2006 03:13 PM
RENA XP series filter users?!	unit91	Lighting, Filtration & Other Equipment	1	03/06/2006 06:36 AM