Fx5 setup and performance

**Leptar** · 03-17-2009, 7:01 AM

one month on a over stocked 75g tank and still no reduction in flow and tank is clean, granted i need to vacuum the detritus out every other day from the middle and if i let it go the pike in the tank pushes it to the intake and (sweeps) the tank for me... before that it ran 2 months on a 65g tank with dempseys, a large pleco and a catfish. So 2 months on 1 tank and 1 month on another and still going strong.. I plan on opening it up when i notice the spray bar flow not reaching the middle of the tank during a water change or at the end of April..

I will be rinsing the baskets in tank water but i will be cleaning the foam inserts from now on under the sink then a rinse in tank water/prime.

**Jgray152** · 03-17-2009, 8:57 AM

I went 6 months I think without cleaning mine of my 55 stock with Mbuna. Granted there won't be as much waste as a larger tank. I didn't have to clean it either because it wasn't clogged up at all.

**ozpkchris** · 03-17-2009, 8:45 PM

yeah i really didnt need to clean mine after 2 mnths but i had to see what it looked like,
it really does live up to all the talk

**ozpkchris** · 03-30-2009, 9:28 PM

well its been two weeks and ive noticed a slight reduction of flow but no micro bubbles im gonna give it another two weeks and then brake it down ill let u guys now how it looks with the addition of the filter pad on top

**Leptar** · 03-30-2009, 10:54 PM

Originally Posted by Jgray152;2914344;

Gives you a chance to buy some 20ppi foam from SwissTropicals.com. Cut them to fit snug and your have a small particle filter with tons of mechanical surface area. The guy was able to send my samples of his 20 and 30 ppi foam. Its excellent quality. 20 ppi is all you need.

Looking at the site all i saw was 10 and 30 ppi foam...

**Jgray152** · 03-30-2009, 11:34 PM

If you ask the guy, he has 20ppi. He sent me a few samples because I was going to order wholesale and make a bunch untill the market crashed.

I wish I could find a good quality safe way to bond 15 and 20 ppi foam together. That would work great.

**biggfish** · 03-31-2009, 12:17 AM

My FX5 keeps stopping in flow. I just got it used and the guy said he only had it for a month. What gives? I cleaned and rinsed the media, checked seals, and the water level.

**Jgray152** · 03-31-2009, 6:45 AM

Need to be more specific. Stopping in flow? While its running? When it turns off?

**biggfish** · 03-31-2009, 9:06 AM

Originally Posted by Jgray152;2965962;

Need to be more specific. Stopping in flow? While its running? When it turns off?

Ummm...While it is running. I got it going again after several hours of tampering. Guess maybe the media was packed too tight.?

**SLR-Turtle** · 03-31-2009, 9:35 AM

On other fish keeping forums, carbon does leach..... I would just toss carbon away, though you do want it for odor, and put more bio media in there or maybe some sponges.