I own 5 Fluval FX5's and have found that self plumbing them gives you more water pressure and overall suberb circulation.
First off, you'll need 3/4" pvc, a few elbows, end caps, and Lee's heater holder suction cups. You will also need some tools including a powerdrill and a chop saw. You can improvise if needed but this what I used with easy and satisfactory results. Go ahead and measure the height of the tank and width inside and also account for the elbow and the endcap. This should be in a shape of and L. This will be your intake. Go ahead and measure cuts in the bottom pvc. I used inch half widths. Next go ahead and measure a shorter L which will be used for the spray bar. Go ahead and drill your holes. No need for pvc cement unless your extremely worried even though it will all be under water. Next is the beauty of this. The pvc fits snug in the stock FX5 rubber hose! The Lee's heater holders fit perfect on the 3/4" pvc. Heres a few pics.
I recommend putting them both on the same side and angling your spray bar slightly up. This will effectively break water and add aeration and will preform a full circle of circulation. This will push all waste on the bottom straight into the intake. I've drained my tank while leaving the filter on and can view the water from the spray bar shoot the length of a 5-6 foot tank. Now thats an improvement!
You can also mod your Rena filstar canisters.
First off, you'll need 3/4" pvc, a few elbows, end caps, and Lee's heater holder suction cups. You will also need some tools including a powerdrill and a chop saw. You can improvise if needed but this what I used with easy and satisfactory results. Go ahead and measure the height of the tank and width inside and also account for the elbow and the endcap. This should be in a shape of and L. This will be your intake. Go ahead and measure cuts in the bottom pvc. I used inch half widths. Next go ahead and measure a shorter L which will be used for the spray bar. Go ahead and drill your holes. No need for pvc cement unless your extremely worried even though it will all be under water. Next is the beauty of this. The pvc fits snug in the stock FX5 rubber hose! The Lee's heater holders fit perfect on the 3/4" pvc. Heres a few pics.
I recommend putting them both on the same side and angling your spray bar slightly up. This will effectively break water and add aeration and will preform a full circle of circulation. This will push all waste on the bottom straight into the intake. I've drained my tank while leaving the filter on and can view the water from the spray bar shoot the length of a 5-6 foot tank. Now thats an improvement!
You can also mod your Rena filstar canisters.
