Has my FX6's reign come to an end?

[MetalRavioli]

Hey everyone! I have a 90-gallon planted tank with an FX6 filter setup. Recently I have noticed that filters flow has been extremely slow, in contrast to its usual high output. I have cleaned the filter pads (in tank water) rinsed out the intake and outtake tubes, but neither of these have seemed to fix the issue. I got the FX6 along with my 90 around a year ago from an individual who had the tank for an unknown period of time. Is this a simple issue that could be fixed? Or is my filter friend simply at the end of his life?

 

[qldmick]

FX6's should last a lot longer than a year. Do you ever clean inside the impeller housing?

 

[krichardson]

^Yeah really,did you buy the thing "second hand"?

 

[MetalRavioli]

FX6's should last a lot longer than a year. Do you ever clean inside the impeller housing?

^Yeah really,did you buy the thing "second hand"?

It is in fact second hand, I got the filter along with the tank and its stand for 180$ around a year ago, and the previous owner had the filter for at least some time, not sure entirely how long. I haven't cleaned the impellar housing, if a replacement isn't the answer then maybe that could be. But since it is second hand, could it just be dying?

 

[FJB]

I doubt it is dying. The impeller may be compromised (don’t know), but my believe is that the motor either runs, or it does not. Nothing in between to act as a rheostat.

 

[jjohnwm]

^ Agreed, on or off. If the impeller shaft/rotor is clogged with gunk...and if you haven't touched it in a year, and perhaps the previous owner didn't either, it is!...that slows it down, but the motor is still trying to do its job against increasing resistance. Heat, friction...the motor's going to burn out way sooner than normal.

Why do people think that stuff just magically runs forever without maintenance?

 

[dmyersWv]

I bought a used fx 6 10 years ago. Not sure how old it was then. Normal maintenance and cleaning the impeller maybe every 3 months and it is still running great.

 

[MetalRavioli]

^ Agreed, on or off. If the impeller shaft/rotor is clogged with gunk...and if you haven't touched it in a year, and perhaps the previous owner didn't either, it is!...that slows it down, but the motor is still trying to do its job against increasing resistance. Heat, friction...the motor's going to burn out way sooner than normal.

Why do people think that stuff just magically runs forever without maintenance?

gonna be honest, I did not know the impellar was removable, as I've tried to remove it to clean it before without success. Gonna try again, hopefully with success this time.

 

[dmyersWv]

Youtube has a few videos to help you out.