Anyone using FX4?

[Cohazard]

I'm setting up two 150g tall tanks (4x2x2.5), and I'm debating on running a single fx6 on each, or two fx6 or two fx4 on each.

Price difference is only 40$, but i'm concerned about flow on such a deep tank.

One tank will house fancy goldfish, so i don't want the flow to be too crazy, but needs to be strong enough to filter the tank good enough.

Maybe one fx6 and one fx4?

 

[krichardson]

I have never heard of the FX4,I'm guessing it is smaller than the 5 and the 6?

 

[Cohazard]

I have never heard of the FX4,I'm guessing it is smaller than the 5 and the 6?

That's right, it has 2 baskets, more than half the power/capacity/flow.

I'm just curious exactly how much less the flow is when the baskets are full of media.

 

[knobhill]

I too was exploring the FX-4! I didn't know they even existed until a couple days ago. Probably the deciding factor between fx4 and fx6 is your stand height. The fx5/6 won't fit in smaller setups with shorter stands.

You've got some big boy tanks, OP.

It's very ironic, I literally just bought a used 150g with the exact same dimensions, and I'm sort of in the market for an fx4/5/6.
Since I have five fx5s already, I will probably stick with used ones since its easy to swap them out with parts.

 

[Cohazard]

I too was exploring the FX-4! I didn't know they even existed until a couple days ago. Probably the deciding factor between fx4 and fx6 is your stand height. The fx5/6 won't fit in smaller setups with shorter stands.

You've got some big boy tanks, OP.

It's very ironic, I literally just bought a used 150g with the exact same dimensions, and I'm sort of in the market for an fx4/5/6.
Since I have five fx5s already, I will probably stick with used ones since its easy to swap them out with parts.

I feel junior league with these though lol

The stand can easily fit two fx6 with room to spare.

I'm mainly worried if the fx4 could pump water up that height.

 

[knobhill]

I wouldn't worry about head height since its a closed system. If you are that concerned, plumb the filters through the bottom panel of the tank.
I have an fx5 on a 30x18x30 tank on a 32" stand. No noticeable loss of flow.

You might as well go big, you know you are gonna overstock those tanks!

 

[tomojsg]

i would just go with the fx5/6s i love over filtering all my tanks.
i get annoyed if my waters arent crystal clear & pristine unless
i intentionally use black water extract or the sorts but i stopped
using them because i got annoyed of the brown tint lol....

 

[krichardson]

I too was exploring the FX-4! I didn't know they even existed until a couple days ago. Probably the deciding factor between fx4 and fx6 is your stand height. The fx5/6 won't fit in smaller setups with shorter stands.

You've got some big boy tanks, OP.

It's very ironic, I literally just bought a used 150g with the exact same dimensions, and I'm sort of in the market for an fx4/5/6.
Since I have five fx5s already, I will probably stick with used ones since its easy to swap them out with parts.

Knobhill it sounds like you have a small army of FX filters,why do you have so many?

 

[knobhill]

Knobhill it sounds like you have a small army of FX filters,why do you have so many?

Well, it just sort of happened over time. It began with one, then another, and another...and you get the point.

Here are the pros: They have great flow, hold a ton of bio, are cheap to repair, and easy to service. Also easy to hard plumb thru bulkheads and take 1" tubing perfectly. They are also pretty cheap used. $140 full of media in good conduction is about the going rate.

The con is that the little orange lid fastener nuts break very easily if you over tighten. I'm sure there are some other drawbacks but that is my main complaint.

I currently run 2 fx5s in conjunction with twin sumps on my 1100g. I have 1 with a 60g sump on my 350g. Then I have 1 running a 70g, and another running a 140g. I also have a spare fx5 and a backup motor in case one goes down (and they do, but not very often)
The 70g would be a good candidate for an fx4, but it doesn't make sense for me to downsize.

So, that's how I got my army of fx5s.
I do run other filters-even have an eheim 2217 on my 40g. Someday I'd like to try k1 media.

 

[krichardson]

Well, it just sort of happened over time. It began with one, then another, and another...and you get the point.

Here are the pros: They have great flow, hold a ton of bio, are cheap to repair, and easy to service. Also easy to hard plumb thru bulkheads and take 1" tubing perfectly. They are also pretty cheap used. $140 full of media in good conduction is about the going rate.

The con is that the little orange lid fastener nuts break very easily if you over tighten. I'm sure there are some other drawbacks but that is my main complaint.

I currently run 2 fx5s in conjunction with twin sumps on my 1100g. I have 1 with a 60g sump on my 350g. Then I have 1 running a 70g, and another running a 140g. I also have a spare fx5 and a backup motor in case one goes down (and they do, but not very often)
The 70g would be a good candidate for an fx4, but it doesn't make sense for me to downsize.

So, that's how I got my army of fx5s.
I do run other filters-even have an eheim 2217 on my 40g. Someday I'd like to try k1 media.

I was thinking you preferred them to sumps or something.I actually have two 5's,one I bought new and the other was used.