I looked at the 2262 that skurj suggested and looks like a beast bit more pricey though. Is there a big drop off from the fx6 and the 2262 ? Which is easier to maintain
150 gal setup & filtration advice
- Thread starter jaws7777
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most cans are about equal to maintain ,,with some minor variables... cans are great filtration as long as you are willing and able to service them enough to keep your nitrates down...the breaking down and service time is about the same with most cans ..the places where they vary in general are,,, reliability, flow , media capacity and (imo highly underrated) ease of mobility for cleaning
Wouldn't canisters be better than hob's ?
not ready to tackle a sump set up plus probably don't have the space
on the surface of it ..yes... but stop and think..MOST people that are telling you HOW much better cans are ,are making more money by SELLING you one ...and lots on here get there info from that same group of people...but all that being said cans ARE GOOD... but hob's (like the ac 110 ) and a good sponge filter can do the same job for less money..don't over think it though ...remember the VALUE of a filter is keeping water safe for fish ,,,it ain't going to go any faster(car joke) by spending more
If you have a couple of extra bucks, the 2262 is the better route compared to the FX5/6. I used to have and FX and there are multiple issues that cannot be resolved.
The FX5/6 has design issues that I am not fond of and have listed below:
Mechanical media limitations and bypass:
The water has to turn around multiple times within the canister prior to being pumped back to the tank. Each area where the water has to turn is wasted space that cannot be utilized. The amount of mechanical filtration is limited by the design and cannot be increased or decreased. The amount of bypass potential of the mechanical sponges is higher than what I consider acceptable. Adding significant additional mechanical media or polishing pads results in micro bubbles in a short period of time.
Media basket limitations:
The media baskets have a mesh bottom that can allow spherical media to obstruct flow through the baskets. The only place that bio/chemical media can be placed in the FX is in these baskets and the quantity is restricted by the physical size of the basket.
Pump Location:
The fact that the pump is on the bottom of the FX creates an issue if you keep sand in your tank since the pump will eventually ingest it and likely damage the impeller/motor. This also can occur with bio media that sheds granular material over time such as Seachem Matrix. Since air accumulates at the top of the canister the system has to shut off every 24 hours to attempt to purge. If you unplug the filter multiple times you’ll see that every restart for 3-5 times still yields more air bubbles so the purge is still not fully effective.
No Media Back Flow:
The bottom drain of the FX is only useful for draining the canister prior to moving it. There is no ability to back flow the filter media to help clean it.
cool and thanks for taking the time to explain everything... I actually was thinking about going with sand. Definitely don't want issues with the impeller
ok now I am even more confused... that 2262 seems really good too hmmmmmm what to do. And I am leaning towards sand as a substrate
