Different FX5 Combos. Is Mine Too Much?

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Steveo McNello

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 30, 2010
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SW Burbs of Chicago
Hey everyone!

Lately I have found out that carbon is pretty much useless to use every day in your filtration. This freed up a spot in my FX5. For the past week or two I have been experimenting different combinations of media you can use on this thing.

Seeing as how I haven't been able to get back to the store for more media yet, here is the set up I's currently experimenting with...

Top Basket- 3 blue scrubbies on top of fluval prefilter.
Middle- packed with bio balls [replaced carbon] for the time being.
bottom- 2 boxes of biomax.

I'm waiting a few days to see if I like it. What do you guys do in your FX5's? What have you had success with?
 
Eheim substrate pro or seachem matrix
 
Pre filter doesn't do much in an FX5 IME. There's already six sponges. Yes I mean bio max or bio balls, I prefer ceramic media in canisters. I use substrat pro, buy any kind is fine.
 
i keep ceramic bio-rings in the baskets of all of my canister filters. i have no qualms about leaving an FX5 basket empty. doesn't bother me one bit.

i have chemi-pure in one basket in one of the canisters, not sure which one, i don't think it's in one of the FX5's though.
 
scrubbies and bio balls are junk in a canister.

If you fill the whole thing with BioMax that would be your best bet. Biomax channels the water in different directions to allow the most contact with the media. Bio balls and scrubbies allow the water to pass straight through.

Personally, I think scrubbies are worse than bio balls in any application. Thats just me though.
 
Jgray152;4831020; said:
scrubbies and bio balls are junk in a canister.

If you fill the whole thing with BioMax that would be your best bet. Biomax channels the water in different directions to allow the most contact with the media. Bio balls and scrubbies allow the water to pass straight through.

Personally, I think scrubbies are worse than bio balls in any application. Thats just me though.
Click to expand...

In a wet/dry or trickle filter, scrubbies are just as good, if not better than bioballs. They offer more surface area. I agree that they're both garbage in a canister.
 
On the bottom I place three AC50 sponges in the center. In the middle, I add a couple bags of carbon and cover with a cut-your-own poly pad. I use the carbon bags to prevent the pad from clogging the holes in the center and reducing water flow. On the top I fill the center with bio max.
 
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