FLUVAL FX 5 Intake Modification

[Deaths Sting]

today i took a trip to the hardware and marine/fishing supply store and my LFS.

i pick up a few items:

1 small tube of Sikaflex - 291 Multi purpose Marine Sealant.

1 Hydro sponge

1 3/4'' end piece for PVC tubing

pack of adjustable Velcro straps

my goal is to create and prefilter to keep the sand from ruining my new FX5
tell me what u think, any suggestions are welcome!

thanks.

 

[Deaths Sting]

good, bad, or maybe....?

 

[Knowdafish]

Should work, but you're going to end up with just a biological filter. Is that what you want?

 

[Deaths Sting]

Should work, but you're going to end up with just a biological filter. Is that what you want?

i want my rays to live, as long as the ammonia and nitrite are 0 im happy. i have a Ehiem 2028 on the other side with almost the same modification on it and the water is crystal clear.

 

[tcarswell]

Should work, but you're going to end up with just a biological filter. Is that what you want?

Why does that make it just a bio filter???

 

[L A R R Y]

Why does that make it just a bio filter???

I'm thinking that none of the poop will get sucked into the filter. It will get trapped in the prefilter sponge. I could be wrong, it has happend in the past once or twice

 

[Deaths Sting]

I'm thinking that none of the poop will get sucked into the filter. It will get trapped in the prefilter sponge. I could be wrong, it has happend in the past once or twice

well even if that's true the larger material still gets stuck like u said and still gonna get taken out either way. i clean it every 48 hours ( the sponge)

im just wondering if 1 /1/2'' of space between the pipe and white cap is enough...

i think it is because on my other one its like that and it has the plastic strainer inside the sponge. my design does not have no plastic strainer just what u see in the pics plus the 1 /12'' gap between the two pieces inside the sponge.

here is pic of my other one on my Eheim( with internal plastic strainer):

 

[timeneverfreezes]

Its somewhat of a trade-off, on one hand you have a bit of bio-filtration and mech. While on the other the pores are tiny and get clogged really fast and reduce the flow. Have you thought about switching over to a heavier sand? I have canisters and sand with minimal problems.

 

[Deaths Sting]

my sand is like powder.. i would change to a larger substrate but i don't know how to move rays....

 

[solchitlins]

I would just run them stock.
I had prefilter sponges on some of my ac110 filters and the flow was really slowed down to a trickle and the filter blocks wern't getting dirty, that makes me feel like there not working.

I don't think eheims and FX5's are over prone to sand problems.

I would go stock and see if you have a problem first before resorting to this.
IMHO

Infact the guy I bought my used FX5 from used it to drain his salt reef and purposly tried to vacuum up the sand.

It was a real mess, and I was pissed, but after cleaning it out there was no damage that I can tell.