ok looking into the fx5... some i read say 600 gph others say like 900 gph... are there different models? i thought the fx5 was the fx5? also how can this be rated for up to 400g with that little turnover? im thinking i will need prob 3 on a 500g with a 100g sump but what do you think? and do you really replace biomax every 6 months? because i thought it was good to keep bio colonies, why would you ever get rid of some and replace it?
fluval fx5 flow Q
- Thread starter brich999
- Start date
The Fx5 is rated at 925 gph with no media and head. In the manuel it will tell you that, full of media, it will flow 625gph. Whether or not head is taken into consideration, I don't know. Just count on 625 to be safe
FX5 FILTER FLOW.......600 GPH
The manual says "Pump Flow" and "Filter Circulation"
This bugs me...no matter how much I say it.
The Fx5 PUMP FLOW is 925 GPH. That means nothing to us. The Ehiem 2262 PUMP FLOW is 900 GPH....the FILTER FLOW is much less.
The FILTER CIRCULATION is 600 GPH. With or Without Media. There is not enough restriction to create a pressure drop inside the canister to effectively lower the flow rate unless the media gets clogged or you run some crazy fine filtration.
Also, head height has no effect on the flow with canister filters.
If you will have 3 Fx5s on a 500 Gallon tank, there is no reason to have a sump. You will have plenty of filtration. 1800
GPH will cycle that tank just over 3 times an hour. Add some power heads if you want. Either than of just build one sump with one or two large pumps.
No you do not need to replace the media every 6 months.
The manual says "Pump Flow" and "Filter Circulation"
This bugs me...no matter how much I say it.
The Fx5 PUMP FLOW is 925 GPH. That means nothing to us. The Ehiem 2262 PUMP FLOW is 900 GPH....the FILTER FLOW is much less.
The FILTER CIRCULATION is 600 GPH. With or Without Media. There is not enough restriction to create a pressure drop inside the canister to effectively lower the flow rate unless the media gets clogged or you run some crazy fine filtration.
Also, head height has no effect on the flow with canister filters.
If you will have 3 Fx5s on a 500 Gallon tank, there is no reason to have a sump. You will have plenty of filtration. 1800
GPH will cycle that tank just over 3 times an hour. Add some power heads if you want. Either than of just build one sump with one or two large pumps.
No you do not need to replace the media every 6 months.
i think biomax is 3 months on the box. but yea the 900GPH is just a great marketing scheme to trick you into thinking its that powerful..well it is with no head height and media! but yea realistically look at 600GPH roughly. and as far as the sump combo, it would depend on how powerful your sump is, if its 3500GPH then you would probably only need one to fufill your stage requirment( bio,mech,chem)...its a great filter though, youll like it!..would be handy if you use it for mech. then a sump for bio
thanks for the help, i dont have one so i wasnt reading the manual. just looking into them and i saw some at 900 and some at 600. now im thinking a reeflo hammerhead and a 100g wet dry with maybe 2 or 3 of these. isnt a good rule of thumb 10x turnover? 3x turnover sounds small. right now on my piranha tank i have over 20x turnover and i still am alwyas cleaning and adjusting for more/better water movement.
