Fluval FX5 Intake mod help

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M

manafel

Exodon
MFK Member
Mar 29, 2012
79
3
23
tulsa, oklahoma
Hello,

I have had my fx5 for about a year now and have finally gotten to putting the canopy on my 200. With the way the canopy is built combined with how my 3D background compartments sit, the stock intake assembly will not work out. With that in mind, I went to the store and bought 1" PVC pipe and clamps with some PVC Cement.(I made sure it was aquarium safe). I have run into an issue, however...

Somehow air is getting into the canister, but the connections are solid with the PVC fittings. I have to unplug the filter multiple times a day to purge all of the air out. I also noticed something a little odd. The 1" ID hosing that I had bought at HD(which is squishy and clear) almost seems to be compressing flat after the canister runs for a while. I have tried holding the whole intake assembly under the water and have not noticed a change. Here is a pic showing how it's assembled:
Intakeassembly_zps7ba44124.pngIMAG0133_zpse3dc8f9b.jpg
I have the end of the PVC in the water covered with pantyhose stretched over it to keep any plecos from getting minced... Also, Almost all 3 of the media baskets are half full, and I only have a single filter pad laying under some Bio media in the bottom basket, so I don't think this could be caused by clogging of the media...
Please let me know if you have ANY ideas on what could be the problem... I have been messing with this for about a week now...

Thank You! :feedback:

Intakeassembly_zps7ba44124.png

IMAG0133_zpse3dc8f9b.jpg
 
4D3 said:
Are you sure you looking in the right place for the problem....air in FX5 is a very common problem!

Check this link:

http://bit.ly/16E3M5K
Click to expand...

I have done a lot of research on other peoples problems with air in their fx5s. I don't have a bubbled next to the intake. I just got done cleaning the media, and washing out the canister. I threw away the foam pad and just put ceramic rings and a bag of purigen back in.
Still leaking air somewhere. Sometime tomorrow I will go get some vaseline and get all of the o rings that I can to see if that will did the problem. Last resort is that I will take the motor off and open the impeller assembly and check for damage...

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The pantyhose over the intake looks like disaster waiting to happen. Anything that comes near it will get stucked in it. Believe me, I've seen it happen. I also think it's impeding the water flow and creating a vacuum or too much suction, which is why the hose collapsed. You need a real intake, that's solid and stays unobstructed to maximize the intake flow rates. You may also need to replace the hose if it's collapsing like that. . You should be able to glue the original FX5 intake on there somehow. I used clear 1" pipe that I got at my LFS, that I connected to the PVC pipe. Also I think the air may be due to cavitation from the impeller, since the intake is being blocked off by the pantyhose.
Here's mine:
fx5 intake.jpg

fx5 intake.jpg
 
The pantyhose over the intake may initially sound like a great idea...but its not. The pantyhose mesh is much too fine...and will get clogged in a very short time. I tried the same thing in my Jack Dempsey fry tank (so they wouldn't get sucked into the filters)...and the pantyhose got clogged very quickly.

This was on a very low capacity HOB filter and a Fluval 405. Once the pantyhose gets clogged...it will seriously reduce the flow of the fx5. In fact...on the Fluval 405 filter I tried it on...the flow went almost to zero...and the water inside the 405 got very very warm (no circulation)...which probably isn't good for the BB bacteria...not to mention ZERO filtration!
 
Thank you everyone for your input. Today I took the filter apart and pulled the motor and the impeller. The impeller is still in good condition but had a bit of sand in the housing. I washed it and lubed up the housing, checked the o ring and gaskets. Those look good still...When I set it back up I will pull the pantyhose off(and leave it off) and try to find a way to attach the old intake strainer to the 1" PVC pipe. I will update when I put it back up.

Sent from my PC36100 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
Oh also, I cut the intake hose to fit a little better. There was quite a bit of excess and it was forming a deep dip in the hose behind the stand and I wondered if that might have caused a potential problem as well...

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