Fluval FX5, worth it or just wasting my time?

[Peanut_Power]

Alright, here the skinny. We're moving to a new place, its got a concrete foundation, so I can finally start busting out the big tanks! Probably gonna have a couple of 100 to 125gals and a 300gal. The main reason for this thread is for the 300gal tank that I'll HOPEFULLY be gettin!

Alright, the tank is gonna be pretty much in our living room, so I don't want it to have noisy filtration going on. Its got the holes in the back of the tank, about 3 inches from the surface that are around 1" wide, originally made for a wet/dry filter. All of the wet/dry's I've seen and heard make a fair amount of noise, so I don't want to go that route. What I was really wanting to do was install a Fluval FX5 up in there. I would just use the holes for the wet/dry tubes and caulk around them to seal it.

Someone told me I should use one FX5 for each 125gals depending on bioload. I'm not exactly familiar with the efficiency of these filters, so I was wondering if this is correct. Or would I be able to get by with just one of these filters on the tank?

I don't really have $600 plus to spend on filters, so if I can avoid this it would be much better. Basically wanting to know about peoples personal experiences and how they rated their performances. I'm assuming they are relatively quite filters as well. Anyway, thankz for the help! Looking forward to reading a few reviews, pros/cons and whatnot! Cheers,
P_p

 

[cvermeulen]

I have a w/d that doesn't make much noise... but to get to your question, the FX5 is pretty well talked about around here. They sell on ebay for around $159+shipping. I'm considering one for my 200 as extra filtration.

You might be OK running one on a 300 - it all depends what you have in there.

 

[WyldFya]

I wouldn't even trust a 125 to a single fx5. What is your budget? You might want to look into eheim 2260/2262, with a couple ac110s for backup.

 

[Peanut_Power]

Thats the thing, I can't have any H.O.T filters, the acrylic top has two, about one foot wide openings in the middle of it. Can't have any filters that hang on the sides. Very annoying. I suppose I could cut the acrylic, cut i would be rather nervous about that. I don't think I could get more than one Fluval in the wet/dry holes either....hmmmm

 

[cvermeulen]

I wouldn't even trust a 125 to a single fx5. What is your budget? You might want to look into eheim 2260/2262, with a couple ac110s for backup.

That seems pretty excessive. Why wouldn't you trust a single 125 to an FX5? at a moderate stocking level it should be way more than enough. If you're talking japanese style stocking levels, that's a different story. If you're going to sink that kind of dough (and plumbing, etc.) into your filtration, there's no sense using canisters over a W/D

 

[Gr8KarmaSF]

J - Love my FX5! Reliable, doesnt make much noise, easy to clean...etc

 

[Peanut_Power]

J - Love my FX5! Reliable, doesnt make much noise, easy to clean...etc

What size tank you got it on? I'm not planning on over stocking the 300gal, but I do want a fair amount of SA cichlids in there...

 

[barley pop]

i have had my fx5 for a couple of weeks now and it is great !! very quite and seems to work really well.

try to get a used one and strech the budget i paid $150.00 shipped to my door

 

[boisblancboy]

I like my FX5 for the only two reasons, it moves alot of water and it fairly easy to clean. The downfall that I hate is that after a cleaning it only takes a few days it blows mirco fine bubbles and I have tired everything to combat this. From what I have looked at, I think the pump and its seals are flawed for what is designed to do. I am considering bypassing the orginal pump and using and external on it somehow.

 

[WyldFya]

That seems pretty excessive. Why wouldn't you trust a single 125 to an FX5? at a moderate stocking level it should be way more than enough. If you're talking japanese style stocking levels, that's a different story. If you're going to sink that kind of dough (and plumbing, etc.) into your filtration, there's no sense using canisters over a W/D

That isn't excessive at all. That is smart filtration. Even if running a w/d I would still recommend running the dual AC110s. By relying on one filter, you are waiting for a disaster. There are many reasons to use a canister over a w/d filter, you may like w/d, but it isn't the only thing out there that is effective.