i have an fx5 and fluval 405 on a 90 gallon mbuna tank.. it keeps the water crystal clear. i love the fx5, but i dont know if it alone would be enough for a 125 or anything larger solely by itself..
Fluval FX5, worth it or just wasting my time?
- Thread starter Peanut_Power
- Start date
WyldFya;1124723; said:
I never said it was the only thing that was effective, I said that for the money, plumbing, trouble, etc. the advantages lie with the W/D. I run a w/d that I built myself with 2 800gph pumps in parralel. If one pump fails I have no disaster, and the whole setup cost me under $150, including pumps and plumbing. It's pretty hard to square off an eheim canister and 2 ac110's against that on quite a few levels including cost, effectiveness, turnover rate, aeration, and the fact that it's completely hidden (and quiet), doesn't hang on the tank, doesn't require pre-fab filter cartidges... ETC.
If you want peace of mind, well sure, running any single canister or any other type of filter is a potential problem, but if you're talking pure filtration capability, an FX5 ought to be fine. Put a powerhead in the tank to disturb the surface a bit, and you shouldn't have a disaster even if the FX5 does go down.
I have seen tanks go down even on wet dry filters. I run ac110s even with w/d setups, as w/ds just aren't sufficient in the mech arena. Each filter will have it's uses, but if you are needing to save money, or want a single filter for bio for huge tanks, then w/d is the method, but if you are needing something that is plug and play, doesn't cause gas off, or require excessive space, then canisters are the method.
Never did I say that a single fx5 isn't capable of running a 125 tank, I said that I would not trust a single filter for an entire tank (regardless of type). I especially would not trust one of my tanks with a single fluval, as they are easily clogged, and my tanks can even stop eheim and iwaki pumps.
Never did I say that a single fx5 isn't capable of running a 125 tank, I said that I would not trust a single filter for an entire tank (regardless of type). I especially would not trust one of my tanks with a single fluval, as they are easily clogged, and my tanks can even stop eheim and iwaki pumps.
Well fair enough... although maybe I'd qualify that to say MOST W/D's don't run enough mech. My latest W/D should have sufficient mech to handle some disgustingly messy creatures.
i got a single fx5 on my 180
it seems to do the job all tho i do large water changes twice a week
tanks housing silver aro , 2 oscars and a clownknife
i am wanting to add a second fx5 tho for more bio filtration i guess
it seems to do the job all tho i do large water changes twice a week
tanks housing silver aro , 2 oscars and a clownknife
i am wanting to add a second fx5 tho for more bio filtration i guess
You mean to tell me that youre going to have a 300 gal tank that isnt full of PIKES. What is the world coming to.
the fx3 does extreamly well on my 90 but again like most people i have it backed up with a aqua clear 110 hob filter. no matter what you do you should have 2 filters so i would suggest a small wet/dry so the noise isnt to bad and a fx5 which is very quiet. i would trust that in a 300 stocked right (with plenty of water changes).
what a minute, You're telling me your dad finally gave up the 300? How'd that go? Is the 125 the one from your old room? Well good luck with it all I'm really happy for you. What ever happen to the salt tank of your dad's? Is he setting it up in his new place?
You guys have helped me get utterly confused!! LoL. I'm still thinkin of putting an FX5 in there, but probably will have a few powerheads in there as well, maybe some with some filter sponges on them.
Never really had a w/d filter that didn't make any noise. They always seem to make some, no matter what. Perhaps all I have is the ghetto kind or something, or I don't have my intake/outtake ratio correct. Or maybe the pump is too big/too small. Don't really know how I would put a w/d and a FX5 on the tank. I might be able to get two FX5's on there, but that would really be pushing it. I'll just have to see how big the holes are and how big the filter tubes are. Figure I can run the cords for the power heads and the heaters through the same holes.
Not used to having to figure out filtration for such a large tank! LoL. For the past year and a half my biggest tank has been a 55gal. The 300gal already has a wet/dry for it, but for some reason I can't get the sucker to take in the right amount of water and put back in without making a lot of noise. Might just get a whole new wet/dry and put a FX5 as back up.
Bottom line is I really just want to get an FX5 on there, they just look like an awesome, heavy duty filter to me, something that will most likely be needed!
Never really had a w/d filter that didn't make any noise. They always seem to make some, no matter what. Perhaps all I have is the ghetto kind or something, or I don't have my intake/outtake ratio correct. Or maybe the pump is too big/too small. Don't really know how I would put a w/d and a FX5 on the tank. I might be able to get two FX5's on there, but that would really be pushing it. I'll just have to see how big the holes are and how big the filter tubes are. Figure I can run the cords for the power heads and the heaters through the same holes.
Not used to having to figure out filtration for such a large tank! LoL. For the past year and a half my biggest tank has been a 55gal. The 300gal already has a wet/dry for it, but for some reason I can't get the sucker to take in the right amount of water and put back in without making a lot of noise. Might just get a whole new wet/dry and put a FX5 as back up.
Bottom line is I really just want to get an FX5 on there, they just look like an awesome, heavy duty filter to me, something that will most likely be needed!
