FX-6 Woes

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Maduro

Maduro

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Mar 31, 2008
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NY
A few years ago I invested in an Eheim 2262 canister for my 150G central american tank. Hands down the best filter I have ever owned. About 6 months ago I set up a new 150G and found a new FX-6 on sale for 200.00. Given all the hype I decided to take the plunge.
- I started with the recommended media configuration (big mistake). The pads clog quickly and within 6 weeks I had a leaky at best water flow.
- On the recommendation of my local dealer I removed one of the top tray thick spongy pads and just put a polyester pad in bottom tray below Matrix. So my configuration was now Top tray (1 thick sponge) Middle tray (Chempure bags) third tray Matrix sitting on polyester pad....8 weeks later back to a dribble

The outer pads were a bit dirty but I had a thick sludge on the chem pro pouches...matrix looked spotless.
I cleaned it up and got it running full strength again.

After looking online I'm considering just filling every tray with Bagged Pond Matrix or Pot scrubbers and calling it a day. This filter is very easy to clean but I really don't want to break it down every 2 months! My Eheim 2262 has a much bigger bio load and I touch that thing every 6 months or so.

So please tell me what FX-6 media strategy has worked for you? At the moment I feel like I could get better results from 2 AC110s but want to give this a chance.

Thanks in advance for any responses.
 
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Maduro said:
A few years ago I invested in an Eheim 2262 canister for my 150G central american tank. Hands down the best filter I have ever owned. About 6 months ago I set up a new 150G and found a new FX-6 on sale for 200.00. Given all the hype I decided to take the plunge.
- I started with the recommended media configuration (big mistake). The pads clog quickly and within 6 weeks I had a leaky at best water flow.
- On the recommendation of my local dealer I removed one of the top tray thick spongy pads and just put a polyester pad in bottom tray below Matrix. So my configuration was now Top tray (1 thick sponge) Middle tray (Chempure bags) third tray Matrix sitting on polyester pad....8 weeks later back to a dribble

The outer pads were a bit dirty but I had a thick sludge on the chem pro pouches...matrix looked spotless.
I cleaned it up and got it running full strength again.

After looking online I'm considering just filling every tray with Bagged Pond Matrix or Pot scrubbers and calling it a day. This filter is very easy to clean but I really don't want to break it down every 2 months! My Eheim 2262 has a much bigger bio load and I touch that thing every 6 months or so.

So please tell me what FX-6 media strategy has worked for you? At the moment I feel like I could get better results from 2 AC110s but want to give this a chance.

Thanks in advance for any responses.
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going on that i think im going for a ehiem some times buying the latest is not the greatest and new to aquariums and all the love that goes into taking care of my fish and watching them i would hate to come home to a tank with no water inside it due to a leak due to what ever issue the canister had
 
i use my fx6 strictly for mechanical. i put pot scrubbies in the outside trays instead of the pads because i think they are slower to clog. i have foam and floss in the center sections
 
terrorG said:
going on that i think im going for a ehiem some times buying the latest is not the greatest and new to aquariums and all the love that goes into taking care of my fish and watching them i would hate to come home to a tank with no water inside it due to a leak due to what ever issue the canister had
Click to expand...

Hi terror, to be clear...when I said leaky waterflow I was referring to the very low waterfow circulating out of the filter....there are no "leaks" on the canister.
 
Justin David said:
Why do people complain when their filter clogs too fast?

Sorry for picking up too many particles.
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If a filter is designed to capture waste and cultivate live bacteria in a 5 gallon space then "quick clogging" speaks to poor engineering. The matrix material was totaly clean. I guess a good analogy would be a vacuum cleaner that clogged with an empty waste bag.
 
i dont find mine clogs all that fast. ijust run the pads on the outer ring and on the innner trays i have bio. i was running some sponge material in there for a bit and i found the got very dirty very fast. i'm trying to find the optimal placement
 
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jamntoast said:
i dont find mine clogs all that fast. ijust run the pads on the outer ring and on the innner trays i have bio. i was running some sponge material in there for a bit and i found the got very dirty very fast. i'm trying to find the optimal placement
Click to expand...
 
Thanks. This is where i was headed. Good to hear it's working for you.
 
Maduro said:
Thanks. This is where i was headed. Good to hear it's working for you.
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Yea I definitely like the fx6 but next big filter I buy will be an eheim I think. I've never had one but they have some really innovative products it seems and the testimonials from other hobbiests are 100% positive
 
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