FX5 Help

[BarroomHero]

I tried searching but didnt find anything in regards to my questions.

First, the manual says the water level in the tank should never get more than 7.8" lower than the rim. If I do a 50% water change the water level will be about 12" lower than the rim, even a 25% water change would be about 8" below the rim. What is the reason for this? Should I just turn the fx5 off when/if I do a large water change?

How tight do you tighten on the nuts on the tops of the filter?

Do you have to empty it with the purge valve before performing maintenance? Or is it optional?

Thanks.

 

[RyanP]

I turn mine off when doin water changes. The auto prime helps out with this. As far as the lid, hand tight. Only tight enough to where water dont leak.

 

[TwistedPenguin]

I don't turn off the filter until the water level gets down to the intake. If that particular water change doesn't go down that far I never do turn it off. Not sure why they say to, as long as the intake isn't sucking air I don't see the problem. As far as the purge valve, I hook up a garden hose to that, turn the outlet valve to off & and run it out the door in addition to using a syphon hose to clean the bottom of the tank. Drains the tank down super fast that way. It's also a lot easier to lift the filter out from under the tank if it's not full. You just have to make sure it's pretty full of water before you turn it on or it makes a lot of noise because there's too much air in the filter. And handtight is how tight I turn the screws on the top.

 

[foldem]

How tight do you tighten on the nuts on the tops of the filter?

You will know if the nuts haven't been tightened enough cos you will get abit of water leaking out. When i first setup my FX5 i didn't tighten the nuts enough and would get water dripping out of the sides, not a whole lot of water but still enough to have drops of water on the side of the canister.

 

[Deaths Sting]

the lid is a bastard...

purge valve is to make it lighter to lift... some people may have a hard time lifting up the FX5 filled with media and water..lol

 

[IKeepPacu]

i had a 26" deep tank, and would use my fx5 to pump the water out the window. the fx5 would pump water out down to the last 6-8" if i was doing massive water change, so it can and will operate quite a way down below the rim of the tank.

i tightened the nuts down until they were on there good, but not overly tight. hard to describe in words

you dont HAVE to empty it, i never did. but it will weigh a few pounds lifting it up full, and could be a pain if you dont have much clearance where the filter is stored

 

[BarroomHero]

One more question. There are 4 small suction cups that came in the same package as the hose clamps. Where do these go?

 

[L3GiT]

They can be used instead of the rubber ring thats on the clamps that hold the hoses.

 

[julnj2]

I never empty mine, just dont let the intake get above the water.