I used 8 pot scubbies in the top tray with a filter bag with SeaChem Carbon, and 12 pot scubbies in the bottom two trays. Im very happy with my FX5, so far.
FX5 never had, put what inside?
- Thread starter brcacti
- Start date
julnj2;1699655; said:
Did you leave the foam blocks in place on the sides? If you did that is just as I do also, wrks very well for biofiltration, except I have nothing but scrubbies in all chambers. In another fX5 I use a comb of the foam blocks on the sides, always & something like http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4136+4231&pcatid=4231 in the chambers. It's not to fine as to clog, but does a great job for mechfiltration, last a long time as it rinses well for several uses, avg life 6 mnths or so. I also use 2 simple HOB filters (http://cgi.ebay.com/WHISPER-60-AQUARIUM-FISH-TANK-FILTER-BRAND-NEW_W0QQitemZ260228292966QQihZ016QQcategoryZ46310QQtcZphotoQQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262) for any carbon or Purigen use so that quick use & removal is easy, much easier than a can filter brk dwn just to remove the chemfiltration if need be. These HOB's are not rated gph as high as the Aquaclear 110's, but I can't use the 110's on my 220 gal w/ the glass lids in place. I can use the Whispers & they can hold a lot of carbon or Purigen, plenty for me I would think for yours as well, just a thought dwn the road, $25 how could you go wrong.
I do leave the stock foam blocks in place yes, I used to use 4 Emperor 400s across the back, but will be removing them soon, as the FX5 is probably "seeded" after 3 or 4 weeks up and running. It alone should be plenty.
brcati, This might help you also.
You can get plastic pot scrubbies at Dollar General and Family Dollar, 6 for a dollar at both. DGs seem a little better in quality though. I just filled my FX5 with 30 of them from Dollar General a few weeks ago.
You can get plastic pot scrubbies at Dollar General and Family Dollar, 6 for a dollar at both. DGs seem a little better in quality though. I just filled my FX5 with 30 of them from Dollar General a few weeks ago.
julnj2;1699785; said:
Absolutely it will be. I just found that the adding & removal of any chemfiltration was much easier when I could just reach over the tank to the HOB's & all done. Just a matter of convenience for me now, as I'm getting older & the body objects a bit now & then, no reason to encourage it more than necessary, lol.
Cheers 
Dont scrimp, buy proper sinitered glass media like Eheim Eifisubstrate or Seachem Matrix Bio Media. You get what you pay for imo, if your going to go to the expense of buying an FX5 its a waste filling it with cheapo media. Its a bit like buying 8x2x2 tank and filing it with 20 neons.
A quick check of bigals shows 4lt of Seachem matrix is $24, great value for money. I wonder how many pot scrubbies it would take to give the same bio area? More bio area means better and faster digestion of the nasties.
A quick check of bigals shows 4lt of Seachem matrix is $24, great value for money. I wonder how many pot scrubbies it would take to give the same bio area? More bio area means better and faster digestion of the nasties.
Dont be so judgemental and condisending,everyone is entitled to an opinion,
I have a ton of Matrix left of from a previous application.
But chose to use the scrubbers as a low maintence and low cost option. Also, I belive they have more surface area,(Maybe your math is better than mine, and you could come up with an exact conversion: Matrix has 170 sq ft of surface area per liter, and nylon scrubbies have 370 per cubic ft.
and they definatly dont clog as soon, if at all.
Heres is some info from someone who has been using them for over 35 years:
---I've been using the nylon pot scrubbies for close to 35 years now. When I first started building filters, I used everything I could think of, including cut pieces of well pipe, hair curlers, plastic shotgun shell wads, strapping tape etc. Every media worked to some degree but after much trial and error, I found nylon pot scrubbies to have huge advantages:
1. They are produced for food contact, and therefore, you can be pretty sure, no harmful chemicals are used in their production.
2. After Laboratory testing they were shown to have more surface area than most media, except for some of the ceramic media i.e Siporax tm, or activated carbon. The sintered medias and A/C, however, have a clogging problem with DOC's creating a bio-film and clogging the pores, which then must be cleaned manually.
3. Nylon Pot scrubbies do not allow, unlike strapping tape or bird netting, by virtue of their construction, large gaps with no bio filtration, or compacted areas trapping dirt and debris. You get maximum, even, coverage in the smallest container possible.
4. They last for a long time--I still have 14 Year old systems running with the original nylon pot scrubbies, they lost most of their color, but look like they'll last a lot longer yet.
I have done alot of research of this subject and feel this this the best application, for me.
Besides this is my second FX5, the first (2mons old) is filled with expensive Fluval media, the new one (1mon old) filled with "Cheap Media" seems to be out performing the first one at least on flow rate.
There are are lots of factors to consider though.
Remember we should all try to be helpful not "holier than thou", this is supposed to be fun after all!
I have a ton of Matrix left of from a previous application.
But chose to use the scrubbers as a low maintence and low cost option. Also, I belive they have more surface area,(Maybe your math is better than mine, and you could come up with an exact conversion: Matrix has 170 sq ft of surface area per liter, and nylon scrubbies have 370 per cubic ft.
and they definatly dont clog as soon, if at all.
Heres is some info from someone who has been using them for over 35 years:
---I've been using the nylon pot scrubbies for close to 35 years now. When I first started building filters, I used everything I could think of, including cut pieces of well pipe, hair curlers, plastic shotgun shell wads, strapping tape etc. Every media worked to some degree but after much trial and error, I found nylon pot scrubbies to have huge advantages:
1. They are produced for food contact, and therefore, you can be pretty sure, no harmful chemicals are used in their production.
2. After Laboratory testing they were shown to have more surface area than most media, except for some of the ceramic media i.e Siporax tm, or activated carbon. The sintered medias and A/C, however, have a clogging problem with DOC's creating a bio-film and clogging the pores, which then must be cleaned manually.
3. Nylon Pot scrubbies do not allow, unlike strapping tape or bird netting, by virtue of their construction, large gaps with no bio filtration, or compacted areas trapping dirt and debris. You get maximum, even, coverage in the smallest container possible.
4. They last for a long time--I still have 14 Year old systems running with the original nylon pot scrubbies, they lost most of their color, but look like they'll last a lot longer yet.
I have done alot of research of this subject and feel this this the best application, for me.
Besides this is my second FX5, the first (2mons old) is filled with expensive Fluval media, the new one (1mon old) filled with "Cheap Media" seems to be out performing the first one at least on flow rate.
There are are lots of factors to consider though.
Remember we should all try to be helpful not "holier than thou", this is supposed to be fun after all!
BTW, heres where I got some of my research info, http://wernersponds.com/biofiltermedia.htm
Remember Im just a guy trying to make a good choice for my application, I am by no means an authority.
Hope everyone enjoys there weekend!
Remember Im just a guy trying to make a good choice for my application, I am by no means an authority.
Hope everyone enjoys there weekend!
