FX5 question

[redbellyPirahna4]

i just bought a fx5 and i have
the water polishing pad and bio max in the first tray
fine filter pad and the prefilter stuff in 2nd tray
in the 3rd tray fine filterpad and the amonia remover stuff

should i keep it at that or add something to any of the trays?

 

[jizon82]

what i use in my fx5 is mainly bio media in bottom two trays then top use part bio then one of those blue polishing pads. i don't use any chemical media. water params are great. only do water chages once a week and clean filter approx every three months.

 

[reptileguy2727]

That prefilter media is pointless. It is a holdover from the 03 line and was even pointless then.

There are millions of nitrifying bacteria that will remove the ammonia for you for free, ditch the ammonia remover.

The pads they sell you for polishing/fine mechanical can also be ditched and replaced with polyester pillow stuffing crammed into the center of the top tray, that way it is cleaned before getting to the biological media (Biomax) which should fill the center of the bottom two trays.

 

[Jgray152]

Just a fair warning that with any fine particle filtration, after it starts to clog up you will get micro bubbles blowing out the output of the filter. I used to use that as my indication it was time to clean the filter.

Poly fiber will be your best bet for fine particle filtration. The surface area in the center of the baskets is very small and micron filtration pads will clog up in less than a week.

Poly fiber is also reusable. Run it under some warm water and mostly everything will clean right up.

Fill the bottom 2 baskets with bio media. Top basket with poly fiber and you will be in good shape.

Get rid of the ammonia remover media. This will just make your problems MUCH worse. Its good for emmergency problems, such as ammonia spikes under certain conditions but in an established tank, you won't need it and it could cause problems after it stops absorbing ammonia.

prefilter I find is pointless in every way possible. Can someone explain the usage of that stuff? Cause I don't see any.

 

[reptileguy2727]

Why do they create bubbles?

I have not heard that before. If media gets clogged it reduces flow.

 

[redbellyPirahna4]

so should i take the prefilter and amonia remover stuff back and just buy another box of biomax and then wat should i put in the top tray?

 

[Jgray152]

The bubbles come from impeller cavitation. This is when the flow is reduced to much.

so should i take the prefilter and amonia remover stuff back and just buy another box of biomax and then wat should i put in the top tray?

top tray put in filter fiber, or poly pillow stuffing. Same stuff.

 

[jizon82]

so should i take the prefilter and amonia remover stuff back and just buy another box of biomax and then wat should i put in the top tray?

biomax kinda suck for bio media just because it kinda dissolves overtime. but for pot scrubbers they hold up pretty well. no little bits and pieces breaking away like it does from those biomax ceramic rings and other such similar products.

 

[jizon82]

just do mechanical and bio filtration, like what many do. no chemical filtration, waste of money. just check you water params and your weekly water changes.

 

[reptileguy2727]

Actually I have some Biomax that is now about nioe years old and it is fine. I don't know how some people are handling and cleaning it to break it down, but that definitely doesn't seem like a probability to me. Their super high surface area per volume make them ideal for submerged biological media use.