fx5 question

[808flipsyde]

jus wondering how often i should be doing maintenance (cleaning) on my fx5? The tank is a 180g stocked with eight 7-8 inch rbp's. For extra bio/mechanical filtration, the tank also has an emperor 400 and a wet/dry filter rated for 180g-300g tanks with a mag drive 18 return pump. Feedings usually consist of shrimp and tilapia fillets every other day and a feeder fish every other month. My weekly 25%-30% water changes had to be cut down cuz my water bill has gone way up. So now I'm doing 40%-45% water changes with gravel vac once a month but im still keeping up with my weekly water param checks and everything is fine.

 

[Jgray152]

A wet/dry will handle that tank on its own. The Fx5 is a good addition though. I would remove the Emp 400, save some electricity for everyone else..

I clean my Fx5 every 3-6 months. Depends when I have time. I also don't have the fish you have. The only way to get a real answer, is to open up the filter in a month or two and see what it looks like. If it looks as if it can go longer, let it, then check it in another month or two.

 

[crisper]

A wet/dry will handle that tank on its own. The Fx5 is a good addition though. I would remove the Emp 400, save some electricity for everyone else..

I clean my Fx5 every 3-6 months. Depends when I have time. I also don't have the fish you have. The only way to get a real answer, is to open up the filter in a month or two and see what it looks like. If it looks as if it can go longer, let it, then check it in another month or two.

Exactly I'll second that. What do you have for media in your fx5 that will determine how often it will need to be serviced.

 

[808flipsyde]

A wet/dry will handle that tank on its own. The Fx5 is a good addition though. I would remove the Emp 400, save some electricity for everyone else..

I clean my Fx5 every 3-6 months. Depends when I have time. I also don't have the fish you have. The only way to get a real answer, is to open up the filter in a month or two and see what it looks like. If it looks as if it can go longer, let it, then check it in another month or two.

I don't mind much about my electricity bill so I rather keep the emp 400 on and also a lot of filtration is needed for piranhas (at least a 10x gph turnover rate..i keep mines at 12x) i'll jus do as u say and check it in a month or two. Thanx bro!

Exactly I'll second that. What do you have for media in your fx5 that will determine how often it will need to be serviced.

it's filled with mostly pot scrubbies along with the polishing pads it comes with and for the bottom tray I have it filled with bio-max. So pretty much for my setup...my wet/dry handles more of my bio/chemical filtration and the fx5 I use more for my water polishing needs. The Emp 400 I use for just a little more icing on the cake