Hi all. I just got an Fx5 for my 75 gallon native tank. The tank is still glass bottom with my plants in bowls but I may cover the bottom with gravel just barely larger than sand. I don't want to suck up my substrate all the time. What I am looking for are some pics of spray bars and pickups that you have used. I want enough flow across the bottom to keep the poo cleared away but not so much that it bothers my bullheads or disturbes the substrate. Top fish are Green sunnies and some fathead minnows (until the rest of them are eaten). I have to hard line the filter because my cat like to chew on plastic hose, been thru several hoses on the shop vac.
Hard piping an Fx5
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heres a pic of a spraybar I made out of 1.25" pvc. It hangs on the back of the tank and is capped at one end. The other is hard plumber into the fx5. Let me know if you need any other help or pics.
It looks like you have another Fx5 standard output in there too. Do you need both to keep things stirred up? I see that you have a sand bottom. Do you use the standard pickup?
I have another fx5 running with just the standard tubing. I dont think 1 Fx5 is sufficient to filter a 270gal so I added a second. I think 1 Fx5 will do you 75 gal wonders. You shouldnt need anything else.
I am also adding a 150gal sump/growout to the system as well. The intakes are all the regular factory ones and they are about 10 inches from the bottom and they rarely suck any sand into them.
I am also adding a 150gal sump/growout to the system as well. The intakes are all the regular factory ones and they are about 10 inches from the bottom and they rarely suck any sand into them.
I checked out your thread, the setup looks good. I agree that the Fx5 should work fine for this tank, that is part of the selling point I fed the girlfriend to get it. I just think that I need to modify the intake and outputs to get rid of some dead spots on the floor. I think a good cross flow will do what I need. I have visions of a setup similar to an exhaust header in reverse, Large collector input with several output tubes. If I use one tube with several holes, the holes in the end would get the most flow.
I did a little more research and found that this question comes up just about every year. Some one should compile a sticky with links for "Fx5 Spray bar". But any way.
I got two 10' lengths of 1" ID sch 40 PVC and various joints yesterday. I made all my cuts last night and roughed everything together. I am modifying my cabinet at the same time but this should all be done today. Pics when it is finished.
I got two 10' lengths of 1" ID sch 40 PVC and various joints yesterday. I made all my cuts last night and roughed everything together. I am modifying my cabinet at the same time but this should all be done today. Pics when it is finished.
Here are my intake and output.
Here are a couple tank shots.
I have had the Fx5 running on this tank for a few days now and it isn't as clear as I had hoped. I think the intake I made dissipates the intake velocity too much. I have seen brine shrimp float right past it. I think I might go back to the stock intake on the end of my PVC pipe, just remove the slotted pipe that I have on there now. I have also noticed that the flake food stays on the top of the water more than it did with the OTB filters I had on before. Can I put a skimmer and a regular intake on the same intake line? I also have a "chimney grate" that fits in a 1.5" tube. I am thinking of using an adapter to fit this onto my intake instead of the stock strainer. Opinions?
P.S. The Penguin 350 is temporary, I just wanted to get the water moving a bit more until I can figure this out.
Here are a couple tank shots.
I have had the Fx5 running on this tank for a few days now and it isn't as clear as I had hoped. I think the intake I made dissipates the intake velocity too much. I have seen brine shrimp float right past it. I think I might go back to the stock intake on the end of my PVC pipe, just remove the slotted pipe that I have on there now. I have also noticed that the flake food stays on the top of the water more than it did with the OTB filters I had on before. Can I put a skimmer and a regular intake on the same intake line? I also have a "chimney grate" that fits in a 1.5" tube. I am thinking of using an adapter to fit this onto my intake instead of the stock strainer. Opinions?
P.S. The Penguin 350 is temporary, I just wanted to get the water moving a bit more until I can figure this out.
It looks like you may have to make your intake slots bigger or make more intake slots so that intake is not inhibited. FX5 is suppose to do 925gph but your slim intake slots are restricting the fx5.
Look at the original fx5 intake strainer. See how unrestricted it is? Good luck.
Look at the original fx5 intake strainer. See how unrestricted it is? Good luck.The slots in the intake will flow more than the holes that are in the spray bar. They are 1/8 inch wide and go halfway around the 1" ID tube. There are 17 of them, should be plenty flow on the intake. I would think that if I was restricting intake, it would create a higher velocity of water around the slots and suck more stuff in there. I have never seen anything go in the last five or six slots. I can put more slots in there but I think I would just rather put the stock intake back on there. Thanks for the opinion/suggestion though.