How to Modify the trays in an FX6

[G8zzaj]

Hey everyone,

New tank day today!!! getting delivered in a few hours

Going to have 2 x FX6 running on it.

I'd like to get peoples thought's on what to fill the media trays with? On my other tank that I set up last year as my first ever tank I went bog standard mechanical, biological, chemical in the trays.

However the more I research and watch (MicksfishUK on Youtube) fills all the trays in his FX6's with ceramic rings - is this the right way forward?

How would people advise for a tank with arowana and stingray?

 

[phreeflow]

I use Cermedia MarinePure 1.5” ceramic balls. Works great…supports a lot of fish. Ditch chemical and use foam and bio media

 

[duanes]

Since all bio-media is just a surface area for beneficial bacteria to live on, and the bacteria don't care what they live on,.
It doesn't matter if you use lava rock, old hair curlers, or some expensive, fancy, commercial doo dad. They all do the same thing.
As a former water microbiologist, I find all this back and forth about "this one is better than that one"on YouTube, or anywhere else just inane masterbation.
I use whatever is available, and my test results have all come to the same conclusion, nomatter I've used.

Lava rock above in a cascading filter column, or.....
if I buy a used tank and it comes with something else,
I'll use that.

 

[aussieman57]

Fill the tray with pot scrubbies and call it a day. Pot scrubbies work great and provide a huge amount of surface area for bacteria growth. You can also get them dirt cheap on Amazon. Do a google search.

 

[G8zzaj]

Thanks everyone,

I had tons of ceramic balls and rings in doors so I filled the bottom two trays full with ceramic and left the top tray with the two black sponges it comes with.

Is that the right way? Wouod you do away with the two black sponges up top and add more media?

 

[celebrist]

I'm sure that setup will work fine

 

[tlindsey]

Is that the right way? Wouod you do away with the two black sponges up top and add more media?

Yes use the black sponges they serve as mechanical and bio media. They will catch waste.

 

[tlindsey]

If you just add ceramic rings in both trays of the filter the rings will get clogged up with waste and gunk.

 

[CaliFishKid]

Agree with everyone else, from a bio media standpoint the options are endless. I use a combo of ceramic rings and pot scrubbers. Chemical filtration really only last for weeks and I find is best used for extended periods I have to go without water changes (like vacations), or other special cases like increasing the bio-load significantly or doing a big deep clean that stirs up a bunch of organic matter, etc.

If you prefer crystal clear water you'll want some fine mechanical filtration, but it does reduce the flow of the FX6 after a few weeks of absorbing particles. Nice thing about the FX6 is unlike a lot of other canisters, even with fine media the filter doesn't clog or reduce flow entirely when this happens. But the mechanical pads it comes with are also good enough to be used without fine media.