Calling All Fx5 Owners

[kevinjames]

so i set up my fluval fx5 and it gigantic hoses on saturday and its running well. id like to know what people have filled their empty media baskets with. ive just loaded mine full of ceramic bio-rings. am i missing out by doing this? is there anything else i should put in instead? also how often does it need maintanence as it seems a pain to have to drain and move really. another thing is the water polishing pads i see fluval make for this filter. does anybody else use them and will they mean id have to drain and maintain more if i did use them?

 

[jacko32]

i have filled all 3 baskets with bio rings aswell no polishing pads its been running almost 12 months now with no maintenance at all and the water is crystal clear and my stats are perfect

 

[always4lora]

I'vew had the baskets etup differntly on mine;
on one tank it was being used for the main filter so i had the baskets filled with ceramic rings
now its on a tank just to help clean the water but im not fussed about the bio side as i have a 40-50g sump so i have all but one basket filled with pads.

For the pads i use pond pads, you gets loads out of a sheet and its pretty cheap!

Maintence is a doddle , dont bother with the crappy drain pipe bit at the bottom just turn the taps off , turn the power off and take it to the sink or drain and turn it upside down. You'll get quicker with time i can get mine out of the tank cleaned and back in the tank in about 20minutes.

Good choice with the filter its the best for its price on the market!

 

[kevinjames]

i was hoping for answers like that. my old fluval 305 was easy to maintain when it rarely needed it so i went with fluval again. so far so good although its only been running 2 days!!! im worried about the mature media ive put in though as with the pump being so strong i feel it might of blasted the bactria off the rings. am i worrying about nothing?? and how long does it take for bacteria to multiply when seeding a new filter???

 

[always4lora]

i was hoping for answers like that. my old fluval 305 was easy to maintain when it rarely needed it so i went with fluval again. so far so good although its only been running 2 days!!! im worried about the mature media ive put in though as with the pump being so strong i feel it might of blasted the bactria off the rings. am i worrying about nothing?? and how long does it take for bacteria to multiply when seeding a new filter???

Considering most pumps on sumps can do over 10000lph and not blast of the media in the media i dnt think you have out to wurry about with the fx5's flow. As for the bacteria to multiply that'll depend on stocking. If its a new tank with no fish in i'd do a fish in cycle with the fx5 and stock slowly, the filter will keep up

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

~2.5l of Eheim Substrat Pro split between the baskets here.