Fluval Fx5 Media

[typhoon]

Hi, im picking up my new FX5 on wednesday and was wondering what order you stack the media up in and what media you use?
it only comes with the white foams around the sides so

i think there are three shelves

i just need to know what order they should be stacked in from bottom to top and what kind of media?

biomax ring?
carbon?
zeo carb?
fine pads?
polishing pads?
looking through the net and previous posts, i think ill go

polishing pads on top
zeocarb in middle
biomax on bottom

Does this sound correcT?

Like i say i dont have the filter yet so not %100 what there will be space for so if you have this filter any help is much appreciated!

Thanks luke

 

[SombreroBanana]

The water should be pumped through mechanical first (filter floss, wool, etc.), then chemical if you have, then biological.

 

[Wills]

I have 2 running on my tank and have bio balls in all three chambers. Max it out on biological and then you can always add some carbon pads if you ever need to. I wouldnt really suggest keeping zeocarb in your filter unless you need it to clean up meds or tannins from wood. As it will just need replacing every 6 weeks or so and can get expensive.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I put ~5cm of Eheim Substrat Pro in each basket and combined that with the supplied basket surrounding sponges, job done.

 

[Aquascaper]

I would avoid using filter floss/wool as mechanical filtration otherwise you'll run the risk of reducing flow and having to replace it more frequently. Use it as a final polish in the very top level.

 

[Wills]

I would avoid using filter floss/wool as mechanical filtration otherwise you'll run the risk of reducing flow and having to replace it more frequently. Use it as a final polish in the very top level.

Bad idea - filter floss or wool in the top part of an FX5 gets sucked up into some of the flow area - trust me, speaking from experience here. Not a nice surprise when you add it in.

Wills

 

[Aquascaper]

Agreed but surely better in the top sections rather than 1st stage filtration?

 

[Wills]

Agreed but surely better in the top sections rather than 1st stage filtration?

Yes but you cant do it in FX5 as it does just clog its not like it just clogs the flow a bit it totally stops it working. They are a strong filter but there are a couple of design flaws to it.

Wills

 

[Aquascaper]

I'll stick with my Eheim

 

[josh_g]

I have 2 running on my tank and have bio balls in all three chambers. Max it out on biological and then you can always add some carbon pads if you ever need to. I wouldnt really suggest keeping zeocarb in your filter unless you need it to clean up meds or tannins from wood. As it will just need replacing every 6 weeks or so and can get expensive.

Wills how much did it cost you to fill up all 3 chambers with bio balls? I would like to slowly move my Fx5 over to all bioballs. Thanks

 

[Wills]

I just got a few large boxes of the plastic ones that have loads of sides cut into them - they were about £5 per bag and I needed just under 3 boxes for each filter. Not had any problems since.

Wills

 

[josh_g]

Quality will be looking into doing this in the near future. Have u had any problems with them is your water crisp? I have 2 running on a 600ltr and am going to run a single fx5 on my new 450ltr for my tangys.

 

[Wills]

I have 2 on 500 liters and its okay - they need cleaning reasonanbly regular but over all not bad at all. The flow is great though and they suck up so much from the substrate that I only need to vacuum up in the middle.

Wills

 

[josh_g]

Sold. Il have a look around the net for some 2nite. What fish you keeping in the 500l wills?