Fluval Fx5

[Matthew_gowland]

I have a fluval vicenza 280 bow front tank. It i currently running a fluval 405 external filter but i am considering a fluval fx5.
Will the fx5 be too powerfull for my tank or will it e fine?

any help would be appreciated

 

[8inary]

think you will find it will be fine, the fx5 is a powerful filter but powerful in a good way. depending on what media you put in, you will find it pushes out a fair bit but you can bounce that off the side of your tank if need be. i tend not to fill mine up too much with media, bioballs and the sponges on the sides of the baskets give a fair bit of filtering

 

[jgray152]

think you will find it will be fine, the fx5 is a powerful filter but powerful in a good way. depending on what media you put in, you will find it pushes out a fair bit but you can bounce that off the side of your tank if need be. i tend not to fill mine up too much with media, bioballs and the sponges on the sides of the baskets give a fair bit of filtering

As with most filters you can turn the flow down as well which will also aid in bio filtration.

 

[adamgreen240]

my FX5 is great

 

[DarkEntity]

/me dons flameproof jacket and awaits the expected usual suspects!

 

[8inary]

think you will find it will be fine, the fx5 is a powerful filter but powerful in a good way. depending on what media you put in, you will find it pushes out a fair bit but you can bounce that off the side of your tank if need be. i tend not to fill mine up too much with media, bioballs and the sponges on the sides of the baskets give a fair bit of filtering

As with most filters you can turn the flow down as well which will also aid in bio filtration.

with the fx5 and like most other filters this size, you cannot turn down the flow rate. the only differing factor on flowrate is the contents
within the media baskets. personally, i use 3 for overkill and have bioballs and just the sponge filters, I do not need worry about cleaning
them for months

 

[jgray152]

with the fx5 and like most other filters this size, you cannot turn down the flow rate. the only differing factor on flowrate is the contents
within the media baskets. personally, i use 3 for overkill and have bioballs and just the sponge filters, I do not need worry about cleaning
them for months

I own the Fx5, and yes you CAN turn down the flow rate. Simple twist of the output valve and the water flow drops to where I want it.

 

[CFC]

To be fair you shoudln't really be restricting the flow by adjusting the taps with any filter, it puts back pressure on the motor and can significantly reduce the life of a filter, there is also the chance that the pressure can cause the hoses to pop off of the hose tails which i have had happen with a Fluval 303. If you need to slow down the flow entering a tank then using a longer spray bar with extra holes added distributes the flow over a greater area and thus with less force.

 

[adamgreen240]

CFC, with the FX5 you have a Jubilee clip attached to the hose , once tightened there is no chance of it coming off !! But i agreee with the fact that it miught harm the motor.

 

[jgray152]

To be fair you shoudln't really be restricting the flow by adjusting the taps with any filter, it puts back pressure on the motor and can significantly reduce the life of a filter, there is also the chance that the pressure can cause the hoses to pop off of the hose tails which i have had happen with a Fluval 303. If you need to slow down the flow entering a tank then using a longer spray bar with extra holes added distributes the flow over a greater area and thus with less force.

Backpressure would only be present inside the filter on the output side, not in the hose or at the hose connection. There will be less pressure in the hose and at the hose connection with the reduced flow. You could also reduce the flow from the intake side so you don't increase the pressure on the output side.

The restricted flow may add a little more strain on the motor but can't see this being an issue with a reduced flow as long as you don't go more than 50%. Mine is actually around 30% reduced, I though it was 50%.

 

[8inary]

with the fx5 and like most other filters this size, you cannot turn down the flow rate. the only differing factor on flowrate is the contents
within the media baskets. personally, i use 3 for overkill and have bioballs and just the sponge filters, I do not need worry about cleaning
them for months

I own the Fx5, and yes you CAN turn down the flow rate. Simple twist of the output valve and the water flow drops to where I want it.

to be honest, you should not be doing that with the open/close valves, that was not meant to reduce the flow rate and in doing so you could reduce the life of your filter/motor as the pressure it is now under could see it die sooner, I am not saying that closing the valve will not reduce the flowrate, it will, but it is not meant for that and you will damage the filter.

I am also familar with this filter, as I do own 3

 

[jgray152]

So what do you think the little hash marks on the valves are for? To tell you that you are not fully open or fully closed? Its not giong to hurt the motor. If your worried about positive pressure then reduce the flow on the intake side and now you don't have to worry and this will have the same effect as if you stuffed the filter with media to reduce the flow.

A Quote from the Fx5 Manual.

The Aquastop valves can also be used to regulate the flow without damage to the filter or motor

 

[adamgreen240]

yes thats true , i used to turn it down a bit on my 240 litre but now its on my 450 i leave it on full. I think you can turn it down , but over time it might just put a strain on the motor and do damage.

 

[NiteOwl]

You could always just go ahead and get an Eheim Pro 3e 2076/2078 that regulates the flow through precise control of the motor.

Just could not resist...sorry!

 

[jgray152]

MY last post sounded kinda angry. It wasn't supposed to be....

You could always just go ahead and get an Eheim Pro 3e 2076/2078 that regulates the flow through precise control of the motor.

Just could not resist...sorry!

True, $$$$

yes thats true , i used to turn it down a bit on my 240 litre but now its on my 450 i leave it on full. I think you can turn it down , but over time it might just put a strain on the motor and do damage.

Wont happen. Unless you put it on say a 30 gallon and needed to turn the flow down by almost 75%. Even at that I doubt it would cause enough strain on the motor to ruin it. I would say that the impeller may take a beating though. Cavitation may kill the impeller since its such a brutal force for the impeller to withstand but you can almost certainly hear this happening. Suction Cavitation and Pumping cavitation can both be brutal if the flow is restricted to much on either the intake side of the output side.. If you do hear this, fix the problem immediatly. This is where Ehiem comes into play. I think Ehiem actually restricts power to the motor to slow the impeller down correct? If so this is the correct way of reducing flow without the possibility of cavitation. They also allow the impeller to speed up slowly to further reduce cavitation and allow the output velocity to build to reduce the possibility of a spike in head pressure that could cause pumping cavitation.

The motor is built for pressure. It has a very strong motor and impeller design. The design superceeds conventional bladed impellers that could flex and break if there is to much pressure. The nice thing about the impeller design is how secure the magnet shaft is supported in the motor. Unlike conventional setups that use rubber feets and week shafts which could cause the magnet to rub against the inside wall of the motor and ruin the impeller. This happends on my older 304 model.