Fx5

[scotty]

does everbody use the polishing pads in their fluval fx5?

cheers

scott

 

[Caprichoso]

I used to but I found that it clogs up the filter too quickly and you get a bunch of micro bubbles. I know I could do a mod to the filter to stop this but I haven't had the chance yet. I took out the polishing pads and to be quite honest, I don't really see a big difference in the water clarity. It all looks pretty clear to me. I'm saving loads of money too by not having to replace them every couple of weeks

 

[simonas]

I dont use filter wool though which seems to do a similar job and its amazing how clear the water goes after a filter clean

 

[scotty]

my water always seem cloudy,lots of little particles floating around,never had that problem with my all pond solutions filter the water was crystal clear. and i know the fx does not need cleaned

 

[Caprichoso]

my water always seem cloudy,lots of little particles floating around,never had that problem with my all pond solutions filter the water was crystal clear. and i know the fx does not need cleaned

You may want to look into why it's happening. Are you over feeding or have you had an algae bloom die off? How often do you do water changes and what %?

 

[scotty]

60% water changes weekly,no algae bloom and not overfeeding fish.

 

[Caprichoso]

60% water changes weekly,no algae bloom and not overfeeding fish.

New substrate? Dying plants? And it's not just micro bubbles you are seeing?

 

[scotty]

60% water changes weekly,no algae bloom and not overfeeding fish.

New substrate? Dying plants? And it's not just micro bubbles you are seeing?

none of the above

 

[mattlee]

the pads clogged up after about a week or 2 for me as well so now i just use the foam pads around the edges and fill the baskets with noodles etc.

the FX5 should keep your tank spotless without filter pads etc.

what size tank is it on?

any kinks in the pipe?

whats the flow like?

whats the stocking?

 

[Caprichoso]

Really, the only other thing is to clean out the filter again. The filter should be picking it all up as it filters hundreds of gallons every hour. How do you stack your media in the filter? It could be if it's not stacked properly and locked into place that it's causing it to not filter properly.

EDIT to add: also those corrugated pipes are terrible for collecting debris and have to be scrubbed on occasion. Yet another modification I want to do to the FX5 lol.

 

[jacko32]

i ran mine with only ceramic madia for 9 months it was fine then after that i started getting a lot of particles in the water so i gave it a clean out and added a polishing pad and the water is perfectly clear now and has been for 3 months with no loss of flow or any maintenance.

 

[scotty]

the pads clogged up after about a week or 2 for me as well so now i just use the foam pads around the edges and fill the baskets with noodles etc.

the FX5 should keep your tank spotless without filter pads etc.

what size tank is it on?

any kinks in the pipe?

whats the flow like?

whats the stocking?

4ft tank,300 litres

no kinks in pipe

flow is great

stocking
1 pair strawberry apistos
1 pair german blue rams
12 corys
8 neons
8 dwarf pencil fish
2 zebra otos
1 mottled otos
5 silver hatchets
2 emperor tetras
2 bristle nose plecs

i have packed the top basket with sponge media,i done this when i changed the filters over

 

[mattlee]

it could be tiny air bubbles caused by the sponge media in the top basket. try and remove it and see if it makes a difference.

i take it its the sponges from the old filter to keep the filetr cycled.....

 

[scotty]

it could be tiny air bubbles caused by the sponge media in the top basket. try and remove it and see if it makes a difference.

i take it its the sponges from the old filter to keep the filetr cycled.....

yes it was the old sponges,definately not tiny airbubbles

 

[mattlee]

it could be tiny air bubbles caused by the sponge media in the top basket. try and remove it and see if it makes a difference.

i take it its the sponges from the old filter to keep the filetr cycled.....

yes it was the old sponges,definately not tiny airbubbles

could it just be loose particles coming from the old sponges as they are past the FX5 sponges. a bit like when you clean a filter out and when you put it back on loads of crap comes out into the tank?