Got The Bug! 64L > 110L > 500L......

[mattlee]

Ryan i would go for 2 filters mate. even though the fx5 has a massive turnover it might not be enough. they are the cheapest filter about that filters the amount it does and the more expensive eheims have much less turnover.... ive never had any trouble with my FX5's and just got 2 new ones for my tank in the garage my only complaint would be that the intake has big gaps so any shrimp or small fish that arent paying attention might be sucked in

she finally gave in then.....

how are the tetras settled in now?

just to add, if you put all of the media from your other tanks into a basket inside the filter you go for then once the tank is up to temp and dechlorinated the fish stocking and filters can be added straight away as the media will be cycled enough for your stocking already. just keep an eye on the water stats for a week or so just incase you get a mini spike in ammonia or nitrite which can happen sometimes.

 

[Ryan_W]

Hi Matt, the Tetras have settled in just fine! They look great swimming together, nice contrast against the albino Corys too. Haha, yea she gave in, I'm getting rid of my two smaller tanks and having an 82" center piece for the kitchen

I'm either going to go for an FX-5 this month and get another one in a month or so, or 2x 405s... What would you go for? Don't the FX-5s take up silly amounts of room? Are the 405s a fair bit smaller?

I know I'm asking lots of questions and I'm probably going to bite the bullet and get the FX5, but I just wanna make sure I'm doing the right thing/buying the right filter!

The cycling sounds good, there will be no extra bioload on the media/tank since I'll be putting the same amount of fish into the new tank and won't add any extras for a while... Will the volume of the tank matter? Going from a combined 200L up to 500L?

Cheers for all your help guys and gals,

Ryan

 

[mattlee]

Hi Matt, the Tetras have settled in just fine! They look great swimming together, nice contrast against the albino Corys too. Haha, yea she gave in, I'm getting rid of my two smaller tanks and having an 82" center piece for the kitchen

I'm either going to go for an FX-5 this month and get another one in a month or so, or 2x 405s... What would you go for? Don't the FX-5s take up silly amounts of room? Are the 405s a fair bit smaller?

I know I'm asking lots of questions and I'm probably going to bite the bullet and get the FX5, but I just wanna make sure I'm doing the right thing/buying the right filter!

The cycling sounds good, there will be no extra bioload on the media/tank since I'll be putting the same amount of fish into the new tank and won't add any extras for a while... Will the volume of the tank matter? Going from a combined 200L up to 500L?

Cheers for all your help guys and gals,

Ryan

glad to hear mate

the extra water doesnt effect the bioload in any way so a straight swap with media and fish will be fine. look at it as a huge water change.

the FX5 is a big old beast but you get more filtration so it depends on what you want really and the planned stocking list..... the other fluval external filters donr get very good overall wright ups and ive had bad experiences with them in the past too. they seem to be brilliant at internal filters but pants at externals except the FX5. they now do a G series filter but it doesnt give as much lph as the FX5 but looks and seems like a toy rather than a practical system, expensive too as they have not long been out!!!!!
the FX5 isnt the most pleasing on the eye but it has the best lph for the money and at £140 these days brand new really is quite a bargain. i think the 405's are about £110 ish so not that much in it really.

do you have any stocking plans for the new tank yet?

 

[Ryan_W]

Cheers for that mate!

I've just ordered one FX5 and I'll get another one around the end of the year if the single unit can't cut it. I may just buy a cheap Eheim to add a little extra.

The misses has had a bit of a tiff today and I've had to tell ND to make the tank a little smaller

It'll be 72"x20"x19" totalling 448L. So I've lost a little in size but I'm still happy with the monster size (for me) tank I'll be getting in the very near future

She wanted 10" of work surface by the light switch, somewhere to put her key draw holder, women?!

Not too sure of stocking yet, going to put everything from my current 2 tanks in and then think about some bigger fish, Angles (if they leave my Tetras alone), some Cichlids, maybe some loaches. I'll definitely add to my dwarf Cichlid community though, build the numbers up.

What would you suggest I go for? I'll have some much more room, and 450L is a plenty of room for most types of tropical fish...

Cheers,

Ryan

 

[Ryan_W]

Should be here in 4 weeks.... Woop! Went from 72 to 74" without the misses knowing. Just over £200 for a monster tank, more than chuffed with that!!!

Now, FX5 has been ordered, it comes with ''6 foam filter blocks'', but what other media do I need to put in its 3 trays?

I've heard good things about Seachem Matrix and Purigen, what else is good in the FX5?

Cheers all,

Ryan

 

[mattlee]

Should be here in 4 weeks.... Woop! Went from 72 to 74" without the misses knowing. Just over £200 for a monster tank, more than chuffed with that!!!

Now, FX5 has been ordered, it comes with ''6 foam filter blocks'', but what other media do I need to put in its 3 trays?

I've heard good things about Seachem Matrix and Purigen, what else is good in the FX5?

Cheers all,

Ryan

pretty much whatever you want to be honest. i use quite a lot of eheim media and find it very good, also fluval biomax.... the list is endless really. just 1 thing eheim substrat pro can be a little small and may fall through the gaps in the bottom of the basket..... i wouldnt go ordering any polishing pads as they clog up very easy and fast and it becomes a bit of a pain changing or washing them.

 

[Liam50]

My fx-5 in the top basket has got a mix of eheim pre filter and eheim ball looking things. The rest of it is just lava rock in the other two trays.

 

[Ryan_W]

Hmmm, I think I'll go for the Seachem media and see how it goes. I'll wait untill the FX5 delivered is in my hands before I go buying any extra media.

Will I be able to run it in my 110L tank on its lowest flow rate to help mature the media, even though I'll be putting all my mature media into it? I think it may be too powerful for the tank, but may as well ask.

Trying to decide what 'big' fish to buy for the tank now........