anyone tried one of these... I bought one to use as an aquarium "shop vac"...

[Magnum Man]

this is the one I got...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0CSMHYJGP?ref=ppx_pt2_mob_b_prod_image

I wanted something to help me clean up my rock piles, I like that you can turn the UV sterilizer on and off separately... and that you can use it with no filter media, as a vacuum for water changes, UV off, but can put 3 pans of media in, as coarse or fine, and with the UV on, or off for circulating if I want to... this could be detail cleaning the rock piles, more than I have water change water, or just to polishing if desired

it's self priming, which is kind of cool... makes a lot of noise while self priming, and they don't actually tell you that, but it must hold 2.5 or so gallons, so if the filter is dry, you could pump out 1/4 of a 10 gallon tank, before it starts returning any water... it's super quiet, when it's not in priming mode... plus it has UV , which I have not messed with yet...

the only dislikes so far, is the instructions are vague ( I'm a guy, and tried the typical skip of the instructions, but had to refer to them later ) and the hoses are quite stiff, but it was exposed to below zero weather, and wound in a tight coil... I'm sure I'll comment on it more, as I use it... at my house, it's intent is to use it on clean up day, not as an everyday filter...

 

[MaloK]

Are you opening a swimming pool maintenance service ?

 

[Magnum Man]

well the canister doesn't pump out, it draws water out of the top of the canister, so if you pull the inlet out of the tank, it'll pump the canister down a couple inches is all( at least as far as I've found so far ) so the canister is heavy, as it has like 2 gallons of water in it... not a problem for me, but some more frail may not like how heavy it is after you're done... unless there is something in the directions about pumping it empty???

 

[MaloK]

If you let air enter the input it should purge a good part of the water before un-priming. Then stop the motor asap. That could help. It depends on the water flow design inside the can.

If it filters from top to bottom, with a pipe that goes up to return the water, that will empty completely.

The other way around will create a bubble that will cause an air lock at some point.

But you might have a good stretch done before it happens.

 

[Magnum Man]

I believe the water comes in the bottom, and out the top... the top includes the pump, and the UV parts, and it fits down into the canister ( which actually looks like a shop vac tank with the filter trays removed )

 

[MuddyWaters]

Pretty cool! Interesting that it has the UV with it. I have a UV light that I add sometimes if algae gets too bad. I've only needed it once until recently with my tank in the office (29 gal)- it's still fairly new and I'm finding the balance. That, and the sun started coming in the sliding glass door in the afternoons.

Anyway, it would be a nice option to be able to use it sometimes. Does it look like it would be easy to replace the bulb?

 

[MuddyWaters]

oh- one other thing- I use my FX4 to change the water in my 75 gallon tank. I turn off power and the outflow to drain the water through an outlet they added at the bottom of the canister, and then turn it back on and turn off the inflow to put the water back in. It makes changing water way easier. I still use a manual vacuum when I need to, but it saves me from heaving 5 gal buckets up to put them in, or using a separate pump to drain or replace the water.

Looks like yours does the same kind of thing- very convenient. The UV light isn't that stong, but still pretty cool to have, and maybe you just run it a bit longer.

 

[MaloK]

Yes an aquarium UV needs to be run for long periods because the delay of exposition is very short and many pathogen and algae will need multiple expositions to get rid of.

And I mean many. Some will resist 30 seconds of exposition before being degraded enough. how many camera flash is that.

 

[Magnum Man]

the bulb changes easily... but my question, is how long do they last... the filter recommends running the light in 2 hour increments