Fx6 Spray Bar ?

[clivealive]

getting a 6 x 2 x 2 tank    and maybe a fx6 filter ,     doesnt seem to be any sray bars available or am i just blind ?
 
 
do i need one  ?
is it easy to make one ?
 
is a fx6 enough for fully stocked /slightly over stocked 6 x 2 x 2 tank

 

[luca1980]

Hi Clive, I have an fx6 on my 5 foot African cichlid tank and its a great filter. I haven't seen any spray bars available but I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to make your own. The fx6 has two outlet openings so you would probably need to make two spray bars.
 
On this tank I also run a fluval 306 as a backup in case the fx6 fails, although the fx6 would filter this tank easily on its own. It depends though on what you are going to stock your tank with. My mbunas produce a lot of waste, require strong filtration and lots of water movement to be happy which is why I chose the fx6 in the first place.

 

[clivealive]

thanks ,  didnt know it has 2 outputs , so u just run with 2 normal outputs into tank at water surface ?
how does it work with all these tubes , iam worried about it all fitting.
i currently have a fluval 405 on my 4 foot tank which it will replace.   could maybe run both as well.
Iam going to stock american cichlids , JD texas etc.  

 

[luca1980]

No worries Clive, I will answer as best as I can
 
The fx6 has one inlet tube which is telescopic, meaning that it can be extended or retracted depending on how tall your tank is. I have sand as my substrate so in order to not suck up lots of sand into the filter, the inlet is about 2 inches above the surface of the substrate.
 
The outlets are one pipe that branch off into two outlet tubes which sit just under the surface of the water, on the opposite end of the tank to the inlet tube. They have little things that you put on the ends so you can direct the flow of the water in two different directions. One of mine is pointed straight across the back wall of the tank and the other is pointed diagonally across the tank - sorry of this is hard to follow, its difficult to explain
 
The fx6 hoses are big - more than an inch across from memory. They are also ribbed and come with brackets so that you can secure them to the sides of the tank.
 
In terms of setup, I have the inlet of the fx6 sitting next to the outlet of the 305 at one end, and the outlets of the fx6 next to the inlet of the 305 at the other end - 1 inlet and 1 outlet at both ends of the tank.
 
I also have a 35watt maxspect gyre generator (similar to a wave maker, but better!) - its job is to make sure that there are no dead spots in the tank. Because I have mbunas, my tank is filed with rocks, caves etc - the maxspect makes sure that water flows throughout the entire tank and forces waste towards the filter inlets.
 
It does take up a lot of space (300watt heater is there too) so I had to have my glass sliding lids cut to fit everything in.
 
I hope this helps

 

[sawickib]

Will admit I didnt get a chance to read the rest of the thread but i would say you need more filtration, my 6x2x2 has an fx5 (almost identical to fx6) and also has 2 HOB Aqueon 55/75 filters, it accomplishes a lot of airflow and takes in a lot of waste. If anything i would go for 2 fx6's if youd like to stock it to capacity, that might be a bit overkill but thats better than not enough haha.
 
I think the more important thing is water agitation for maximum oxygen exchange, which a spray bar might help with but im not sure if any are available for retail.