Just Bought An Fx5 Fluval

[simonas]

I;ve just bought one of these off ebay. Its to replace my existing external a Reansun which I;m not a huge fanbecause of the weakness of the plastics and the diffficulty in getting it started again aftera filter clean. Because of the above I don;t clean the external that often

Now I;m hoping the FX5 is easy to clean, that the plastics are strong enabling me to make a properr go of the discus I am now keeping

Can anyone give me their opinions of the fx5

 

[kevinjames]

i actually think its a dustbin cos of the size of it.

 

[mattlee]

the FX5 is a good robust filter that does a great job. its fairly easy to take apart and clean and it can also be used to remove water for water changes. the only thing i have found is that if you put any kind of sponges, floss, pads etc in the baskets its clogged up in about 2 weeks. this obviously depends on the stocking and feeding etc but the flow starts to decrease and eventually becomes almost completely clogged overnight. with regular cleaning about every 2 weeks this will be avoided if you decide to use pads or floss etc.
it will also sound like a washing machine on first start up so dont worry

 

[elisew]

Love the FX5, it`s a big bit of kit but it does what it says on the tin!

 

[Carlovel1]

Love the FX5, it`s a big bit of kit but it does what it says on the tin!

Yes, it does exactly what it says on its trash can exterior. Its a very reliable filter, like all fluval externals

 

[simonas]

happy days I think its actually smaller slightly than the one I have already but as I say the one I have doesn;t seem to ever have any dirt in the sponges etc and has really fast flow but the plastic seals etc are all poor

 

[mattlee]

happy days I think its actually smaller slightly than the one I have already but as I say the one I have doesn;t seem to ever have any dirt in the sponges etc and has really fast flow but the plastic seals etc are all poor

your current filter must be mahooooosive simon if its bigger than the FX5

 

[simonas]

happy days I think its actually smaller slightly than the one I have already but as I say the one I have doesn;t seem to ever have any dirt in the sponges etc and has really fast flow but the plastic seals etc are all poor

your current filter must be mahooooosive simon if its bigger than the FX5

oh don;t say that the current ones slightly too big for the space and I asked on here for dimensions and the measurements someone gave me suggested it was smaller slightly than the filetr I already have

 

[simonas]

well its arrived today and thankfully its slightly smaller than the outgoing resun cyclone 2800. I love thedesign of it and its so much stronger and easlier to take apart than the outgoing filter.
It doesn;t have a spray bar which is frustrating as the incoming pipe just points downwards meaning no flow on the surface which worries me. Any tips here?

Also the canisters apppear to have space for media inside the trays and on the outside. I just have sponge media inside the trays nothing on the outside

Can you advise what you all use inside your trays for media?

thanks simon

 

[kevinjames]

well its arrived today and thankfully its slightly smaller than the outgoing resun cyclone 2800. I love thedesign of it and its so much stronger and easlier to take apart than the outgoing filter.
It doesn;t have a spray bar which is frustrating as the incoming pipe just points downwards meaning no flow on the surface which worries me. Any tips here?

Also the canisters apppear to have space for media inside the trays and on the outside. I just have sponge media inside the trays nothing on the outside

Can you advise what you all use inside your trays for media?

thanks simon

i have the large sponges around the outside and bio-rings inside the three baskets.

 

[elisew]

You can move the nozzles on the outlet so that you get surface movement, that`s how mine is set.
It`s very frustrating that there isn`t a spraybar for the FX5 ut to be honest the gusto that the outlet gives is actually pretty good and I get movement across the whole surface of my 360L tank

Sponges in the top basket and all other media i.e bio rings etc in the middle and bottom basket.

I`ve just ordered another 3rd hose for the FX5 so that I can pump the water out to do maintenence, as I`m only small I find it difficult to carry the FX5 full of water to the kitchen sink

 

[Timmy_Bee]

you have got an FX5 on a 360L isn't that slightly (just a tad....) overkill?
i thought they were more for a 360 US G tank...

 

[elisew]

you have got an FX5 on a 360L isn't that slightly (just a tad....) overkill?
i thought they were more for a 360 US G tank...

It does a great job so I`m not concerned. I had a 205 on a 180L but as it wasn`t man enough to do the job I had to change that to a 305, then I decided to up to an FX5 when I upgraded the tank to the 360L, I don`t think the 405 would have come close to being good enough to be honest.
Although I have small community fish there are quite a few so the best amount of filtration is all good

 

[mattlee]

well its arrived today and thankfully its slightly smaller than the outgoing resun cyclone 2800. I love thedesign of it and its so much stronger and easlier to take apart than the outgoing filter.
It doesn;t have a spray bar which is frustrating as the incoming pipe just points downwards meaning no flow on the surface which worries me. Any tips here?

Also the canisters apppear to have space for media inside the trays and on the outside. I just have sponge media inside the trays nothing on the outside

Can you advise what you all use inside your trays for media?

thanks simon

there should be 3 baskets and 6 white sponges that fit around the outside, 2 in each basket. in the middle is where you put the ceramics etc. the water return should look like a twin nozzle, each nozzle can rotate so the flow can be directed up, down, left or right. i have mine both pointing at the surface and get great surface movement. if you dont have the nozzle then contact the supplier and get one sent
if you want pics of mine ill get some posted for you mate
also spray bars can be made using pvc pipe and elbows if you want.

 

[8inary]

I have two of these on my big tank (over filtering) and cannot praise them enough.

I have tried various ways of having pads/bioballs etc in the 3 trays and ultimately found that I tend to put bioballs in the middle basket and just allow the outer pads to catch the gunk. This way I tend to clean them about twice a year and still have gin quality water.