FX5 media options

[krellious]

I managed to score myself a fx5 after the auction on the weekend. However it did not come with any of the foam and only a few large ceramic balls in the middle section. I will be putting it on my 6x2.5x2 tanks to have tangs mainly cyps and some shelldwellers. What media options would you use and what order. I am thinking mostly mechanical filtration but can be convinced otherwise as i will also have a fluval 4plus internal filter with foam pads in it.

 

Cheers

[Buccal]

I've been running fx's for 11 years now, and tried a few combinations.

best I've found that works,,,

Mechanical hexagon ceramic noodles in top tray.

Biological round ceramic noodles in bottom tray.

a thick black sponge trimmed with scissors to fit the full depth of middle tray but leaving a 1cm gap/space above.

 

If the sponges for the outside curved provisions around the outside perimeter of each basket is missing, just measure the thickness of sponge needed which would roughly be 30-40mm thick,,,, then buy some black sponge sheeting and again cut to size to fit,,, these mechanical outside sponges can be cleaned with a high pressure cleaner,,, I do the center basket sponge with the high pressure cleaner also

 

[krellious]

Awesome mate. I have some black sponge sitting around. Just didnt want to pay $50 for the proper stuff. I was also thinking of getting some k1 but not sure if it will work properly or be benefical

 

[Link2Hell]

K1 is best used in motion other wise it's like using bio balls submerged

they work but not to their optimum

submerged a matrix type of media is best for biological

[krellious]

Buccal. Do you run anything int the center of the tray? and link. Thanks for that. I had heard it can still work but not to full potential. However if the tray is not full would it still be able to move and bounce around with the flow of the water?

[Buccal]

Yes mate, as I mentioned above, I use thicker black sponge in the middle tray, but leaving at least 1cm space left on top of of middle try.

You could double layer the black sponge if you didn't have the thicker stuff for your middle tray.

 

I find that if you use extra bio media in middle tray instead, I find it gets caught up with junk prematurely and makes the filter release particles into the water well before maintenance time.

 

Chris, is spot on, the K media works fine as motionless media,, but there are much better options for media, like medias that are designed to be motionless.

K media is designed to constantly tumble and remain totally clog free, thus remaining 100% effective 100% of the time,,,, this is its specialty and main attraction.

Typically with standard filtration with no K media,,, the aquarist usually gets worried as the filter starts to block up because the water flow becomes insufficient and dead spots and bi-pass spots occur in filter reducing contact of water to bio-media to perform the nitrogen cycle properly.

Where as k media is 100% efficient 10% of the time.

But once K media is motionless, there's nothing special about it.

 

[Buccal]

Regarding the k media bouncing in middle tray,, I doubts it would, and if it did somehow, then the flow doing this would change at some point between filter cleans and stop tumbling for much of the time.

K media needs a certain flow setting to get it to remain in free tumble suspension mode, it's unlikely by chance these conditions would be like this inside the filter.

just run yourself a simple little extra device to run K media if needed.

it can be running as a super mini sump style set-up, or over head sump tray.

They can even be made out of Coke bottles..

At least this way, when your filters block, the only bad thing is extra nitrate generation.

without the added little K sump tray,,,,, when your filters block, they will generate extra nitrate and you'll get ammonia spikes also as the bio-media isn't receiving the water flow through it.

The FX bio media that the manufactures make suited to the fx, I believe is best, because the hollow noodle cyclinder shapes are correct proportional size suited to their tray pozzy.

these noodles are porous and similar to the famous bacci media,,,,, these can be used for the top tray also in place of the mechanical hexagonal solid ceramic cylinders the manufacturers supply,,,, if you wanted extra bio mech.

 

Having that center tray filled with black sponge, really keeps a clean tank, so you can afford to fill the top tray with bio mech.

[Donny Brasco]

Buccal if you dont mind me chiming in for some info as well as im about to switch over to an fx5 on my 5x2 as well.
i was under the impression those marine pure balls where some what the ducks guts when it comes to bio media is this correct? and if so would you think it would be ideal to use that or is it the factor of them being so large you couldnt fit that many into the media section of the trays?

and my next option would have been the seachem matrix which is also supposed to be a great bio media, would you say that would be a better option over the typical bio noodles? I dont mind spending a bit more on quality if its going to be more beneficial for my fish.

I also pre bought a full set of new filter foam for my fx5 as i got the canister second hand but almost new, i just thought i would start fresh anyway with the correct stuff, would you say there is a better option that the fluval built foam?

going by what you have said im thinking, matrix or marine pure balls in the bottom, black filter foam in the middle and some bio noodles on the top and then the fluval foam around the outsides of each tray maybe a bag of purigen on top of the top tray as well?

 

[Donny Brasco]

sorry one last question, how often do you pull your fx5 out for a rinse in aquarium water and pressure wash the foam?

[Buccal]

Hi mate,,, how often to rinse the foam is a how long is a piece of string question,,, as it depends on tank size in relation to filter size and mostly the bioload.

After you begin your regimes, you'll eventually learn your frequency of filter cleans.

In saying that, I usually look at the water ejecting at the tank surface exiting the FX,,, once it appears to have slowed a bit, it's time to clean.

 Regarding your top Tray, don't forget it's the mechanical section and gets filled with junk.

The overall bio-media, over time I tended to use the more factory type medias, as consideration must be taken into account with your choices of media regarding how well they work in clogged or crap in there,,,,, by saying this, I mean that there's many medias regarded as superior and they are,,, but they may become severely compromised when easily blocked when compared to other medias that aren't considered as good but work better when chocked up with junk.

 

Remember that a lot of medias that are deemed as superior,,, shouldn't be compared against each other as which is best.

Many of these medias are designed not as a better option, but more as designed to suit particular situations.

So you must study what situation each media is designed for,,, not just what's the best.

 

Marine pure balls I have no experience with,, but the baskets in the fx are only so big and I'm fairly sure they might be a bit coarse.

But the matrix and purigen should be quite fitting and work fine.

Mayybe your top basket use something a bit coarser, so it acts as a bio-media and the last third of the running time before cleaning the filter, it basically becomes clogged and starts to act more of a mechanical media.

 

Also, a handy hint, the fx is quite a rapid flow,, so look at the optimum flow requirements for your bio media of choice in relation to your fx flow.

[Buccal]

Obviously the fluval built foam would be better,,, but the black sheet foam at the same thickness works just as well.

the fact that using the black foam would mean that the little recess in the middle of the foam bit won't be there,, but it doesn't make that much of a difference.

Your last phrase is sounding about right and on track.

 

the black foam in the center really keeps the water more polished towards the end just before the filter clean,,, where as without it and using something else, the water gets particles in the last 2-4 weeks before cleaning.