parrdog Posted March 24, 2006 Author Share Posted March 24, 2006 I recently got a FX5 from Ben, I must say I am really impressed with it so far. Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huzzy Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 I am really impressed with it so far. ← What are you impressed about? Give us a mini review pro's vs cons? noise flow rate quality of materials Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GTR73 Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 Anyone care to speak on their experiences with any Sacem Canister filters? ← I have used a Sacem Marathon 1000 and it has never skipped a beat - silent and reliable. I rate them as high as the Eheim Classic series ... even the design is very similar to the Eheim Classic series. ← . . . And as Huzzy said, there is a large difference between the 1000 and the 2000 and the 1000 is much better designed. I have both models and the 1000 is better in that it has an internal weir that directs the intake water from the top inlet to the bottom, down one side of the barrel, where it is then drawn back up thru the media by the pump. Very efficient setup and you can pack whatever media you want in it. The 2000 comes with a dodgy basket setup that: A) doesn't fill the interior diameter of the barrel and, B) the baskets themselves don't seal properly. There's no internal weir to direct intake water to the bottom, so the result is a very inefficient setup. Water will always find the easiest route so if there's gaps in the baskets that's where it'll go thru towards the pump. The fact the baskets themselves don't even fit snug and are much smaller than the barrel diameter means oodles of unused space in a large sized 10L area. In the end I siliconed in my own weir to make it efficient and more versatile like it's smaller Marathon 1000 cousin: Now the thing works well. It actually has two ridges, where a weir would have been in the smaller Marathons, which makes it easy to fit a piece that lines up perfectly on the outside of the intake hole. The other quirk with Marathons is the pump housing o-ring where there's a trick to installing by placing the o-ring on the head unit first and not in the barrel. All that aside, I've had the Marathon 1000 for a few years and never had a drama with reliability, priming or filtration performance. The design is indeed highly efficient, Marathon 2000 aside without the mod, and they're Italian made so better quality than Korean/Chinese specials. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 Here's my mini review of the Fluval FX5. Quality of materials: I have found all the attachments (ie hoses, pipes and valves etc) very easy to set up, very sturdy and tidy. The best attachments I have encounted from a canister so far. The main drum is compact whilst being very roomy. Flow Rate: The flow rate is great, I thought it would be stronger but I'm sure this is due to the tubing size and the diameter of the outlet, which are much larger than conventional canisters, so you don't get the higher pressure. Noise: None at all. I also use Eheims in addition and this is just as quiet. I have no filter noise from my tank whatsoever. I have found this to be a very solidly and tidily built filter so far. I have found no disadvantages at this early stage. I might also add that this filter was a breeze to set up. I am also very impressed with the sturdiness of the shut off valves and a spare is included for draining purposes. So far it gets from me, Jamie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ash Posted March 26, 2006 Share Posted March 26, 2006 Nice write up & DIY explanation GTR73! Edit: Nice mini-review from you too Jamie, you posted it while I was posting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
parrdog Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 No worries Ash . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willy Wombat Posted March 27, 2006 Share Posted March 27, 2006 In the end I siliconed in my own weir to make it efficient and more versatile like it's smaller Marathon 1000 cousin: Now the thing works well. ← You should post that in this months photo comp. Excellent DIY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shirecichlid Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 ok guys now that a decent amount of time has passed whats everyones thoughts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D6C1 Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Good to see the search being used! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Superted Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 hi ive been running my FX5 for a few years now never missed a beat and my tank is very heavily stocked great filter quiet simple and effective Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barracuda Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Just had a look at the first few posts, 3 years ago saying that the fx5 was selling for around $300, but its $495 at Age of Aquariums? Different model? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D6C1 Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Age of aquariums will beat price by 10%. Find the cheapest price and email them. They will beat it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huzzy Posted June 9, 2009 Share Posted June 9, 2009 Just had a look at the first few posts, 3 years ago saying that the fx5 was selling for around $300, but its $495 at Age of Aquariums? Different model? Nope, its the exact same model. Just the price has increased over time...blame goes to inflation, the Aussie dollar, etc etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gianniz Posted June 10, 2009 Share Posted June 10, 2009 i don't think its inflations. i think the fx5 became very popular so those makers and distributors are doing the same stunt as the eheims are doing. still nice looking filter, kinda makes my rena xp3 look acient! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pseudotrop Posted August 24, 2009 Share Posted August 24, 2009 I've just bought a 6' aquarium (dalbarb) and with it I was sold an Aqua One 2250 canister filter. Has anyone had any experiences with this filter? Is it sufficient for a 6' aquarium (not sure on how well stocked the aquarium is going to be yet)? Just had a quick look at other threads on filters, seems everyone or most people use two cannisters and maybe an internal power filter. So I guess main question is has anyone used the aqua one 2250 canister filter? What are your thoughts? Also, fluidised bed filters, any good? Seem quite cheap in comparison to a canister filter. I have one canister filter running (bought ~4-5 months ago), which I bought online, some no name 1400L/H thing that was cheap, seems to keep my 3' display quite clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted September 3, 2009 Share Posted September 3, 2009 Also, fluidised bed filters, any good? Seem quite cheap in comparison to a canister filter. FBF are biological only, cannot be compared to a canister. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pseudotrop Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 Also, fluidised bed filters, any good? Seem quite cheap in comparison to a canister filter. FBF are biological only, cannot be compared to a canister. I was thinking more of running one with a cannister as well (instead of a 2nd cannister), not on its own. Consensus seems to be that any tank that's ~6' needs two cannister filters or at least some extra filtration to keep it nice n clean, I might just buy some of those cheap cannisters on ageofaquariums as I'ved had one now for 9 months and it still works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcsx Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 ive had my fx5 for about 2 years now and yeh never a problem. never a problem with leaking, clogging, always runs perfect, never any noise, only sometimes when you open up the filter to give it a bit of a clean, you can get bubbles trapped in the lid. ive found the easiest way to get rid of these is turn the filter on and off till the bubble sound stops. so yeh i think its a great filter and recommend it for sure. thanks mark~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted September 7, 2009 Share Posted September 7, 2009 Also, fluidised bed filters, any good? Seem quite cheap in comparison to a canister filter. FBF are biological only, cannot be compared to a canister. I was thinking more of running one with a cannister as well (instead of a 2nd cannister), not on its own. Consensus seems to be that any tank that's ~6' needs two cannister filters or at least some extra filtration to keep it nice n clean, I might just buy some of those cheap cannisters on ageofaquariums as I'ved had one now for 9 months and it still works great. No worries. A FBF can be used in line but it will probably be over kill. All filters and biological medias have their pros and cons. The system/tank that will get the greatest benefit from a FBF is one with; a) large bio loads and; b) fluctuating bioloads (due to the characteristics brought by the moving sand particles). A tank is fine with just one filter (provided it is big enough). It is even more fine with two for the simple reason that should one stop, the other can carry the load till repaired. Others will see an advantage to being able to clean one filter at time, and there are some benefits here if you stuff up and kill your biological media but I would hope that all who are maintaining their filters will take extra care of the biological section (I certainly do) anyway so perhaps this "advantage" is a moot point. As far as biological media goes, you'd do just as well if not better with Matrix in the canister than an in-line FBF. There will be less fiddling around, less things to go wrong and with Matrix you may get some removal of nitrate as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod54 Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 FBF are highly efficient as there is a lot of surface area for bacteria to colonise and as the water has a high oxygen content....you get lots of beneficial bacteria.....they are great whilst there is a flow of water through them but they quickly turn septic should the water stop flowing for any reason....this can prove disastrous. for this reason I wouldn't use one.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fongyfong Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Age of aquariums will beat price by 10%. Find the cheapest price and email them. They will beat it. not sure if they do beat the price i emailed them about a heater that another shop was selling the other shop was selling it super cheap compared to AOA and asked if they could beat it, and no reply and its been about a week, so i guess they couldnt. Has anyone came in with a product cheaper and have they beat it? is that we will beat any price buy 10 percent true? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D6C1 Posted September 9, 2009 Share Posted September 9, 2009 Age of aquariums will beat price by 10%. Find the cheapest price and email them. They will beat it. not sure if they do beat the price i emailed them about a heater that another shop was selling the other shop was selling it super cheap compared to AOA and asked if they could beat it, and no reply and its been about a week, so i guess they couldnt. Has anyone came in with a product cheaper and have they beat it? is that we will beat any price buy 10 percent true? Give them a call. Speak to Ben Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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