FX5 cleaning after 11 months in my 240 Mabuna tank

With my FX5 specially wrapped and filled with rock it has kept my Mabuna 240 reef tank with more than 60 Cichlids sparkling for more then 11 months without a cleaning. The photos below a testament to the performance and endurance of circumference filter design. Also below photos of the FX5 cleaned, re-wrapped with Poly-batten and and repacked with decomposed granite gravel. Decomposed granite polishes the water as good as carbon but without any adverse affects, available at any landscaping nursery for about $50 a ton delivered. At that price there is no need to clean it when dirty just returned to the garden and the plants love it, it will take me years to go through a ton LOL.

I have another tank I recently built using decomposed granite (DG) and it worked and looks great although the pic below is not very good. The only time I ever have a hint of re-cycling is when I allow the temps to get above 85 degrees which will allow ammonia come out of solution. Keeps your temps below 85 and feed sparingly and you wont have cycling issues. Also below a pic of my unused DG pile.

OH almost for got to mention that the reason DG works as good as carbon for polishing is because it has millions of hairline fractures in the rock which trap and hold a huge amount of fine debris missed by polishing pads. Actually will work very well even in stacked basket type filter systems where it will not clog.

In a sense that's true, the filter does speak for itself as anyone can see. Just remember to use a cheap nylon stocking so that no bits get into the impeller. Although with a top mount motor filters I doubt one is needed since head pressure inside the filter is so weak IMO.

f1sleepy said:

As dirty as that looks, you can see that the inner-most area of the sponge is still actually quite clean. It shows how well the poly-batten wrapped sponge media actually works.

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Excellent point, and I might add that although the inner sponges were not nearly as inundated with mud, the sponges were very very dirt as well. Hard to see until rinsed as it took 4 buckets of clean aquarium water and each bucket water was black like ink. Also I might add that the filter never showed any signs of slowing GPH, a testament to the design. What clued me to change was the lack of polishing in the last month. These filters are truly remarkable when used properly.