No they were fine and I took two off a couple of tanks in the showroom to do that mod you showed me. I did the mod and reprimed them ...clunk, clunk. Took off the pumps cleaned the impeller and pipes .... clunk clunk clunk. Replaced the whole impeller on one with a new unit ...clunk clunk clunk. Just now I replaced the pump with one I took out off the shelf using a old impeller and it worked, new impeller worked. Something killed the actual pumps on both and I doubt it was anything to do with the polyfiber. I'll wait for the Hagen rep to come in and he can replace the pumps.
Odyssea CFS 500 Can-filter review and circumference modification
- Thread starter CWO4GUNNER
- Start date
Weird. especially to have the same symptomatic failures at the same time in two different FX5's. The symptoms remind me of motor or motor-board damage that occurred while you were handling the filters, like running them dry without water or smacking the motor housing during removal for cleaning or wetting the motor controller board somehow. My FX5's turn on and off about 50 times a day and have never suffered a board problem but maybe my 30 minute cycles are keeping my motor and motor controller boards from over heating or allowing heat to shed.
I checked and these both were Rev1's so actually for Rev 1 FX5's (prior to October 2006) they have lasted far longer then usual. Early FX5's broke pumps at a alarming rate I'd estimate a 30% failure rate in the first 12 months. Since then the only time a FX5 pump usually breaks is when it gets sand or a bit of broken ceramic ring in it. Its no issue ...Hagen are replacing both of them free for us.
New replacement pluming O-ring for CFS500/FX5/Fluval 404-405
I was able to match up the O-ring for the FX5 which was an exact match and only cost $0.58 a pair at Lowe's in the pluming section. Ironically it is also the same exact same size O-ring the Fluval 404/405 uses on their aqua-stop valve. There were only 5 boxes so I grabbed 4, after that continued shopping for other items I needed like a 100 pound bag of medium grit construction sand ($8), two 15a power strips ($3) exc, exc, I even remembered to take a 10% veteran discount by showing my Mil ID. Back home I decided to immediately try the O-rings by replacing the old on both the FX5 and CFS500. Now both sets of orange coupling valves slide down with mild hand pressure all the way to the base and click lock without having to use any force on the CFS500. Also removal of the orange valve couplings is as easy as pushing the unlocking button and the coupling slides off with one hand easy lifting, no more having to hold one valve on the CFS500 with 2 hands mashing the release button while twisting the valve back and forth binding and pulling up with all your muscles shaking and stressing, only to have the coupling suddenly brake-free from the old oversized o-rings flying off from and smacking the top of the inside cabinet with you knuckles (why the lid ports would eventually brake) . In addition now when you move the CFS canister while running the coupling valves swival easily with no more binding and no leaking. Both canisters have been running with the new O-rings for 2 hours now with no issues. Below the box, part number and size, this is what you need to buy for your CFS500 to fix the lid port/ valve coupling problem.
I was able to match up the O-ring for the FX5 which was an exact match and only cost $0.58 a pair at Lowe's in the pluming section. Ironically it is also the same exact same size O-ring the Fluval 404/405 uses on their aqua-stop valve. There were only 5 boxes so I grabbed 4, after that continued shopping for other items I needed like a 100 pound bag of medium grit construction sand ($8), two 15a power strips ($3) exc, exc, I even remembered to take a 10% veteran discount by showing my Mil ID. Back home I decided to immediately try the O-rings by replacing the old on both the FX5 and CFS500. Now both sets of orange coupling valves slide down with mild hand pressure all the way to the base and click lock without having to use any force on the CFS500. Also removal of the orange valve couplings is as easy as pushing the unlocking button and the coupling slides off with one hand easy lifting, no more having to hold one valve on the CFS500 with 2 hands mashing the release button while twisting the valve back and forth binding and pulling up with all your muscles shaking and stressing, only to have the coupling suddenly brake-free from the old oversized o-rings flying off from and smacking the top of the inside cabinet with you knuckles (why the lid ports would eventually brake) . In addition now when you move the CFS canister while running the coupling valves swival easily with no more binding and no leaking. Both canisters have been running with the new O-rings for 2 hours now with no issues. Below the box, part number and size, this is what you need to buy for your CFS500 to fix the lid port/ valve coupling problem.
thanks for the o-ring tip, Gunner. I previously read about the flange issue and I'm glad I can prevent them from breaking off with this simple/cheap solution. I like your filter mods also. Mine is now running very smoothly for a few weeks. Very strong flow so far. I like setting up my canisters to run for months w/o maintenance. I'm mainly using them for biological action not water polishing. I may end up removing the sponge all together to replace it with a better flow through medium. Anyone have a source for cheap ceramic rings? I'm guessing 2 gallons would do.
Personally Id stick with the sponge and batting since youll never colonize all the surface are sponge can provide pulse get mechanical which is needed. But if you want the best bio-media with the most potential to colonize beneficial bacteria, there is only one clear choice that stands head & shoulders above all the rest. High quality coconut shell activated carbon has more surface are in a teaspoon then all the ceramic rings you could fit in a dump truck. The photo is a piece of carbon so small you cant see it with your eyes and a magnifying glass, see the honey comb surface area in that tiny spec.
many people actually use old carbon the same way they would ceramic rings. The carbon debate can go on forever though!
While it is true that the coconut carbon does have incredible surface area, there is a point in diminishing returns when the pores get so small they easily clog.
I'm sure that carbon can hold tons of bacteria, but I believe that over time it will release the stuff you wanted it to absorb in the first place. Also, it will clog more quickly than the rings. I like to set up my canister filters to run for 6-12 months straight w/o having to clean/maintain them. That's why I'm concerned that if I stick with the sponge in this filter, it will clog up faster than something design for better flow.
