Fluval FX5 External Canister Filter, on a 75...?

Somehow I totally over looked that little factoid. Thanks.

Star_Rider said:
having more bio-media than what the inhabitants produce is fruitless.

having more media/surface area is a waste..the bacteria produce /reproduce in a matter of hours..bacteria are prolific in that way.

having extra media/surface area does not = more bacteria...since the population of the bacteria is fully dependent on the food in the tank.
in essence..you can cheap out with scrubbies or deck it out with high end high priced media
the bacteria will set up house where ever it works for them..including the sponges, filter floss, bio balls, fluval ceramic rings..etc..etc..etc.. they will also inhabit surfaces in the tank..including the substrate, decor. plants included
Click to expand...
 
The foam will last forever, but only fills up a tiny portion of the filter. There are still three chambers you should fill. I would fill the top with filter floss and the other two with biomedia. I personally see no point in cheaping out over something so cheap, especially since you only have to buy it once. You are going to buy a $200 filter and then aren't willing to spend $20 on a good media for that good filter? Why not just buy a five gallon bucket, put some gravel in it, and call it a canister filter?
 
I did not buy it. Fiance bought them on a crazy sale, about $60 and $80 for the filters, for xmas. What he does with his money is his thing. I make far less money and have more important things to use it on. I'll use floss, sponge and what I have left and will take from my hob filters.
 
fx5 sure did blow the air out! Watch out for the water splashing out...yikes!
Both filters are in place, but I think I will move the output to where the circulation pump is. Won't need the pump anymore, lol. And the intake strainer is huge! Too bad all brand's intakes are not like that!
305 is just a hair larger than the 205, it really shouldn't cost that much more...

Q, anyone know why there is a ball in the intake strainer of the 205 & 305? It clogs a lot faster w/the ball in. Can I remove it or is there a special reason that it has to stay??
 
Ohh...never woulda guessed that...

It's odd that the 205 and 305 come chalk full of media, but the fx5 comes w/just foam..weird place to cheap out on their part.
Now seeing just how much space there is, I guess I will have to buy biomedia for at least one basket..lol.
I need chicken feed & guinea pig food, so tomorrow I will pick up some more stuff for this huge thing.
 
I use the plastic bio-balls. I think they were on sale for like $15 for a big box of them, I didn't even need half. If you get the polishing pads (the white ones) they will clog up in a day and shoot a ton of micro-bubbles out. In fact, you'll know when it is time to clean the filter when you see the microbubbles coming out of the outflow. Also when you clean the filter and hook it back up, it has a tendancy to shoot all kinds of crap from the outflow back into the tank. This actually happens on all of the fluvals. The ribbed hoses are great for trapping garbage.

Also without the white ball, it is very hard to prime the fluvals.
 
I fill the canisters up w/water, so there isn't much priming to do. If it does have trouble, it wouldn't be too difficult to put the ball back in to get the filter going again. I'm always popping off the strainer to clean it all out while it's in the water and running anyway.
 
Agreed, if you fill with water it is not an issue.

Bioballs are not designed for submerged use. They are very inefficient when used submerged. Stick with a higher surface area media like Seachem Matrix.
 
FX5 on a 75 gallon. Why not! Very good decision.
 
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