Hi guys i just got a filter gave to me so i figured i would put it to use. But i need to decide on what media to use there are 4 storage tanks that are stacked and a foam filter to. i was thinking gravel on the bottom, peat in the middle, Carbon and then bio balls does that sound ok or any ideas thanks
o yea its a Fluval FX5 Canister Filter

this is aken from necro's posting at "write a review". you can sroll it further
under topic "FX5 fluvial filter" by marcus.

hope this can help you.

thanks all i did for tonight was hook it up to a 55 gallon i have no media so what i did its kinda funny but i put a new sock over the polishing pad plastic and added some gravel from a tank and some carbon just to see how fast it would clear the tank. i just did it about 30 min. ago and its doing a good job almost clear water. it was really mucky looking before and know u can see in it just fine just alittle foggy. im gonna go to the store tomarrow well in the morning to get what i need. nice filter for nothing lol

FX5 is one of the best filter, but with premium,
new unit ranges from 200 to 250 UK pounds plus
shipping cost. in my place, it is more than one
month salary of an ordinary employee.

i suggest you remove the carbon and replace it with
polishing pad or foam. it is common belief that carbon
could cause HITH. there is no scientific proof but most
of the hobbyist come to believe and agree on it.

[b:]dalton wrote [b:]

perhap you have bacteria bloom or you have clean the existing
filter in tap water. i suggest further that you should allow
your filter to become slimy to allow good bacteria to colonize
the sytem. your water will be clearer in the process.

well the water was really foggy before i installed the filter. Theres no fish in the water just a empty tank. the filter was sitting about 2 months withno water in it. so i decited to clean it out yea i used tap water but thats why im letting it run for a couple days after i get the right pads and media. this is just a test run to see if the filter will quite working. thanks for the help man

Dalton wrote:


Hi. I was wondering why you need to add peat?? this is used to change the PH and unless you really need to its best not to adjust PH as an unstable PH will give you all sorts of problems. I would also leave out the carbon if your tank doesn't have any very sensitive fish. carbon isn't of much use in a oscar setup.

I have 2 FX5's and I wouldn't really bother with gravel.you have a good choice with the 3 compartments. I fill all 3 with bio balls and let the foam do the mechanical cleaning. another option is polishing pads and bio balls but these pads block up fairly quickly and need a little more cleaning or your flow rate will drop. your flow rate will also be affected if you use gravel.

I have been doing a test with mine at the moment and with all trays filled with very best grade bio balls and just foam for the mech cleaning I have managed to not clean it for about 4 months on a 150g tank. that said I have tested water regularly and done very good maintenance/water changes so don't that this as law. but it dose show this type of filter can manage a 150g with no problem. only other thing i would say is give it a good clean before use. never run it without water in and all should be well.

Just thought to add these filters turn off for 2mins every 24hrs to adjust air in the system. this is normal. but on very old FX5 there was a fault with the chip that run them. if yours starts to turn off more often or on a more regular Base get it checked or replace it. thats not to say you have anything to worry about they are very good filters.

Dalton wrote:


the way an fx5 works is the water comes into the top and then travels down the canister so you would want to put your biological media at the botttom (so the cleanest water flows over it.)

on my fx5 i have the bottom 2 trays filled with bio max then the top tray filled with prefilter and a blue polishing pad on the top. works great on my 180