My FX5 isnt putting out like it used to. At first I was wondering if it was even working. I took the whole thing apart, even the impeller, and inspected everything. Nothing seemed amiss. I set it all back up and its still doing it.My tank is looking cloudy and dirty. It doesn't clean or anything.

Ive never had a Hagen filter but I always scrub my impeler and anything i can reach in the filter with a toothbrush and clean out my hoses, pickup stem and guard, and also the output. If you cant blow through it easily then its gotta be clogged. Maybe its more complicated than that though, how old is it? is it possible that the motor has worn out? or perhaps theres a crack on armature on the motor.

fx5 is one among the most reliable filter. i am surprised
it didn't deliver that much. please check any blockage
along the suction line as well as the discharge outlet.
moreover, check any air leak in suction line, or air
bubbles inside the system. over compressed media inside
the canister sometimes impair the water flow too.

I think I fixed it. But I will have to let it run for at least 24 to see if it is corrected. I just replace some of the media.

I had in there before, from top to bottom:
Fluval 3 packs of carbon
Fluval Biomax
Fluval Water polishing pads

Now, I took out the Water polishing pads and put some Aquaclear filter pads, (they are the same thing as the pads that go around the outside of the media baskets just in a rectangle). I had to cut one too fit onto the sides to cover as much of the bottom as possible. Then I got some Aquaclear Biomax, and added that ontop of the Aquaclear pads. Then I replaced the carbon on the top basket with three Aquaclear carbon pads. The peices of carbon are a bit smaller, but in my opinion acts more like a carbon filter pad, than just carbon. Last night I added another box of Fluval Biomax to the the middle basket, so it will look fuller.

So now its:
Aquaclear 3 packs of Carbon
Fluval 2 packs of Biomax
Fluval 2 Aquaclear filter pads with Aquaclear Biomax


I didn't realize it dont matter what brand of media your using. Media is media, just might be in a different size. Anyways, Hagen makes Aquaclear.

Now its treading water better than the first time I finished it.

congratulation....
just keep us posted. we always learn little things every day
isn't it great????

please watch the carbon .....i beleive it contributes to the cause of HITH

Yeah I was reading something about it on here, however I didn't get too far into it. So how exactly...

since the carbon is in the system, leave it there for a while.
it will serve the purpose. however, i strongly suggest to remove
it in your next cleaning routine and replace with some other media.

biggamehunter wrote:


i agree with bgh on this. unless you are removing meds from your tank carbon is only taking up space that could be used for more bio media. i never use carbon in my filters(i use a hospital tank instead) and even though it has not been proven, the concensus is that hith might be linked to the use of carbon.

But if I take out the Carbon then what am I supposed to use for filtration. I mean Biomedia aint gonna catch the big stuff. Unless its fine to use the filer pads... and maybe some other form of media.. how about that Fluval prefilter. I got carbon in my Emperor 400. So I guess in that sense it should be enough.

Any suggestions.

as i have said earlier, leave it there for the mean time,
it will do its function. just remove it on your next
cleaning time.

any sponge or polishing pad can be used in lieu of that
carbon bag.

i live by the rule ........no carbon in ANY filter EVER......and i have NEVER had hith..