fluval fx 5
- Thread starter migbat
- Start date
- Location
- Howell, NJ
For what?
- Location
- Forked River, New Jersey
no canister filter is good for a reef aquarium..
theyre great for RW tanks i ysed to run them on all my FW systems.. but your gonna have nitrate issues with salt tanks!!
theyre great for RW tanks i ysed to run them on all my FW systems.. but your gonna have nitrate issues with salt tanks!!
Sorry to disagree but they are fine, I don't see why people steer people away from canister filters.
Would I suggest a sump over a canister? Yes. But to completely dismiss canister filters is wrong.
They are considered nitrate factories when they are ran Incorrectly and poor husbandry.
They are fine for both fresh and salt. Just scrap their media/bio rings/balls or whatever they use and just use filter floss/polishing pads/ carbon or whatever you want.
Some are 3 stage, 4 stage etc.
Keep up with your maintenance an they will be fine.
Would I suggest a sump over a canister? Yes. But to completely dismiss canister filters is wrong.
They are considered nitrate factories when they are ran Incorrectly and poor husbandry.
They are fine for both fresh and salt. Just scrap their media/bio rings/balls or whatever they use and just use filter floss/polishing pads/ carbon or whatever you want.
Some are 3 stage, 4 stage etc.
Keep up with your maintenance an they will be fine.
- Location
- white plains ny
Agree with JonnyJ. I have an fx5 running on a 90gal reef. never an issue with water perameters as long as you maintenance your tank accordingly
- Location
- Forked River, New Jersey
thats a great price... im just giving my opinion.. ive used canisters on a reef tank when i first started, when i switched over from FW.. i didnt get the water wuality or coral growth i did when i switched over to a sump/fuge with reactors.. so that is where i get my opinion from, not just jumping on the bandwagon against canisters.. the proof was in the results..
johnny, what would you consider poor husbandry?
good luck i hope it works better for you than it did for me..
(not being nasty or sarcastic)
what was the reason y u went this way instead of spending that money on a sump?
johnny, what would you consider poor husbandry?
good luck i hope it works better for you than it did for me..
(not being nasty or sarcastic)
what was the reason y u went this way instead of spending that money on a sump?
Ill never argue the fact that a sump would be the better choice. the answer should just be " your better off with going the sump route, but a canister will work if you choose to use one"
REASONS FOR SUMP -Additional volume, place for more rock, place to hide heaters, section for refugium, section for top off, section for reactors, THE LIST GOES ON..
I personally would go with a sump, I'm just saying a canister is fine for a marine system. Many people run them with great success and have been for years.
I bet you had great results changing your system but you cant compare you originally running just a canister VS changing your system and running a sump + refugium + reactors. Thats a totally different animal.
He could easily run his tank with the same equipment you have... The canister, hang on refugium, and a reactor on the tank and receive great results, hell he can run everything inside the canister if he wanted, filter floss,polishing pads, carbon, purigen phosphate pads...etc....
As for husbandry, It starts from the beginning. Strip all of the contents, use your own media, filter floss and/or pads and weekly maintenance. and making sure you rinse and replace media when needed.
all systems are different, i read some people running fx5's on 90 gallons and only doing monthly maintenance
When i read about canister users having problems its always a result of a poorly setup up canister or people leaving them be for too long thinking the waste disappears on its own. Almost always, when we hear about nitrate users on both sumps and canisters we immediately think or ask if they are running the bio rings or balls and instruct people to remove them.
Im not an expert on anything really, just read a bunch and check out a ton of systems on the net. Just wanted him to be clear that they would work if he wants too use one.
REASONS FOR SUMP -Additional volume, place for more rock, place to hide heaters, section for refugium, section for top off, section for reactors, THE LIST GOES ON..
I personally would go with a sump, I'm just saying a canister is fine for a marine system. Many people run them with great success and have been for years.
I bet you had great results changing your system but you cant compare you originally running just a canister VS changing your system and running a sump + refugium + reactors. Thats a totally different animal.
He could easily run his tank with the same equipment you have... The canister, hang on refugium, and a reactor on the tank and receive great results, hell he can run everything inside the canister if he wanted, filter floss,polishing pads, carbon, purigen phosphate pads...etc....
As for husbandry, It starts from the beginning. Strip all of the contents, use your own media, filter floss and/or pads and weekly maintenance. and making sure you rinse and replace media when needed.
all systems are different, i read some people running fx5's on 90 gallons and only doing monthly maintenance
When i read about canister users having problems its always a result of a poorly setup up canister or people leaving them be for too long thinking the waste disappears on its own. Almost always, when we hear about nitrate users on both sumps and canisters we immediately think or ask if they are running the bio rings or balls and instruct people to remove them.
Im not an expert on anything really, just read a bunch and check out a ton of systems on the net. Just wanted him to be clear that they would work if he wants too use one.
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- Location
- Long Island
I ran my FX5 for almost 8 months before i switched to my sump setup. In all honesty, it was easier with the FX5 and i ran that on a 125 reef
edit-However having the sump has allowed the aesthetics to be better and a much larger skimmer. I only cleaned it once a month and never had any nitrate issues. I just ran carbon, nitrate reducer, and ammonia reducer filters along with polishing pads.
edit-However having the sump has allowed the aesthetics to be better and a much larger skimmer. I only cleaned it once a month and never had any nitrate issues. I just ran carbon, nitrate reducer, and ammonia reducer filters along with polishing pads.
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