FX5 or Water Problem?

Just over a week ago, I noticed my Fluval FX5 had hardly any output. I opened it up and the water polishing pad and polyfilter was well past it. I changed them and all was ok.

I noticed this week, that I 'm getting a white film on the inside of the glass on the tank. The fish are breathing more heavily than normal, but not serious enough to warrant any action.

Checked again tonight and the filter has hardly any output. I was ok this morning so it's relatively recent.

I opened it up and the water polishing pad and poly filter that I put in last week were completely brown right through. I changed both again, and it seems fine.

I'm worried about this. Not sure if it's a temporary water problem or a dodgy filter. The water from the tap looks pretty clear.

The tank also stinks a bit, but the paramters all check out.

I know someone who got an xf5 when they first came onto the market and just before Christmas had this same problem.
Shortly after Christmas it failed completely and he lost all his stock.
I would have a spare filter handy just in case.
Although i dont think the white film is coming from the filter.

hi ken
i think its getting to the point where ros or deionisers are a neccesity rather than a luxury. i find the tap water very unpredictable at the moment. water changes are always more risky in the winter, so things should improve as the weather warms up. are you on the same reservoir as rush?. if the water smells it is quite serious. is it ammonia or sewage?. how do the fish look now? try to reduce the bio load by reducing feeding and add extra polyfilter. (just drop a piece in tank, near to water flow. one final point, i find modern fluval filters tend to clog up quickly compared to the older types.
hope this helps.
derek

Ken: Defenitely sounds like a filter problem. Hard to come to that conclusion with an FX5 though.

Derek: Are you suggesting to use 100% RO water? Would I need to add minerals to the RO water if I start using 100%? At the moment I am using 67% tap water and 33% RO water.

Thing is, I'm running 5 tanks at the moment. The other 4 look fine, including a fry tank.

paulbohs
no, i would not reccomend total ro water. your current mix sounds fine for a normal situation but if you doubt the quality of the tap water at any time you could increase ro use to dilute any possible problems.

Hi Kens, please let me know;
1) what type of fish do you keep,
2) The fx5 has 3 medis stacks. What level are you putting the pads at? (upper middle lower)
3)This filter rids itself of any trapped air once every 24 hours.is one of the valves or sensors blocked up? (This may cause an airlock)
4) How long have you been using the filter? I had one turned off for months and when I started it back up, that white film was coming out for a month! (it was a film from the insides of the pipe-work)

P.S. Best filter I've ever owned! I have an online manual copy if you need it..........or can check things on my working model against yours to pinpoint the problem, let me know ok

I have poly filter and bioballs in the lower basket, bioballs and the blue water polishing pad in the middle basket and the white water polishing media in the top basket. All media is new and replace tonight.


The filter is on a 470l Malawi tank. The filter has been running for 8 months with no problems until last week.

Hi Ken.
Could a fish have died and caused the smell. I lost a fish a while back and the water was stinking.
Maybe small amount of ammonia caused the gasping.It might have cycled before you tested teh water when
you got the filter going.

I did a bit of reading on the FX5 regarding media placement in the baskets. I had my polishing media in the top basket which isn't recommended. It's been there for over six months and never caused a problem.

I moved my polishing media to the bottom basket with some ceramic rings and packed the middle basket with ceramic rings and bioballs and also added a bit of coarse filter sponge to stop them rattling around. I left the top basket empty as Fluval only recommenend that you put their ammonia reducing chemical media or carbon in there.

I also took off the motor housing and checked the impeller. There was a bit of gunk in there, but nothing worth talking about. I put everything back together and refilled it per the manual.

When I plugged it in, there was nothing:( Had to empty it and take off the motor housing again. For those of you familiar with the size of the FX5, this is no easy task and my back really hurts today.

I got the manual out and checked that I had reassembled the impeller housing correctly. Looked as though I had, but I took it apart and put it together again, put back on the motor housing and connected it up and refilled. This time it worked fine and has been since.

The fact that it didn't work the first time does make me nervous that this may be a filter problem. I am running an air stone when I'm not around to keep the water oxygenated in case it fails again.

This current problem has got me thinking that I need a spare back up external. I have two big tanks running on externals. If I couldn't get the FX5 up and running last night, I would have been in big trouble. Might invest in a Tetratec EX1200 for my 230l tank and keep the Fluval 305 that's currently on it as a spare.

I'm also investing in an internal to go with the FX5 to give me some time to play with in case it does fail again. I know fully understand why many people advise having two filters on a tank.

It's now set up as per the manual. If it does fail again, I'll be up to Petstop looking for a replacement as it's still under warranty. I'm sure Damian and Adrian will look after me.

Why not go for 2 Tetratec 1200 externals as opposed to the FX5?

2 x Tetratec 1200 Fluval FX5
Power consumption 42W 48W
Filter capacity 24ltr 5.9ltr?
Water flow 2 x 1200ltr p/hr 2300ltr p/hr
Tank rating up to 500ltr ea 1500ltr

Looking at these specs,it seems that 2 tetras could be better,apart from the rating.Also you have the benefit that if 1 goes kaput,you still have 1 working,50% is better than 0.Anybody else agree,or am I missing something.

Dave.

You're probalby right Dave. Problem is I already have the FX5 that's only 8 months old so want to keep it. I'm in the process of adding a large internal which should give me back up if it packs in again. It's a big tank, so plenty of room for the internal.

I may look at adding two externals in the future.

If you are going for an internal Ken I recommend the Fluval 4+.
I have one in my 400l as well as the external.
I use it as extra filtration (obviously) but the venturi effect on full blast to keep the water churning and aerated. €80-90 in the LFS's, or you could look online.