Equipment Review and Discussion :: Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

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Post Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 9:20 pm   Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

I just bought the FX6. I'm keeping my fingers crossed and trying to do everything that would give it the best chance at working well. Unfortunately, the filter is too tall for my aquarium stand and it can't go behind the tank, so I was going to put it at one end. One hose would be short because I can put it in practically vertically, but I'd have to have a longer hose to stretch it across the back and get close to the other end. I hope that makes sense.

Will placement like that screw things up? Will the different length of the hoses really matter? Amazon has extra tubing, so I was thinking about getting some.

Oh, it's a 75 gallon tank, if that matters.

Thanks.
Last edited by annar on Wed Mar 01, 2017 10:09 pm, edited 1 time in total.
annar
 
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Post Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 10:07 pm   Re: Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

That would work , I would make the shorter one the inlet. That's something I have done all my years. Less chance of air in a short line. In your user manual read page seven again. Think about the placement two or three times before you cut. Ideally you want hoses long enough to reach without being taut , you want some play in them. That's a lot of turnover for a 75 what you going to have in it.

If you have some water proof grease I find it helps those o rings last longer , also keeps them from binding/rolling , seats better. Make sure its not a petroleum base that kills rubber !
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2017 10:34 pm   Re: Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

Thanks for the tip on the grease. I'll look for that. Your explanation combined with page 7 made it clearer, so thanks for that, too. I'll have to rethink my placement a little and the turtle may have to put up with a little feng shui of the tank, but I think this could work.

There's only one turtle in the 75 gallon and I'll probably toss in some minnows again, once I get the pump running. He tends to keep minnows as roommates for quite a while. I know it's probably a bit of overkill, but I've had a lot of filter issues, so I wanted something that would keep it really clean. I also travel for extended lengths of time, so I thought it would be easier on my turtle sitter to have a filter that didn't need any maintenance until I came back.
annar
 
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Post Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 12:00 am   Re: Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

One turtle ,baby / adult ? Will the 75 gallon be all water with an ATBA? See ATBA threads. If half full you could try and crank the FX down a little and or play with the diffuser.

Some turtles do keep tank mates (minnows , shrimp...) as friends. Be careful with store feeders (sickly) not well taken care of. I breed my own , healthier. Baby's like /need more protein whereas adults are more into veggies.

Sounds like a good plan so far !
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Post Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2017 9:42 pm   Re: Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

He was hatchling size in 2011, so I'm guessing he's about 6 years old now. I haven't been around much in the last couple of years, but this site was a big help when I first got him. The 75 gallon is mostly full and he enjoys swimming. He's got a dock that he basks on. Eventually, I'd like to make an ATBA for him. There are some great examples around here. I've got a herp vet recommended bait shop that I use for his friends/future snacks, but I like the idea of raising my own, too.

What kind of feeder fish do you breed and what kind of set up do you have?
annar
 
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Post Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2017 1:52 am   Re: Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

My Piggley is male too ! I have an old Rubbermaid tub on the breezeway that I used for a plant tank and rosy reds (70gallon) , once you get a few good females you're set! Keep some broken cinderblock in there and they love to scatter their eggs all over it. Also have a 150 gallon , another Rubbermaid tub , goldfish pond inside with babies all year round. Yes I'm one who feeds goldfish , doing that for 30 years just not to often. Works for me ! You may of notice I find Rubbermaid horse tubs works well and a hell of a lot cheaper than glass or acrylic. Piggley's in a 150 gallon to.

Last short video I made when changed Piggley's basking area: https://youtu.be/u-ZN4e8tiE8
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2017 1:01 pm   Re: Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

Piggley's a lucky guy. That's a beautiful set-up! If Sam outgrows the 75 gallon, I'd probably want to do something like Piggley's Pond. Today is Fx6 set-up day, so I'll let you know how it goes.
annar
 
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Post Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2017 6:20 pm   Re: Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

Good luck , it's not bad at all. Just Check twice before you cut the hose. Any leftovers even a foot save it can always use a coupling and change things up down the road. For starters just use your regular media placement , can change it latter if needed. Everyone has there own idea in what works. Also if you use ceramic rings / balls in your old setup REUSE them in the FX save all that good bacteria !
Piggley say's thanks' he likes it to !
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Post Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2017 7:49 pm   Re: Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

It's done! And seems to be working. I broke one of the plastic parts of the hose holsters or whatever you call them when I was trying to clamp it to the rim, so the outlet hose goes in a little bit at an angle. It doesn't seem to matter much, though. I'm going to see if I can get that part just so I have a little more flexibility. First impressions are that it's a lot more quiet than I expected and it certainly seems to be sucking up a lot. I was able to keep the intake hose short and at a straight angle, so hopefully I won't have too many air bubbles. I do have extra hose and I was so nervous about cutting it, I even bought more extra hose before I did it, just in case. I'll save it for down the road.

My media set up is basically what's been recommended here, so I'll see how it goes. Thanks for all your help!
annar
 
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Post Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2017 8:34 pm   Re: Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

Great news ! You will like it. All that mechanical , chemical , biological in one place makes maintenance easy. That clamp , just use a tie wrap. You can't just buy the clamps , come with the rim part also. Watch where you buy BIG difference on prices ! Now Big Al's cheapest but out of stock this week : https://www.bigalspets.com/fluval-rim-c ... 5-fx6.html
Others are 2-4x's the price... give it a week or so and save money or that tie wrap.

You will have to get use to the purging sound every 12 hrs. I find with the nozzles off the output assembly is quieter and just have an open end with diffuser completely off even more quiet. That's something you can play with by hand until you are happy. Enjoy !
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Post Posted: Fri Mar 17, 2017 11:36 pm   Re: Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

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VeipaCray
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Post Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 6:15 am   Re: Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

Hey guy's my interpretation of what broke was just a clip used on the rim connector. Must line up good or I can see someone forcing it. Both links show same part. Yes sold as one (rim connector & 3-clips). But if it was meant as A clip only (?) a tie wrap is good , that's is to me. I need to ask more question's or just read better... instead of assuming. My bad.
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Post Posted: Sat Mar 18, 2017 9:46 am   Re: Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

I made the same assumption you did litefoot. Your link brought up an ad for me ... my apologies if they're linking to the same thing.

Yeah agreed a zip tie would do the job just fine for just the small clip. I zip tie damn near everything. I've never broken the clip part, those seem to pop off ok. I have broken a few of the rim pieces and assumed annar broke the rim piece.
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Post Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2017 4:07 pm   Re: Fluval FX6 on the side of the tank?

Sorry, litefoot and Veipacray. I just saw these responses. Thanks to you both for the info about the clamp. Yes, it was one of the rim pieces that broke. Fortunately, I was able to rig it with rubber bands and extra suction cups until the new clamp arrived.
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