Habitat - Indoor :: New Fluval FX6 - what media to replace

[Kansasslider]

I think pridg might have died when they opened their filter?

[steve]

I don't think he's tried yet. I don't know what to expect really.

[Kansasslider]

I'm just clowning around. I want to see pictures.

[ataraxiamb]

I set mine up differently. I'm not saying its a better way just another option. Hagen recommends chemical media to be in the bottom tray. This made scence to me so I followed that advice.

Top tray~ceramic rings and the black sponges on top
Middle tray~full of ceramic ring's.
Bottom tray ~ceramic rings and carbon and purigen on top

I also had an FX5 set up as suggested. To be honest I can't tell the difference of doing it one way or the other. I clean my filter monthly.

Do they supply enough ceramic rings with the filter to do this?

[Kansasslider]

No they don't. They give you some maybe enough for one basket.

[DannyOSF]

I would like to see exactly how some of you set up the media in your fx5/6. Exactly what media do you use? What basket do you put them in? Links to buy specific media would help. Pictures would be great. Thanks!

[Kansasslider]

Starting at the top down. 2 black sponges that come with the fx6-ceramic rings. Basket 2- ceramic rings. Basket 3 carbon bag and purigen then rings in the bottom. I buy most media from Amazon/E-bay. You can actually set it up anyway you like. A lot of people that don't clean their filter on a regular basis put the carbon, purigen etc in the top tray for easy access.

[Kansasslider]

Some of the items in my filter.
Don't know how to post links from my phone but here is what I use.

[DannyOSF]

Starting at the top down. 2 black sponges that come with the fx6-ceramic rings. Basket 2- ceramic rings. Basket 3 carbon bag and purigen then rings in the bottom. I buy most media from Amazon/E-bay. You can actually set it up anyway you like. A lot of people that don't clean their filter on a regular basis put the carbon, purigen etc in the top tray for easy access.

This is great! Thanks. How many bags of ceramic rings do you put in each tray? & what is the carbon bag that you use?

[steve]

Carbon you can buy and bag yourself. Much cheaper that way. If you want to also use Purigen, buy the pre-bagged ones.

Carbon needs to be replaced, Purigen can be regenerated. A lot of us use both.

Refer to: viewtopic.php?f=9&t=30145

[MEandYouPhoto]

I use a FX5 on my 75 gallon and do a 40% - 50% water change every 2-3 Weeks and I do a filter cleaning about every 1-2 months. I have had the filter for about 2 1/2 years now and I use Purigen (I keep one in the filter and one recharging) I change the carbon at every filter cleaning. I haven't changed the bio rings since I got it. I haven't changed the pads since I got them. I change the blue pad about once a year. My water is crystal clear and my turtle healthy.

I bring all of this up because I am following the same directions that Steve gave as far as what to use for the media in the FX5. It's proven and it works.

[Kansasslider]

I use a FX5 on my 75 gallon and do a 40% - 50% water change every 2-3 Weeks and I do a filter cleaning about every 1-2 months. I have had the filter for about 2 1/2 years now and I use Purigen (I keep one in the filter and one recharging) I change the carbon at every filter cleaning. I haven't changed the bio rings since I got it. I haven't changed the pads since I got them. I change the blue pad about once a year. My water is crystal clear and my turtle healthy.

I bring all of this up because I am following the same directions that Steve gave as far as what to use for the media in the FX5. It's proven and it works.

Blue pad or black foam on top after that its up to you. I'm just offering a different way to set up the fx and Hagen also recommends this configuration. The only difference is the carbon placement.