i just got my first fx4 filter with my setup of a 55g bowfront tank. I retired my 35g talk running a 206 canister and took the bio max media and put it into my new fx4 alongside what came with it to jumpstart my new tank. Took half of the old filtered water from the tank and old substrate to set up the new tank with the fish transplanted from the 35. its been almost a week and all my fish are happy and water parameters are looking fantastic.
Your video came at a perfect time! My new Fluval FX4 has been filtering our turtle tank for three weeks. My wife's red eared sliders live in a 100 gallon aquarium filled to approximately 80%. I was going to clean the filter after a month but after watching your video, I may wait until it's been running for about two months. Thank you for demonstrating how you clean the FX4.
My current canister filter I clean about once a year, tank is absolutely spotless and all amonia nitrate everything is perfect. I just got the fx4 for my 125 gallon probably going to clean it a bit more often but I really like these canister filters.
You have helped me take care of my turtle sweetie pie I have had her since I was three I’m 14 now and did not really take care of her until I found your Chanel so thanks 😊
I have been thinking about getting an fx4 filter. So thanks for a good vid to see how to clean it out. I haven't had much luck with previous canister filters as they all leaked!! I think I might try one of these and try and get my confidence back in these filters!
I am VERY thankful for this video. My turtle lives in my classroom most of the time, and I haven't cleaned my FX4 in probably close to a year now. I'm embarrassed, but there's been nothing living in the tank since August. I turned it off, and things got bad quick! Husband and I are cleaning everything in the 75 gallon tank, and the filter today. I was so nervous to get that filter out and opened, but now I feel much better about it! Now I just need to figure out the best way to clean the tubes and intake/out contraptions.
I'm so glad that this was helpful! for the intake tubes and such, i would probably just put a hose on jet and shoot it through. If there's been nothing living in there since august I wouldn't worry so much ;) good luck!
I invested in one today! Tired of using rinky dinky ones so shelled out the doe to do it right :) Turtles will be happier and happy it has a water changer feature ! thos dip and pump things suck
I am sure someone has mentioned this but when you unscrew the clamps do opposites at a time as to not bend or bust the lid due to uneven tight pressure. Good luck.
Using gallons of distilled water is so much easier than taking out tank water to have to put it back after. Or lately I’ve been storing extra water with prime from my buckets after a water change
I LOVE THIS!!!! I love that you're not afraid to be like "Ayo my water quality was fine so uuuuh I kinda didn't clean this in a hot minute" like nobody's perfect, and if it ain't broke, don't clean it! Excellent 🤌🤌🤌 (plus satisfying filter cleaning is satisfying (
FYI, that dirty water is awesome for outdoor plants. I would dump the bucket in your garden or flower bed / lawn , as it has high nitrates and will super fertilize whatever you dump it on,
Use a prefilter. I use the eheim prefilter with orange oase sponges and then use black sponge to wrap around outside of it to catch big dirt. Your canister stays clean then. Also the sponges are fine to rinse with tap water. The studies show a rinse won’t really kill bacteria
Hi dear friend. Thank you for this valuable video. You only need to wash the filter once a month, normally, once every 2 months or twice a month. Thank you for guiding me.
I like the Nu-Clear canister filters. They are probably the best performing, most versatile filters on the market. The Fluval FX series would be my second choice.
40-gallon breeder at about 3/4 full, is this what you'd recommend for this tank. it houses one 7" Reeve's that is very old (33 years), but very active. Any info is greatly appreciated
Miss turtle you need to do vacuuming of sun straight, nd you can turn flow down if you want and top of tank looks getto!? And more media rings, biohome, what ever that filter has half capacity for media than what you have in and you also don’t use polishing pads and or chemipure blue or any Purigen that will get ride of tanning over night , flows higher than normal because there’s nothing for it to go through up the middle but six rings? Both trays should have course medium and on top of each center baskets polishing pads! Your tank will look like there’s no water in it in less than two day! Crystal!! And top water all the way up to inch of top then you won’t have cloudy glass up to adding to wreakage! Not being mean but you have top of spectrum filters but are utilizing have of there capabilities! Peace, much love
Bit late viewing this video, looking at FX videos as getting an FX2 in a few weeks, would get a FX4 but it’s a bit too big for the cupboard beneath my tank. Do you not clean the pipes out, found on my Fluval 207 the flow was low due to gunk in the pipes
Oh wow, good video, tho i never sques my filtermedia that much, depends on how dirty it is. i never dare sqees it all. i just remove the yeakky stuff and squees it very carefully.
you should consider putting the intake and outake ports int he tank one oppsoite ends of the tank that way u can better circulation throughout the whole tank
Yeah! I would have done that but it was a little tricky when setting up the tank. That's why I have a bubble filter on the opposite side and a wavemaker in the opposite corner to keep the flow going :)
I did a water change Sunday and thought everything was going ok but nope my output pressure was so weak I couldn’t feel it but once I took the pipe out the water there was water coming out but not a lot so I tried unplugging it for a little then plug it back up still the same so the next day I decided to open it a clean but I haven’t even had for two months yet, but inside the top tray was dirty and I had to change my poly fil which was like muck the bottom tray was still pretty clean though I even checked the impeller which was clean and ok but long story short after cleaning the top tray and plugging back in it started working like normal so I guess I may have to clean monthly if this issue pops up again
I usually try to mix it in a five gallon bucket before adding the water. But you could probably add it directly too if you used the right dosage and had good circulation.
Is there enough room in the center for those blue bio balls? I currently have a home brew 20 gallon sump on my tropical tank but I'm looking at switching over to a canister filter after one of the baffles cracked. I was hoping to use some of my old media such as the bio balls to jump start the bacteria colonies.
Love your videos!! I was hoping you could give me any tips or advice… I have a RES turtle no matter how much I do partial weekly water changes and clean canister fluval filter like you demonstrated.. the tank gets green algae often. Help please :)
Hmm...could be too much light? Algae is caused by an imbalance of nutrients or light, so like if sunlight is hitting a tank through a window, that could cause algae.
I cleaned mine before watching your video and rinsed everything with water from the hose, and emptied all the tank water out. When I reattached, there was a lot of debris and the filter didn't sound right, so I was going to order all new filters and pads and media. Now I'm worried I about a bacterial bloom too! Should I just start over with new everything? And, what about the dirty gunk in the attached tube on the top ? Should I clean that? Thanks for answering if you have a chance?
hmm....sometimes the water needs to refill inside the canister filter and it makes a bit of a humming noise when it starts...but that should go away after a few hours. i don't think you'd need new anything, maybe just rerinse again and see if there is a way to check the filter impeller. Wishing you luck! You could clean the attached tube but I doubt that would be what's making the filter sound off.
Omg I love all of your videos!! It's helped me so much of taking care of my pet yellow-belly and so much moree!! Her name is Shelly and she's only a year old and he's nicely healthy. But here's the problem, She kinda had MBD and I've been trying to help it out but idk what to do about it and I'm kinda scared about it.
I have an FX4 also and have not cleaned it in about a year. LOL Do you believe in replacing the little rotor thingy that is part of the motor and replacing the motor after so many years like the manual says. I think that is a little ridiculous to replace the motor. Do you ever use the filter to do your water changes like it says you can do? I tried it once and it did not work for me. You are suppose to be able to take water out and refill the tank through the filter by sucking the water out of a bucket that you place the external clear filter hose into.
You mean the impeller? Sure, I think it can be helpful. I changed out the impeller on my power filter after a couple years and it ran much quieter after that. Haven’t tried changing water through the filter! Not sure if it would work since the filter is on the ground!
Do you know a good budget canister filter for a 200 liter aquarium I am getting a second axolotl tomorrow and my new aquarium will be here within 1 week But i dont have a filter yet Love your videos
Is it possible to have a crystal clear tank with a turtle, ive had mine a year now and havent had luck. I recently bought a 75 gallon and fluval fx4 and its still cloudy. Im unsure what extra media to buy could you help me out with recommendations?
I personally bought a bunch of distilled water to start up my turtle’s tank, and I have crystal clear water now. With a 75 gallon tank, that’ll be around $75 to do since a gallon is typically around $1, but you only need to do it when you start the tank with new water. When you do your weekly water changes, use distilled water as well to refill that 25% (this will be less money since that will be around 18 gallons to refill). It’s pricey but it’s the only way I have been able to keep my tank water clear. You can buy a water distiller (they’re about $60) to save money.
My Turtle, Pancake passed away today because of a bacterial infection. He hasn't eaten since we bought him. 😞😭😢 Is it ok if I don't put a UVB Lamp on my other turtle's tank that is placed outdoors though?
I’m so sorry to hear that :( if the tank id outdoors and gets unobstructed sunlight (not passing through windows) it’s probably not necessary to have uvb
@@TheTurtleGirl Thanks for your advice! My teacher said it's not necessary because the Philippines is a tropical country but I just wanted to make sure. :)
I don’t have anything in the bottom on the tank and the water is only just covering the turtle with some platforms, it also has a small heat light and no filter but I change the water everyday, it has no light is this very bad for my turtle? I used a filter once with the shallow tank but all it did was make the tank dirtier, I checked the inside of it once and it was all brown and the entrance was also all brown. I put rocks once on the bottom to but when the dirty stuff sank when we cleaned it it was super dirty
A filter is super important to keep the water circulating and help break down the waste in the tank. A UVB and heat light are also essential for turtle shell health. Check out this playlist for some more info :) ru-vid.com/group/PLNhWjG4VxAmhvoEkUfFsv6LKhLqXcGn-P
@@ashleychiu9199 If it’s an aquatic turtle, general rule is they need 10 gallons of water per inch of their shell length-so if their shell is 4 inches long, that means they need to be swimming in *at least* 40 gallons of water. The water height just covering the turtle isn’t enough.
Can you share if it’s safe to buy a used Fluval FX4 canister? And what to do to prepare it for a new tank once purchased? I’m sure there would be specifics needed to clean it of anything from the previous tank. TIA!
If you grow any kind of Tropical Fruit Plants, put that old dirty filter waste water around them - they will grow like crazy....Specially Papaya Plants.
In case anyone of you want a cheaper yet very efficient filter that works exactly like a canister filter, try buying a top filter. I have it in my turtle tank and it’s extremely efficient… It has enough space for all the filter media with a very high circulation rate with less pressure of water flow..