Pimp My Filter #10 - Fluval FX6 Canister Filter (also covers FX5) 

This is a thing of beauty. You ever thought about doing a colab with King of DIY?

I'm not sure he'd be up for that as we have very different way of doing things but I'm sure in another version of reality it is happening right now, lol

What is the smallest tank I could use a FX6 on (before it causes a swirling effect)? What is the difference between a fx6, fx5 and fx4?

FX5 and 6 are practically the same and the FX4 has one less tray. Depending on how the outlet is arranged I'd say maybe a 100 litre tank but even then the current will be quite strong.

I treat every piece of biohome like it's a baby squirrel. Very careful not to break any of the pieces. You: 10:26 11:16 11:20 11:24 12:20 12:26 I'm still gonna be OCD about it........

Yes, what are they waiting for?

Man I have to think if you need more than an FX6, it may be better, and cheaper to go with a sump. A lot of people shy away from sumps because of noise....but there are ways to make sumps as quiet as a can.

Are you still happy? I’m considering this system for a FX4. Doing it in stages like you show will get the new media time to seed. Thank you

@@donniebrazis Couldn't be happier. Besides regular water changes, the set up is almost maintenance free. The water is clear and free of any ammonia, we used to have the occasional spike when introducing new fish. In a 600L tank this couldn't be better.

Y doing it too

Nice one - I'm glad it is working well for you. Best of luck with the tank.

Which tray did you put the crushed coral in and how much did you use, if I might ask?

No worries, it is the simple changes which often make the most visible difference so I'm glad you have noticed a benefit.

No worries and I'm glad you found the video useful as I just make them to be used for any free information.

@Horse I have heard of this elsewhere. have you did this with a fx6? I'm curious to know how you configured it, if so. I thought that for the bcb process to work properly you need a very slow filtering process?

ditch the prime??? Why??

Yes the FX filters (and fluval filters in general) always seem to be good at the mechanical side and have adequate provision for biological media but are never outstanding in that department.

This way I have tried it. Takes away 60%

@@CrazyAquariumGuy 60% of what? Efficiency? if so: why and how?

@@unogazzy84 That sponge is too much/too fine. Just do as I do. Keep original sponge on the sides. But pack the middle without dividers. And keep one of their black bumpy sponge up top. Rest Biological .I have several videos on it.

I'm not sure about that since I've got nothing online to compare this series of videos to but I very much appreciate the comment since I'm committed to building up a huge resource of filter information and it's quite an undertaking due to the time and cost investment. Thanks for watching and appreciating the videos.

the water can travel trough the circular foam over the whole height of the filter. the idea is that it travels from outer circle to inner circle, up and back down through the middle circle

That wouldn't work

The wate travel’s through the outside straight to the bottom comes up through the coarse filter foam then back through the fine foam then bio and then finally Chem.

That’s a great idea I think

This is exactly what should be done. The water doesn’t go outside in and the over the top. And goes bottom to top and then down again down the middle.

Sounds good - thanks for watching.

Common sense isn't common great incite logically I considered the same thing

I see what you are saying. I placed the Black filter at the bottom of the trays that holds the media to keep any stray stuff from dropping into the motor. I've used this method since I've had the filter (4 years this month) and have never had any problems. I can only assume that since he's using such large media, it's no concern.

Your 100% right I used his red bio media without any kind of sponge at the bottom try and after inspection I found loads of red sand bits at the bottom of my canister and in the motor unit

I to think that the way pond guru has put the medium and coarse is not efficuent.If you check how the water pass into the tank, putting them orizontally ,seems more logical.... Another way is using a pre-filter outside the can, and fill with media even the foam trays ;)

Just to resurrect a dead comment, the fx6 is designed to spin the water up around the outside edges (the foams on the outside), and them spill it over the top and down the center column. So, the idea is that a course and medium combo allow for both relatively quick water flow. The fine pad at the top then catches whatever muck is left. The idea is to keep water flow going relatively fast.

@@uncreative54 Exactly. I did the same as Richard said + at the top I have a finner foam before the polishing pad and after 2 months my biohome is still really clean.

@@uncreative54

I was expecting to see a lot more comments about pounding on top of a scale. Even without the scale; why hit the media? It seems like it would just make more chips and dust.

You can never have too much filtration on a tank but flow rate could be an issue for species which don't like a heavy flow so if you have angels, discus etc. which do not live in a flowing current then a spray bar may be better. Actual flow from filters is always about half what the manufacturer promises by the time pipes and media, foams etc. are added so I wouldn't worry too much. I'm glad you enjoyed the video - thanks for watching.

It is around 1.75" and each foam is around 1.25 by itself but they can join together quite well. You could even use a coarse and medium flat foam but they would need to be thinner since they don't knit together like the bumpy foams do.

How so when the outlet is drawn up the clear tube from the bottom to the top.

I think he said 100 liters for the 206 because It wouldn't makes sense for the 206, being one of the smallest in the family to maintain 800 liters.

@@JohanJB i still dont understand, in 1 video use 1 kg for 800 liter and i other use 5 kg for 500 liters...

@@frankvisler9596 He said "a hundred" liters. I know his accent made it hard to hear but if you go to the 206 video and turn on captions, he did say " a hundred liters" not "eight". So that means that 1 kg is at least enough for around 100 liters.

Monster filter and some of the big eheims hold vast amounts of media.

Pondguru yep ordered a load of biohome off ya just before Christmas u wasn't entirely sure how they setup as no trays come with it .. all designed to be loose but showed ya pics .. decided on 3 course of sponge on bottom and bagged up the media .. had 2 fx6 on my 8ft and was cleaning monthly.. changed to the eheim and now cleaning every 4-5 months ..stocking of tank is no different

That sounds good to me, groovy. I'm glad it has worked out well for you.

pls an eheim 2260 can hold over 15L of biomedia vs Fluval Fx6 5-6L lol

@@ramzeslo2 no i know a well balanced tank can run without a filter. But when it comes to big tanks with a heavy bioload nothing match The eheim 2260

Your cat must have read the message too, lol

No worries and I'm glad you like the videos - I know the series will never get crazy views since the videos are very specific and niche but it's about building up a base of information people can freely access (there is a woeful percentage of videos on RU-vid which have any use at all so I am seeking to improve that situation, lol)

Having 2 on a 1000 litre tank sounds good to me and it is a mark of their great build quality that all you've needed are a couple of minor parts in years of running. I only had a look online for other videos of an FX5 / FX6 set up after uploading this one and I can see why this video has got off to a good start as there is some really useless 'how to / set up' videos out there, lol I'm loving that I have the opportunity to do this series as it should help people searching for information on their particular filters to cut through the online vlogging nonsense and get to the facts which will help them and most importantly help their fish.

That's great to hear and I'm pleased that you're happy with it.

Groovy - sounds good to me and I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

(my other channel) That is good to hear and as long as the filter(s) are suitably sized for the tank and stock (and you're not using seachem prime which starves the bacteria) they should deliver great results.

@@ThousandYardStare whoa dont use prime??? what do i use then cuz i always use prime I have a 110 gal w about 10 peacock & hap cichlids & 3 synodontis

@@frankiefingerz8047 Anything else will be fine - I always recommend API stress coat as it doesn't mess with the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. There is more information on the Q&A page of my FilterPro website www.filterpro.co.uk and I made a video specifically on this issue here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1YCtMYZQlig.html and there is some great comments in the comment section there from people who have switched conditioners. There are also some great comments on a post I made in the 'community' tab on my channel here: ru-vid.comUgkxFdgRRt6GxA1o3ffDzsF5dbOaB5xAuoFX Hope that helps.

Didn’t use a 25% coupon on it while on sale? Should be cheaper than $249. 4 months ago there was a glitch where you stack 15%, 20% and 25% while fx6 was on sale for $249 making it less than $139

That should give you around 1.5kg per 100 litres which should achieve a full cycle. There is a video on RU-vid from Aquarium Adventures showing an FX6 on a 500 litre discus tank (1kg per 100 litres) which achieved a full cycle in 4.5 months so it is possible with less than the recommended 1.5kg - 2kg per 100 litres for a discus tank.

Pondguru thanks for that I will check it out. My only concern is that the flow might be too much for the discus with the fx6??

I actually run a sump with my Discus tank at the moment - but did for a long time run a FX5 (practically identical to FX6) with my old tank (350l). The Discus were fine with the flow rate - and if you are concerned, it's fairly easy to fit a spray bar or similar to diffuse the flow

Aquarium Adventures thanks for your message and advice. possible spring bar or maybe a lily pipe.

Johnfloyd man77 I run a fx6 in my discus tank with the standard set up just aim the flow appropriately it's fine , my tanks a juwel trigon 350l

No worries and I'm glad you found the video useful.

Yes, it will definitely support a decent amount of aerobic bacteria which will process the ammonia and nitrite but the processing of nitrate requires a really slow flow which is only possible with suitable media (e.g. the Biohome Ultimate) and that's why I give the tank size recommendations at the end of the video.

That is one way of setting up filters and if it is working for you it's all good.

That all sounds awesome to me - groovy.

Fx6 the true power ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-xY9orFFEKts.html

Yes it is like lifting a giant tortoise but it can be drained prior to being moved using the bottom drain feature (if you attach a pipe and lead it to a drain)

Same here bro suck at cutting it perfectly but got it in so hopefully it works good

@@leo2o915 I've had it up and running for 3 weeks now with Richards suggestions in this video and it's perfect. It can be drained before moving so it's easier to move than my old one. The handles are also comfortable to use.

@@zeeinajar I set mine up the same the only difference is I added another fine sponge on the bottom tray under the biohome and also added filter floss to the top tray

That seems more reasonable but I'm not sure how that compares to English £ as our currency is in the toilet, lol Yes any plans to totally upgrade a filter on a mature tank would be done gradually over a couple of months on a filter the size of an FX6 / FX5 so maybe change the foams in the first week, wait 1-2 weeks then change the top tray, leave another 2-3 weeks then do middle tray and leave 2-3 weeks then do bottom tray. Most people upgrade much more quickly than that without any problems but I always advise taking it slow.

Where did you you buy the foam from?

Yes I can't really see much difference between the FX5 and FX6 - they both hold the same stuff - great filters. BTW I think I got the size of your tank wrong in a previous comment, I was thinking of Nathan from Simply Shrimps as he has a 500 litre tank, lol

No worries and I'm glad you enjoy the videos.

No worries and I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

Yes the limited contact area of the fine pad is a concern which was the thinking behind the medium foams being added to the outer areas of the trays - they should catch proportion of the fine muck to lessen the fine pad's work.

Sounds good to me - thanks for watching.

I'm really passionate about making videos with something educational in them so I'm glad you appreciate them - I totally agree it is difficult to find useful information online with all the nonsense clogging it up, lol

If that works for you it's all good but the media generally wouldn't drop excessive amounts of sand - how do you clean the media?

I wash/rinse the biohome at least 4 times before I even use it in the filters; it comes with a ton of sand/detritus in it, so it HAS to be washed/rinsed thoroughly before use. I have had this setup for about 2 1/2 years and have tried various setups, and the only one that keeps the pumps from getting sand/grit in them, is to have a fine filter as the very last layer to trap that fine sand/silt. I have to tell you that your channel is by far the most useful and factual on RU-vid. The whole reason I went with TWO FX6s, is your insistence that you can't have too much filtration and that manufacturers ratings are bollocks! I have 18 Discus, 20 Yellow Tetras, 20 Cochus Tetras, 20 Buenos Aires Tetras, 12 Corydoras, 4 Plecos, 25 Ember Tetras, 15 Viper shrimp, 100 nerite snails and the tank is massively planted. Cheers!

Pondguru Sorry, I replied from my second account. The Mort and 80shilling comments are both me.

@@The80shilling Having a fine pad last as well as in first tray isn't a problem if you're worried about sand getting into the pump but cleaning the media should only require a simple shake of the tray in a bucket of water - I should have been more specific with the question the first time - how do you clean the media during maintenance? Sounds like you have a nice tank set up there.

Sounds good to me - groovy.

How much media are you using, how many litres (or gallons) is tank, what are test levels, any chemicals which are marketed as reducing ammonia, nitrite and nitrate used (which often affect development of bacteria) and what is the stock? People have no problems achieving a full cycle when enough media is used even in very high flow rates but every tank is different. A bit more information would really help here as I've seen a few reports posted online where a kilo or so has been used in huge tanks and reported as being a failure - that's like putting a band-aid on an arterial bleed. Feel free to attach links to the tank or get back with some figures and I'm happy to help.

Sorry, forgot to say my email is sales@filterpro.co.uk if you don't get an answer to a comment on RU-vid after a few days - only about 10% of comments actually come through to me as notifications. I go looking for comments on new videos for first couple of days but after that I rely on the notifications. Regards, Richard

lol, they are a great filter and I'm glad you found the video useful.

Yes they have a few great features - it concentrated on the actual filtering side of things but even the handy dials on the top so you can check when you last cleaned it is a nice useful feature.

No worries and I'm glad you found the video useful. I do have a small sump to shoot a couple of videos on (one for fresh water and one for salt water) but haven't had the time to make those videos yet - I'm still about 20 videos behind in this series, lol So much editing needed, so little time.

125 (US?) gallons is approx. 475 litres and a goldfish tank could take 2kg per 100 litres (26 US gallons) so a heavily stocked goldfish tank would need 9kg-10kg to achieve a full cycle. You'll not get that amount of media in 2 x FX4 but would in 2 x FX6 - however you don't say how many goldfish you have in the tank but if they are 10" I'm assuming it is either 1 or 2 so should be OK with current filtration.

Thanks for the reply. I have 10 pretty large goldfish and currently have to do water changes every 4 days of at least 50% to keep ahead of nitrates. Looks like larger filtration is in my future.

@@74jodoc I would say so, lol

No worries, that's why I love making videos as it feels great to share any useful information - more importantly it helps fish all over the world live a happy long life.

I will be getting one made in the next few weeks for filming purposes, no worries. The basic process is the same with regard to the order of filtration but a sump offers much more scope for personalizing the filter to the tank conditions.

Yes if you're worried about any particles being pumped out by the pump you could go with a medium / coarse pad in the bottom of the bottom tray but too many fine pads can slow the flow down, increase wear on the pump and cause extra maintenance.

I’m no fan of the outside foam section either.. it’s more like a half done prefilter. I’m sure the swirling allows the foams to catch some crap but the area is mostly just bypassed and the top of the first internal tray takes the brunt of the work.. since the capacity is semi limited I just place my fine pad right on top which makes it easy to change out and fill the rest full of media.. I do cheap a little though.. I cut the fine pad to the diameter of the entire canister and punch the holes for the pipes.. the result is I get two passes through the pad. Once as it comes over the perimeter foam blacks then again as it starts flowing coward through the biomedia. I then use the red tray divider in the top packed with poly fill and Purigen and chemipure for extra fine filtering density and then other half and bottom two trays are all bio media. I replace the thin fine pad every two weeks and the poly monthly with a proper cleaning.. I’ve spent months toying with different setups to maximize mechanical wo giving up the small for size bio capacity.. this is the best solution I’ve found.. I played with putting finer foams and even poly fil in place of the foam blocks and it seemed to just increase the bypass. Best I can tell from the design nothing more then corse foams will work on the outside.

How does the water test with regard to nitrate? I get so many people saying that they can't achieve a full cycle when they use either purigen or chemipure then it develops naturally when they remove that so I'm always asking people who use it if they have managed to achieve a full cycle as that shows the bacteria is working properly in a filter. So far I haven't heard of one case where a full cycle is achieved when purigen is used in a filter but there has to be one somewhere.

Tbh I honestly can’t say if I’ve got a full cycle or not.. heavy stock would be an understatement in this case.. I tried for a long time experimenting on a 60g with an adult yellow ear slider as well as 30-40 juvie and close to a few adult cichlids lol. I did the ballpark math and based on the filters and the stocking I determined I’d never actually see any real results from a full cycle unless I managed to get it from a sump or very deep sandbed which is impossible with cichlids and turtles.. (fish are now in a 125 and turtle alone in the 60 FYI) right before changing tans I was actually seeing close to 80-100ppm daily nitrates.. so you can see how it would be very very hard for me to determine if I was getting a full cycle.. I was doing daily water changes of 90% to maintain a quality tank for a long time. I honestly could’ve moved them much sooner but used about a years time to try and experiment with many different filter setups. I’ve even gone as far as using reactors with reduced flow to reduce o2 and entice nitrate reduction. As for what I have seen and experienced.. Purigen paired with chemipure blue did greatly reduce nitrates by simply removing organics before being broken down. The single best option I found was skipping corse and medium foams and going straight to fine pads or polyfil and just replacing them weekly. This seemed to be the single best option and best way to remove organics before being broken down. As for filtration on the old 60 at one point I was running an fx6, c360, reactor, and zoomed 511. Fully packed with media setups I put the filtered flow turnover at around 15x per hour bare minimum and conservative. Even since moving the fish to a 125 running the exact same filtration setup I’m getting roughly 30ppm weekly nitrates. Most of the actual biomedia is matrix or pond matrix(sorry it’s cheaper the biohome lol) mostly the pond version to get larger denser pieces which should be better suited for a full cycle.. roughly 12 liters total plus the reactor which holds maybe another liter at best.. I also run prefilter sponges in 20ppi on the intakes which allows me to remove most of the mechanicals inside the filters and max the biomedia capacities.. I run Ehiem biomech in the bottom of every canister as much as possible even inside the intake ramp of the fx6 which I will admit isn’t east to properly do cause of its design.. I’ve even gone as far as using small bioballs in place of the corse pads on the fx6 which I thought would be a great option but my fine pad took way more brunt. Tried poly as well and even still cause of the circular flow I got much more gunk on the top fine pad in the fx6 which I’ve mostly used for most experiments as the c360 is what I consider my main filter cause it hold a ton more media. If you look at your older “why your filter isn’t cycled” video you’ll see I recently asked another question about using zeolight after biological filtration or in a secondary filter to remove ammonia which in turn should reduce nitrates wo overly effecting bacterial colonies on a seasoned tank. As I said there I’m really really getting to the point where I think we are doing everything backwards by trying to remove nitrates instead of ammonia. Without ammonia there is no nitrates. The issue I’ve run into here in researching a proper filtration setup is most systems are way to small with way to low a flow rate to be effective or way to large for a per tank setup as they are normally whole house or comercial sized unites.. I’m thinking like an rodi sized unit that has low micron prefilter and ion charged ammonia pleated filter and an ion charges nitrite pleated filter just in case.. again the issue is to achieve enough flow to properly filter a tank you run into systems way to large to be cost effective for tanks. I’ve seen a few people who use this with well water setups as they already have most of the needed items to filter house water and simply plumb tanks Into their house systems and add a few things.. I like nature and it’s uses.. but at the same time I like watching my fish instead of working on their tanks.. removing ammonia and eliminating the cycle entirely imop is a more efficient way of filtering and with current tech is able to be done just the demand to build properly sized systems isn’t yet there case we are all still stuck in a 60yo mindset of tank filtration utilizing full cycles.. I should add I have 8 freshwater tanks in my house lol.. many are planted to some extend and as such im able to control nitrates to 5-10ppm constant values forever. I’ve got an overly stocked community tank with a lot of hornwort that helps reduce that tank to 10ppm weekly accumulation on a 50 fish tank load In a 55g tank lol.. Much to your credit and your videos I’ve become very versed in proper filter setup to maximize my tank capacities and stock more fish with much larger bioload then most would ever think of trying. A lot of my joy is actually from trying to solve filtration issues to reduce maintained tbh.. but many are Oscar and cichlid tanks which prevent the plant life assistance.. I’ve tried with several native species and they just destroy them in short time which increases bioload as the plant matter has to be filtered as well.. I value your every opinion as it’s one of the things that has gotten me where I am in the hobby.. that said.. I don’t have a fish room I have tanks in almost every room and in larger rooms several as decorations... water changes are a chore as I have to individually do each tank and at least half are out of reach of my 50’ python setup and require old school bucket by bucket syphon and refilling.. so much of my time is spent trying to maximize every tanks filtration in effort to best reduce water change needs.. That said I do have water changes spread out to a basic one tank everyday routine so it’s not that big a hassle.. fee minutes everyday when I get home before I settle in makes it much easier then spending an entire day doing al tanks at once.. I’m also semi versed in saltwater and love them for their ability to full cycle much easier with just use of rocks. It baffles me that I can’t utilize the same principles in freshwater systems and get similar results.. I’ve tried all kinds of rocks and it’s all wasted money really in terms of getting nitrate reduction.. I’ve even gone through phases of moderately salting appropriate tanks thinking that the salinity had much to d with things.. I’m sure it does but even brackish cichlid or guppy tank can’t achieve what you can with a reef rank in terms of filtration. Tried sumps with massive amounts of high nutrient absorbing floating plants.. (never duckweed mind you as I never wanted to deal with trying to get rid of it later lol) high flow, low flow, any amount of over filtration I’ve through most of it with freshwater systems and in a heavy stocking I’ve yet to see anything that can drastically reduce water changes to the point I would say 100% they work. And I test my water daily on most sinks keeping a log so detailed as to I know when I’ll need to change water based on what foods I’m feeding.. FYI to anyone who’s made it this far reading.. stay away from any type of pleco wafer or algae wafer unless you like high nitrates and changing water.. they are the absolute worst foods possible. Don’t believe me.. take a tank uncycled wo any fish drop one wafer in and watch how fast your tank cycles and how high the levels will go.

Damn it I have tried replying to this twice and had my kitten jump onto the screen knocking off the comment both times, lol I think you're in the UK as you're working in litres and have hornwort as a native plant? so feel free to ring me any time since my short term memory keeps letting me down by the time I have scrolled up and down a page I have forgotten what has been said or asked in a super long comment. My phone number is 07772848730 With regard to a full cycle (and nitrate level) I'd say for a normal community tank if you had between 0ppm - 10ppm and small weekly water changes to remove fish waste from tank you could consider that cycled as an average tank will sit between 40ppm - 60ppm after a week - a heavily stocked tank (e.g. cichlids, predator, goldfish) would generally have much higher nitrate so a level of between 10ppm - 20ppm could be considered a success but in all those situations people regularly report that the nitrate reads consistently zero when a suitable sized filter is set up with biohome (usually biohome ultimate in canisters) - that's with or without plants but almost always when filtration is simple, consisting of mechanical, biological and either carbon or charcoal for chemical. Is the 125 and 60 in gallons or litres? I thought it was litres but may be gallons. If you have 13 litres of matrix in a 125 gallon system and nitrates are still 30ppm I'd say it was working but only just, probably due to the reactor creating more favorable conditions for anaerobic bacteria but since the matrix is so dense it would probably be better to go for a much smaller size in the reactor - 30ppm is still a good result from matrix. Seachem state it needs a flow of no more than 50 US gallons per hour to enable it to work and with that low flow in a decent size filter you could use any tightly packed media to create anaerobic conditions but canisters tend to have much higher flow rates - probably why they are considered to be nitrate factories as most of the activity is aerobic, especially when they're set up just as they come from manufacturer with plastics and limited media in them.

This has been my thinking aswell

Nice one - thanks for passing that tip on in the comments section. 9kg is a really good amount to fit into there.

Yes by having the water swirl around and pass up to the top of the filter, through the foams it does act like a vortex so the bottom filters will get clogged first - there is quite a lot going on in there.

I hope you're well, man - moving into your Winter now? and I bet it's still better than our Summer, lol

That is good to hear - it is generally the nitrate which shows a huge jump after recharge which indicates the anaerobic bacteria has been killed off and ammonia and nitrite often aren't affected too badly (since aerobic bacteria grows everywhere and repopulates much faster). You have a full cycle using the filter (low nitrate) and have never noticed nitrate shoot up? That is good to hear as all I get reports of is the opposite happening - it is always good to get as much feedback as possible as I don't like to relay information which could be incorrect.

I add nitrates to my tank for the plants, but it's stable in the 20-30 ppm range which is exactly what's needed, with a 50% water change every week. I can tell you that it's never gone above that even after recharging the Purigen. So essentially yes, the Biohome and Matrix are still working! I loved Matrix (still do, actually) but I eventually gave your media a shot, and I'm convinced. Biohome Ultimate is the best media around. Luckily it's become more available here in the US! Thank you for your videos, your products, and everything you do for this hobby!

Yes it seems to be all over in the US now which is very good. If I got my act together and actually finished the trade site it would be all over in the UK too but by the time I finish working for the day I'm knackered, lol

haha That is very understandable, sir. We can only do so much before our health (mental or physical) starts going south. It's important to enjoy yourself and spend time with family, as well. I remember just a couple of years ago, your media was barely heard of on this side of the Pond, but now it's all over the place.

(my other channel) As long as you have a suitably sized filter which is well set up with good media (e.g. Biohome Ultimate) there should be no problem achieving a full cycle as long as you're not using a conditioner which messes with the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (e.g. seachem prime). There is no lie in Nature but there are plenty of lies in paid-for $cience.

With enough filtration you will get a full cycle no matter what the tank and stock is - what water conditioner do you use? Something as simple as using a damaging conditioner can be the difference between a full cycle and normal (high nitrate) test results.

Hi there if I may ask, fluval conditioner and cycle are good to use and get a full cycle? I already modified my fx6 with the foams and biohome ultimate

@@andremarques4900 (my other channel) The Fluval products don't mess with the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate so are fine to use. As long as you have a suitable amount of good media for the volume of tank and stock and there is nothing holding the bacteria back (e.g. seachem prime) then it's all good. You can find loads of useful advice regarding filtration and bacteria on the Q&A page of my website www.filterpro.co.uk

@ThousandYardStare I think I'm good. Fx6 with your upgrade in a 240L tropical aquarium. Just finished assembly it. Anxiously waiting to get the cycling started