# FX5 tiny bubbles



## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

How come my Fx5 keep getting tiny bubbles that keep blowing out into my water?! Is it because it is dirty? i need to clean it?


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## Solchitlins (Jul 23, 2003)

I have read that it is due to the pads used in the baskets getting dirty and clogged. Thats why some people have stopped using them or atleast using coarser pads or less padding.


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

Which pads? the ones from the side or the middle basket?


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## Solchitlins (Jul 23, 2003)

the ones in the baskets.


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## clgkag (Mar 22, 2008)

If you are the fluval polishing pads, the white pads, the clog pretty quickly. I use the quilt batting instead. When it gets dirty, the fx5 blows bubbles. Just clean/change your pads and it should go away.


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

I just cleaned the Fx5 last week...and this week it is already blowing out bubbles. What's going on?!


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## BMueller777 (Feb 19, 2007)

What size tank do you have and how many fish do you have in it?


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## cichlids _killer (Apr 13, 2008)

thats why you need to go with eheim khaki.....lol


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

My filter is fine now. I have took out some pads and the filter is not blowing bubbles. sooo woot! so i guess i had too many media in there.

*BMueller777*
I got a lot of fish in my 60 gallon. 
7 yellowlabs
3 acei
18 ps.demasoni
6 white top haras


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## BMueller777 (Feb 19, 2007)

Holy **** that's a lotta filitration for a 60g tank lol It's not a whirlpool from the return??


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

*BMueller777*
It's not bad at all. It doesnt hurt to have too much filtration. I have a heavy stocking list anyways. I also got a C-360 running on it. I haven't got a single death.


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## BMueller777 (Feb 19, 2007)

I'm all for over filitration, I think it's how it should be done. I was just thinking that such a high GPH out of, what 2 spots? would make your tank into a whirlpool lol

Got any pics of the tank?


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

*BMueller777*










here is a recent picture. I have taken the C-360 off for my 90gallon. Now is running with a Jebo


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## BMueller777 (Feb 19, 2007)

Sweet Jesus that FX5 is huge lmao

What's that pump looking thing with the yellow tube comming from it to the right of the stand?

BMueller.

P.S. Nice tank


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## khaki (Jan 12, 2008)

*BMueller777*

For this 60gallon I used to have a 20gallon sump for it and that was the return pump. Now I use that pump for Water changes.


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

This topic comes up a lot and I am always interested in the results. If I may pose a question:

Knowing how a canister works, how is it possible that the media causes air bubbles?

I supposed its possible that with a very dense media the filter could have trouble being primed, but I am very skeptical of that possibility.

A more likely possibility is that there was a leak somewhere in the canister. When you did the media change you probably fixed the leak somehow without knowing it. So I am guessing it wasn't so much the different media, but rather opening it up and putting it back together again.

In other words, as any sump enthusiast will tell you, a canister is a completely closed system. The intake is under water without access to air and the outlet is under water without access to air. The canister itself should be completely sealed off without access to air. So conceptually, there is no way air can enter the canister. Unless, of course, there is a hole somewhere. Especially if the bubbles never stop - which means that there is some persistent source of air - like a hole. If it was a priming problem eventually the air pocket would go away.


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## clgkag (Mar 22, 2008)

boredatwork, I can't answer your question as to why, but this is a common issue on FX5s. I have three and all do it when the media gets clogged. I would guess it is a design flaw and the original air never gets completely purged. When the media is clean and water flows at the rate it is supposed to, the air bubble is pushed "out of the way" so to speak. I would guess as the flow slows due to dirty media, the air bubble comes into play. Just a guess on my part, but that is the only thing I can figure out.


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## boredatwork (Sep 14, 2007)

I have seen this topic many times, so I am not doubting that it occurs, but I have to doubt the explanation. If the correct answer is that air gets stuck in the filter that does not purge, eventually it would have to run out. I have not seen any posts that claim that the bubbles stop after a while. So if there is an endless supply of bubbles that means there has to be an endless supply of air, which can only occur with access to the outside world. Unless there is some kind of funky chemical reaction going on in the clogged media that is releasing gasses at a very high rate, haha.

But even then it doesn't make sense, because from what I have seen the air bubbles don't start right away. So that means that there is an air pocket that doesn't do anything until the media gets clogged? I don't know.

Another thing I just thought of is that its possible that if the clogged media backs up the water going through the canister, than maybe it creates some kind of pressure situation where a small pathway to the outside that is normally not a problem finally becomes a problem with air getting sucked in once a pressure threshold is crossed.

It is just very strange.


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