Fluval Fx5 Canister Filter leaking! HELP

Mrs. Herbert · Oct 4, 2019

Just before bed last night, I was checking our reef and noticed the purge valve was leaking on our FX5 canister filter. I know its not the best for a reef tank, I am in the process of getting a tank with a sump. We decided to turn off the canister filter and leave the HOB Octopus classic 1000 going and with the 3K Ice Caps. What I am asking, would our reef be okay for at least a day with out the FX5 going? Replacement parts will be here tomorrow. The tank is not heavy stocked with fish but I do have Acans, some shrooms and nems. I have two small clowns, one Yellow tang, fire fish, two clown gobies, two cleaner shrimps, and the CUC. Our tank is a 75 gallons. Thanks!

Peace River · Oct 4, 2019

How fast is the leak (spraying, dripping, weeping, etc.)? Air stones could help if you decide to shut off the filter for a day.

MnFish1 · Oct 4, 2019

One issue - I would not just 'restart' the Filter after its been fixed - Since its been anaerobic - I would make sure its clean - and then consider adding some 'bacteria in a bottle' to prevent any ammonia/cycle issues. That said - most of the bacteria you need is already in your tank so thats probably overkill. Cleaning the filter is not... @brandon429 can comment

Mrs. Herbert · Oct 4, 2019

Peace River said:
How fast is the leak (spraying, dripping, weeping, etc.)? Air stones could help if you decide to shut off the filter for a day.

It was a steady drip, enough to soak the bottom of the stand with in a few hrs. Ill see if we can get some air stones. Thanks for the help.

brandon429 · Oct 4, 2019

agreed the canister has no bearing on required filtration for the tank. Its merely active surface area inside with tons of live bacteria, but if they're removed instantly the tank never suffers bc they were extra.

When circ stops inside they die fast, and are poisonous many times depending on rot details. its ok to fully clean the filter or totally never put back the insides and use it only for circulation, its safer for reefing that way. or use some other media inside it designed to uptake a certain param etc. anything but extra aerobic filtration/not needed/unhelpful/a liability that always requires cleaning and safety care for the rest of the tank

the place to use a canister filter loaded with usual stuff is when its absence would allow free ammonia to build in the tank, ie only dense fish systems might need one.

canister filters are designed solely to offset free ammonia, so when they're removed in a reef tank all the other surfaces on rocks and sand just move along wo missing a beat

after cycling, no reefs lack the surface area to prevent free ammonia unless they're qt tanks possibly.

Mrs. Herbert · Oct 4, 2019

MnFish1 said:
One issue - I would not just 'restart' the Filter after its been fixed - Since its been anaerobic - I would make sure its clean - and then consider adding some 'bacteria in a bottle' to prevent any ammonia/cycle issues. That said - most of the bacteria you need is already in your tank so thats probably overkill. Cleaning the filter is not... @brandon429 can comment

I have 5 gallons of saltwater ready to go. We emptied the filter last night from all saltwater to stop the leak. I will clean the filter before I put it back into use. Our reef has been up and running for almost two years and I just did a 30 gallon water change prior to the purge valve leak. It was not leaking prior to the water change.

sfin52 · Oct 4, 2019

Mine went down. I was with out for a couple of days no I'll effect from the tank.

Mrs. Herbert · Oct 4, 2019

brandon429 said:
agreed the canister has no bearing on required filtration for the tank. Its merely active surface area inside with tons of live bacteria, but if they're removed instantly the tank never suffers bc they were extra.

When circ stops inside they die fast, and are poisonous many times depending on rot details. its ok to fully clean the filter or totally never put back the insides and use it only for circulation, its safer for reefing that way. or use some other media inside it designed to uptake a certain param etc. anything but extra aerobic filtration/not needed/unhelpful/a liability that always requires cleaning and safety care for the rest of the tank

the place to use a canister filter loaded with usual stuff is when its absence would allow free ammonia to build in the tank, ie only dense fish systems might need one.

canister filters are designed solely to offset free ammonia, so when they're removed in a reef tank all the other surfaces on rocks and sand just move along wo missing a beat

after cycling, no reefs lack the surface area to prevent free ammonia unless they're qt tanks possibly.

I have plenty of circulation from the 3K Ice Caps, they are set to fluctuate between 20% to 50% with surface agitation also. The HOB skimmer has been cleaned out and running well with a good mixture of wet/dry skim.

Mrs. Herbert · Oct 4, 2019

sfin52 said:
Mine went down. I was with out for a couple of days no I'll effect from the tank.

Okay this makes me feel a little better, I was worried I would loose live stock.

brandon429 · Oct 4, 2019

nice, that makes the filter literally inert. not harmful if running and kept active, but not measurably beneficial at all. its actually competing against fish for o2 but we arent lacking there either

its not harmful to use for sure dont think im hammering using canister filters I own one myself. solely for fw fish keeping and even there they're a power outage liability. but I liked how strong my fluval was for helping circulation in a very tall tank. i put the input tube way down and output up top, for full column tank turnover.

in the end a reef tank is safer without using anything that if loses power can go anaerobic, the tank enough is the concern without extra compartments to account for. still, not harmful to use.

Mrs. Herbert · Oct 4, 2019

brandon429 said:
nice, that makes the filter literally inert. not harmful if running and kept active, but not measurably beneficial at all. its actually competing against fish for o2 but we arent lacking there either

its not harmful to use for sure dont think im hammering using canister filters I own one myself. solely for fw fish keeping and even there they're a power outage liability. but I liked how strong my fluval was for helping circulation in a very tall tank. i put the input tube way down and output up top, for full column tank turnover.

in the end a reef tank is safer without using anything that if loses power can go anaerobic, the tank enough is the concern without extra compartments to account for. still, not harmful to use.

Thank you for the help, I do appreciate it.

Mrs. Herbert · Oct 4, 2019

Thank you all for the help, I really do appreciate it! This is why we are a wonderful community of reefers.. I could not ask for a better place to ask for help!

Mrs. Herbert · Oct 4, 2019

Our LFS happened to have the same purge value off a broken canister filter and gave us this for FREE! I am home after working a 12hr shift, running on 3hrs of sleep. Everyone in the tank is doing well, no losses.

sfin52 · Oct 4, 2019

Whisperss said:
Our LFS happened to have the same purge value off a broken canister filter and gave us this for FREE! I am home after working a 12hr shift, running on 3hrs of sleep. Everyone in the tank is doing well, no losses.

Sweet. That's a good lfs. When you are fragging a cheap coral pay it forward. Just my suggestion.

reefiniteasy · Oct 4, 2019

Where was it dripping from, what point of the valve? From where it connects to the canister or the red valve/dial part? I have an FX4 on my classroom turtle WaterLand Tub and I've fixed mine a few times. It's an easy fix. Turn the red valve in reverse, the tab compresses and you can pull it out. Pull off the weird o-ring and lube it up with silicone. I use silicon lubricant from Pentair. Just use something saltwater/reef safe. Pop the o-ring back into the grooves of the valve and reinsert into the housing. I now do this regularly, every two months and the dripping has stopped. You got lucky, it is a hard part to get. I even had trouble getting it from Fluval directly.

Mrs. Herbert · Oct 4, 2019

Alex Sadowsky said:
Where was it dripping from, what point of the valve? From where it connects to the canister or the red valve/dial part? I have an FX4 on my classroom turtle WaterLand Tub and I've fixed mine a few times. It's an easy fix. Turn the red valve in reverse, the tab compresses and you can pull it out. Pull off the weird o-ring and lube it up with silicone. I use silicon lubricant from Pentair. Just use something saltwater/reef safe. Pop the o-ring back into the grooves of the valve and reinsert into the housing. I now do this regularly, every two months and the dripping has stopped. You got lucky, it is a hard part to get. I even had trouble getting it from Fluval directly.

Ours was dripping at the red dial part. I suggested to my hubby about using silicone but we do not have any that is reef safe.

Mrs. Herbert · Oct 4, 2019

And I just found our 2nd diamond goby, dead under the tank! This hobby... I tell yea..

reefiniteasy · Oct 4, 2019

Whisperss said:
Ours was dripping at the red dial part. I suggested to my hubby about using silicone but we do not have any that is reef safe.

Maybe order some to have on hand, fix the one that was dripping, and keep it as a spare, it will happen again. It comes apart easily. I love my Fluval filters but they have to be lubed periodically. I'm glad you found the new part and it all worked out.

Mrs. Herbert · Oct 4, 2019

Alex Sadowsky said:
Maybe order some to have on hand, fix the one that was dripping, and keep it as a spare, it will happen again. It comes apart easily. I love my Fluval filters but they have to be lubed periodically. I'm glad you found the new part and it all worked out.

That is a good idea. I do not plan of having this set up for long as I am in the process of buying a 90 gallon with a 40 gallon sump, skimmer, return pump.