# Hi I have a fliter Question??



## wayofthefish (Jan 30, 2012)

*I have a square 54 gallon tank I have a smaller external filter but I do not like the water movement and I have been looking at the Fluval FX5 would this be 2 strong for this tank I am trying to keep the water clear with good movement.. any help would be much appreciated..
also was wondering what prices are out there??
thanks T.R*


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## IceBlue (Mar 17, 2011)

I don't think you need a filter that large for a 54 gal. The filter will cost you around $350 plus tax. I have a Eheim 2015 and emperor 400 on my 55, and I have no problem.


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## Rastapus (Apr 21, 2010)

If you want more movement add a powerhead. High turnover will minimize the biological activity of the filter and increase mechanical.


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## Scherb (Feb 10, 2011)

Hello. yes a fx5 would be too much they have a double nozzle output and a ton of flow. i have a standard 55g with a Fluval 404 and it works great. Cheers


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Add a second filter, but NOT a FX5. As the others have said, way too powerful.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Rastapus said:


> If you want more movement add a powerhead. High turnover will minimize the biological activity of the filter and increase mechanical.


x2. If you want more water movement add a powerhead. The FX5 would blow everything around that tank. Way overkill. Something that flows 250 - 300 gph would be more than adequate for that size tank unless it's heavily planted or way overstocked. Just based on the filters that I know or have used: Eheim 2215, 2075, Rena XP3 would all fit the bill. Or put an AC110 on it instead of the small filter you have now and add an HK550. You can save yourself a couple of hundred bucks or more by using the proper size filter an a powerhead.


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## wayofthefish (Jan 30, 2012)

I was thinking of using the fluval 406 but that would only turn the tank over 2 times an hour.. If I add a spray bar on the fluval FX-5 it would slow down the out put into the tank any Ideas??


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

normally you should aim for 10x tank volume for most tank filteration. If you have species from a fast river, then 15-25x tank volume is recommended, i would recommend using a powerhead and an external filter to achieve this, keeping the external filter at roughly 10x the tank volume.


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I wouldn't be worried about how many times you're filtering the tank. I'd be more worried about the tank maintenance than anything, unless you have a lot of particulates that the filter is not picking up. I'm using an Eheim 2078 in a 100 gallon square tank with discus and it's working fine. But I also have 3 powerheads in there, an HK550, HK750, and an HK 1 (older model which is about 450 gph I think). I do 3x water changes a week though. You can filter as much as you want, but you still have to transport organic waste out. So save your money and get an XP3/XP4 and use the rest of the money to buy the powerheads and a python.


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## wayofthefish (Jan 30, 2012)

thanks for the Ideas I will do some more research


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## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

What is the livestock in this tank? Is it planted?


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