Fluval FX5 Filter
Posted: Sun Dec 15, 2013 8:08 pm
I thought I needed a new motor for my FX5 canister filter. Maybe, maybe not. I couldn't see any indication that anything was working/pumping, so I decided to buy a new motor. That was a bullet biting experience since they usually cost $150-200 for the motor and the impeller. I did find one for around $100, and bought it. Once I got it together correctly, I plugged it in and was running it for a couple days in one of the sumps. Saturday just after I got up, I started hearing sounds from the basement. I went down and found that the return hose had worked its way out of the tank, and had pumped the sump virtually dry. Once I had re-filled the sump, I tried to get the filter going again. No luck. I was afraid that I had just thrown $100 away. I couldn't get it to pump any water. Finally, I looked up the operating manual online, and by following the directions was able to get the water flowing again. That was certainly a relief. Apparently, when you are first starting the filter, it pumps for a few minutes, and then stops to allow air bubbles to escape. After finding that out, I suddenly thought that was the case, maybe I should check the original motor. I had thought it was completely dead, but that wasn't the case. Once I put the impeller into place and plugged it in, the impeller started to turn. Maybe now I've got a spare. Denny