[boredatwork]

I don't know how many people have the combination of an acrylic tank and an FX5 - but I do. The problem I have is finding a good way to install the inlet and outlet of the filter. The clips that come with the FX5 "can" work with the acrylic top, but quite honestly that is a horrible solution. Especially because the ribbed tube is inflexible so it is always lifting the the clip thing, so it does not stay put very long. And it does not seem like a good idea to use a foot of tube just to go over the edge of the tank.

Right now, I have the tube going through the slots in the back of the tank that are the cutouts for HOB filters instead of through the larger whole that starts a quarter of the way across the top of the tank. I feel this is not an elegant solution for the outlet. The intake works ok because it has the suction cups mounting.

The problem is that the tubing pushes the intake and outlet to the top of the tank instead of keeping them on the back wall. I think a picture is needed for this to make sense but I don't have one. Maybe I can take one later. To fix the outlet problem I tied it to the mounting plate that I had leftover from a Rio pump. This actually works pretty well. Ideally I would like to remove the ribbed tubing and use regular vinyl tubing. However, the problem with vinyl tubing is that it squishes easily - so I would prefer to use a rigid tube to go over the side of the tank. I think this is the approach other cannister filters take. However, I am not sure how to buy that type of tubing. The FX5 comes with tubing for the inlet - and that would be ideal.

Finally the question is what are other people doing? And does anyone know how I could get some plastic tubing that would work for this application?

 

[geoff_tropheus]

In my 300 gallon it is acrylic made by Tenacor. It has two cutouts for each half of the tank to put HOB or overlfows on. It also has two circular holes in the extreme corners.

I have (2) FX5's on this tank, and I use the two cut outs on the back for HOB's locations to put the hoses over.

My FX5's came with suction cups for the inlet nozzle piece and for the suction/discharge clips that the hose snaps into. I really dont like the look of it either, but it helps keep everything in place.

I run my intakes towards both corners, and my discharges near the center. I then put powerheads in the extreme corners so that everything is as uniform as possible.

I do nto like the corregated hose look, and I also wanted to change to black tubing. I am not 100% sure, but I think you will need 1-1/4" ID tubing to do so. You can order that in bulk from just about any online aquatics supply company like Jehmco or Dr.Foster and SMith.

I would measure for sure to see what ID you need. IF you have doubts, take the extra valve that comes with the canister to Lowes or Home Depot and go to the plumbing section and they have tubing there, you can size up.

hope this helps...

geoff

 

[boredatwork]

I wish I had a picture, but I am guessing all acrylic tanks have the same cutouts on top. Do you have a canopy? I would not be able to use the provide clips for the outlet and have it go through the hole for the HOB. The only way I can use the clips is to use the big hole, which ends up being really awkward.

Anyway, this morning I think I found what I need to be able to connect vinyl tubing to PVC pipe. This way I can use PVC to go up, over, and into the tank - without the need for any clips or suction cups. The other advantage is that I dont have to use the dual output (which I think is useless). And then I can use vinyl tubing to go from the filter to the PVC pipe.