Fluval 405 canister

[Bok]

We will be getting a 90gal tank that comes with a Fluval 405 that is just a couple of months old. We've heard differing opinions about the filter, everything fromthe best to the worst. What do you think?
Can bulk media be used or does it have to have cartridges?
90gal freshwater community

[Halo819]

I am using the Fluval 405 on my 90 gal Oscar tank.
It is stocked pretty heavy with:
2- 12 inch Oscars
2- 4 inch Pink Convicts
1- 4 inch Jack Dempsey
1- 5 inch Pictus Cat
1- 5 inch Pleco

The 405 keeps my water sparkling clear! Maintenance is a breeze and comes about very infrequently. I would have preferred an FX-5 but they were unavailable to me when I set the tank up. I am very satisfied with the 405!

[Deleted User]

All my filters are fluvals and I have never had a problem with any of them except when I have needed new parts because of there age.

[Bok]

Thanks for the replies folks. One thing I read (complaint) was that it is a nitrate factory.I don't understand that. Nitrates are converted from nitrites so.....??
What kind of media is usuallu used?
Quite a lot of differing opinions about them and as I mentioned they go from one extreme to the other.
I have a friend that uses two and she swears by them.
The load will be 1 bala shark, 4 neons that come with the tank plus our 8 white clouds, 10 or so guppies 2 corys, 2 ottos and a 6" pleco.

[terrapin24h]

Essentially, "nitrate factory" refers to the filter's ability to produce massive amounts of nitrate(which in very high concentration are toxic) due their capacity to hold inordinate amounts of debris. If you don't clean it enough, said debris collects and rots in the filter, fostering a massive beneficial bacteria colony that processes all that waste into nitrate. Too much of a good thing, as it were. However, this is a trait(no pun intended) of ANY canister filter, and even bio wheel HOB filters. The bacteria gets all the oxygen, space, and food it needs to thrive, and it does. The solution? clean the thing(get the rotting debris out of the filter), do proper water changes, and don't over feed(IOW be a studious fish keeper). I have both a 205 and a 405(just a few months old each) and like them. My media arrangement in the 405 on my 65gal tank is as follows, starting at the bottom:
lowest basket: crushed coral in filter bag covered by lots of filter floss
2nd up: lots more floss
3rd up: bio media(i use fluval's that the filter came with)
4th up: yet more bio media covered in floss for polishing(this floss will prob not need replacing but once a year)

--chris

[Bok]

Thank you terrapin. Sounds good and I think that is how we will go. The floss we use is in a sheet (blanket) and is inexpensive. Do you cut to the basket size and use a few layers of it or do you just crumple it up and put it in?

[Bok]

....My media arrangement in the 405 on my 65gal tank is as follows, starting at the bottom:
lowest basket: crushed coral in filter bag covered by lots of filter floss
2nd up: lots more floss
3rd up: bio media(i use fluval's that the filter came with)
4th up: yet more bio media covered in floss for polishing(this floss will prob not need replacing but once a year)
--chris

We've picked up the tank. installed etc., looks good! Turns out to be an 80, not a 90 but geeze, it was free!!
Set it up yesterday. First thing I did was throw in about 25 gallons of de-chlorinated water and vacuumed the gravel. Filled it, ran it without cleaning the filter from the original owner, added his fish. Only difference between him still owning it and us, we did a 100% water change and vacuumed.
We noticed last night the water looked cloudy about three hours later, still like that this morning. Here is what his schedule/filter medium consists of:
Cleaned the filter once a month.
Rinsed the white ceramic media once a month with tank water.
Rinsed the half the carbon once a month with tank water. Changed half the carbon once a month.
Rinsed the foam once a month with tank water. Changed the foam every four months.
That's it.
I suspect that if I filter it as you do Terrapin, the cloudiness will go away especially with the addition of all that floss. Do you think that is what is lacking in ours?
It is a beaut! So quiet we can hear a pin drop!