# Fluval FX6 with 16 /22m Hose



## Simps100

Hi all

We bought a Fluval fx6 for our Roma 240 tank we will be making into a planted tank - hopefully giving us more than enough flow rate.

The issue we are having is our tank is drilled in the bottom and has 22m hoses whilst the fx6 hoses are I Beleve 1" - along with that our inline heater and co2 atomizer need the 22m hose.

We are really keen to just use one filter using the already drilled holes for he inlet / outlet to keep things neat and tidy. 

I understand using smaller hoses will restrict the flow rate - will it be significant or should we still be ok?

Apart from flow rate is there any other reasons we shouldn't do this - could restricting the flow rate damage the filter for example?

Thanks

Marc


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## Tim Harrison

I'm sure with that powerhouse of a filter you don't really need to worry about a few mm difference in diameter restricting flow, or damage especially since it has "Smart Pump Technology".
It'll be fine.


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## Simps100

Just Double checked looks like would be changing the FX6 hosing which is 24mm/1" to 16/22mm - bigger difference than i thought but hoping would still give the flow rate needed for our 240l tank?


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## ian_m

Cross sectional area of 1" pipe is (25.4/2)*(25.4/2)*3.14 -> 500mm2. 16mm pipe is 200mm2. Thus a flow reduction of over a half (0.4) !!. This a major restriction and I think you will find the FX6 says don't run the filter at less than half flow as well.

May I suggest a 32mm diamond hole drill ? (are about £20 odd).

As for heater and CO2 you can split the 1" pipe into two sections like below. You tweak the valve to get sufficient flow in the 16mm section.


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## Simps100

Ok will scrap the idea of using smaller pipes then - there's no point in spending all that money on the filter to more than half its flow.

Have you drilled holes into the bottom of a tank before (or in this case enlarged them)?


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## DavidW

ian_m said:


> As for heater and CO2 you can split the 1" pipe into two sections like below. You tweak the valve to get sufficient flow in the 16mm section.


This is how I have integrated my 16/22mm inline CO2 atomiser into my 25mm pressure pipe  seems to be working a treat.


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## dean

Drilling a tank is very easy 
Need a powerful drill preferably a mains one 
The hole cutter is a hollow tube and the only danger is it getting hot which would then crack the glass
To shop this in factories they have a coolant running over the bit, these isn't viable on a tank so the best way I have found is the fill the bit with loose ice (the White crap that builds up in your freezer)  it works a treat I've drilled dozens of holes that way 

Also you have to start at a slight angle then straighten up once a groove is made

Don't push too hard just a little added weight will do 

If in doubt go to nearest glass merchants and grab some scrap or buy some small pieces to practice on 
Try get same thickness as your tank 
Clamp them well in place before you drill them
Wear private tics goggles etc and be prepared to get a bit wet as the ice melts 

You could use one of your practise pieces as a template for the tank 
Secure it in place with a bit of silicon around the outside edge so you can easily remove it 
Or silicon it in permanently to reinforce the area 


Regards
Dean


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## ian_m

I have drilled glass before.

1. Make a template, peice of wood with same sized hole as you are drilling and silicone it in place if you can't clamp it. This stops the hole cutter slipping when you start the cut.
2. Build a dam out of plastercine to hold a pond of water over the hole to keep cutter cooled.
3. Take it slowly.
4. I used a battery drill on slow speed to do the cutting. Just use the weight of the drill to cut the glass, no pushing. Clean water pond regularly so that you can see what you are doing, suck out with wet dry vaccum and add fressh water.

Years and years ago I drilled glass using copper tube and grinding paste. The paste sticks to the soft copper to do the cutting. Better & considerably easier nowadays with affordable diamond hole saws.


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## Tim Harrison

Simps100 said:


> Just Double checked looks like would be changing the FX6 hosing which is 24mm/1" to 16/22mm - bigger difference than i thought but hoping would still give the flow rate needed for our 240l tank?


OK, 22mm outside diameter. Good luck with the drilling...


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## Simps100

Ok going to drill it - may as well do this properly - what's recommended for the pipe work once we have the proper sized holes drilled? 

At the moment there's 2 plastic screw points to screw the pipes into which then connect to the tubing - infact looking at it - wouldn't surprise me if the holes are big enough once the plastic bits are off - just to work out how to get bigger pipes through and watertight!



 

 


Also is there a "fish safe" sealant to look out for?


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## dean

Wait don't do anything 


Regards
Dean


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## dean

Show is a photo of the pipes that come out of the base


Regards
Dean


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## Simps100

The pipe in my second picture extends through the hole and is what the pipes to the filter attach too - don't worry not doing just yet just planning it out to make sure all goes smooth!


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## dean

Looks like these are universal hose tails 
They are designed for different diameter pipes 
You simply see which part your pipe fits on and then cut of the sections below 
So you could have an easy fix for your new pump - a junior hacksaw 


Regards
Dean


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## dean

Regards
Dean


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## George Farmer

I used an FX5 on a 240 litre with inline heater and inline CO2 using a reducer. No issues at all. I'm going to do similar soon with the new FX4.


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## Simps100

dean said:


> Regards
> Dean


Perfect - just tried it out and the size is perfect for the new filter - thanks all for the suggestions!

Now just to split the return hose for the co2 and inline heater - is the co2 ok before the heater or should be it after?

Thanks!


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## Holly

Hiya. I asked Hagen themselves as I too have an FX6 coming today for my Fluval. Here is their response:

Dear Holly,



Thank you for your e-mail.



The FX4 can be used with the through tank connection pipes, we do have sort pipes especially for this purpose in development but do not currently have a release date for these. In the mean time if you wish to fit the FX4 on to your system you can use smooth pipe with a 25mm internal bore, make sure you cut off the narrower hose tail off the connectors, so that you are not reducing the flow through the filter.



Best Regards,

Mike Kelly Customer Service/Technical Advisor


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## Simps100

ian_m said:


> Cross sectional area of 1" pipe is (25.4/2)*(25.4/2)*3.14 -> 500mm2. 16mm pipe is 200mm2. Thus a flow reduction of over a half (0.4) !!. This a major restriction and I think you will find the FX6 says don't run the filter at less than half flow as well.
> 
> May I suggest a 32mm diamond hole drill ? (are about £20 odd).
> 
> As for heater and CO2 you can split the 1" pipe into two sections like below. You tweak the valve to get sufficient flow in the 16mm section.
> View attachment 89053



So I've tried to make this - I've gone for the fluval hosing reason being this bends much easier without kinking - all togeather now apart from have a couple drip leaks where the fluval hosing connects to the rubber connectors - most of them are ok but a couple are obviously not right - am I ok to use some aquarium silicone to "permanently" attach these rubber connectors to the piping?


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## ian_m

Yes. That's is a nice way of doing it.

The ones I have seen before were made from solvent welded PVC pipe.

Stuff like this.
http://www.aquariumonline.co.uk/pipework_and_fittings_C548.html



Simps100 said:


> am I ok to use some aquarium silicone to "permanently" attach these rubber connectors to the piping?


Yes, aquarium silicone will be fine, though any neutral cure silicone will do.


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## Tim Harrison

I have the atomizer before the heater and it's fine. Just make sure the heater is vertical, as per instructions, otherwise you'll probably get an airlock and eventual failure.


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## ian_m

Don't trust the lock nuts on the atomiser . Mine pulled off once and I started syphoning my tank onto the floor. Now clamped with stainless steel Jubilee clip.


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## Simps100

ian_m said:


> Don't trust the lock nuts on the atomiser . Mine pulled off once and I started syphoning my tank onto the floor. Now clamped with stainless steel Jubilee clip.


Thanks for the tip!!

Will silicone them rubber connectors to the pipe and will hopefully be ready to start!

Is there any benefit me swapping the CO2 / Heater around so the atomizer is before the heater?

Thanks for all the help!


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## Simps100

So just a bit of an update and some questions (this has been a slow one!)




 
So after putting the above together and testing the rubber connectors just dont hold up with the angles of the pipes pulling on them, when testing it had one of the rubber connectors come away from the flex pipe and water everywhere - fun! thankfully just when testing it and not with the tank!

So i've decided im going to go with the proper PVC pipework for this - cant afford for any leaks when this is all plumbed in to the tank and with the solid plastic fittings ill be able to fit it all into the cabinet easier without the limitations of flexi pipe.  So looking http://www.aquariumonline.co.uk/pipework_and_fittings_C548.html im not really sure where i begin - the E-Pressure pipes or the Solvent Weld?

Also - Sorry if this is a silly question but what parts do i need to connect the solid plastic pipe work to the inline heater / fish tank, obviously cant use jubilee clip like have done in the past with the flex piping. Sorry all the questions am getting there slowly ha!


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## Zeus.

George Farmer said:


> I used an FX5 on a 240 litre with inline heater and inline CO2 using a reducer. No issues at all. I'm going to do similar soon with the new FX4.



With all due respect George issues I would say no also, except it would decrease efficiency in the waters CO2 uptake when the heaters come on, due to the localised increase in the water temp in the tube. (see *Henry's law** and Van 't Hoff equation) *so it wouldn't surprise me to see slightly more micro bubbles coming out of the outlet when the heaters are on - especially once the CO2 levels have maxed out in the tank with the CO2 input






Minor detail all the same


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## Simps100

Holly said:


> Hiya. I asked Hagen themselves as I too have an FX6 coming today for my Fluval. Here is their response:
> 
> Dear Holly,
> 
> 
> 
> Thank you for your e-mail.
> 
> 
> 
> The FX4 can be used with the through tank connection pipes, we do have sort pipes especially for this purpose in development but do not currently have a release date for these. In the mean time if you wish to fit the FX4 on to your system you can use smooth pipe with a 25mm internal bore, make sure you cut off the narrower hose tail off the connectors, so that you are not reducing the flow through the filter.
> 
> 
> 
> Best Regards,
> 
> Mike Kelly Customer Service/Technical Advisor



So I finally went ahead and started to redo the tank - I got all the old stuff out and fish into a bucket - I've cut the 2 pipes was all going well... or so I thought..

For the life of me I can't stop these larger pipes to work without it leaking and I really don't know what to do - I'm going to have to get the fish back into water which is atleast heated but i can't get the larger fluval pipes to not leak - I've tightened the jubilee clip as much as possible but water still seaps out.. worse still I can't even use the old stuff because the smaller pipe won't go over it - any suggestions what I'm doing wrong? If anyone's not far from Woking willing to pay Somone for their time and some help at this point!


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## Simps100

Bit of an update - with a fair bit of ptfe tape I managed to get things slightly more watertight- not perfect but the leak is atleast controllable overnight and the fish can get back into filtered water.

I really don't like this fluval hosing and the connectors - I'm going to get some standard 1" pvc pipe tomorrow and hope for more luck with this than I've had tonight if that still leaks then god knows what I'll try next


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## Manisha

Simps100 said:


> Bit of an update - with a fair bit of ptfe tape I managed to get things slightly more watertight- not perfect but the leak is atleast controllable overnight and the fish can get back into filtered water.
> 
> I really don't like this fluval hosing and the connectors - I'm going to get some standard 1" pvc pipe tomorrow and hope for more luck with this than I've had tonight if that still leaks then god knows what I'll try next



I'd agree, the design is meant to prevent kinks in the piping but I think it's pretty ugly! I've personally never had trouble with smooth hoses or piping!


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## Wacca

I made a DIY spray bar. The closest I could find was 22mm pipe, I too had a dribble with the jubilee clip but I doubled up on them and it stopped the leak.


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## Kevin Wilson

Hi Simps100,

So I have the Fluval Vicenza 260ltr and like yourself it has the drilled base which I would like to connect a FX6 to if possible, could you please advise if this worked out ok in your tank and if so what did you do / need to make it work. 

I don't have co2 or inline heater or anything I just want to be able to connect the fx6 to the existing pipework in base of the tank. 

Kevin


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