I recently put a Fluval FX5 filter on my 90 gallon tank, however since I knew how powerful this filter was, I knew I needed something to spread out and slow the water down. Unfortunately, there are no "commercial products" that are fully compatible with the FX5.
So, I decided to make a DIY spraybar, based on some ideas I foiund while searching the internet, to spread out the flow from the filter a bit more evenly across the tank (and prevent my Burundi's from having to live in the turbulence that you get from the standard FX5 output nozzle.
The guide below was based on building the spraybar for my 90. The current that comes out of the bar is pretty gentle and doesn't disrupt the tank to much... which makes the FX5 a massive filter for my 90 in terms of total water turnover.
To start this project, I made a shopping list and visited the plumbing section of my local Lowes hardware store. I bought a 10 foot length of 3/4" Schedule 40 PVC pipe. (I plan on making several spray bars, 5 ft is all that is required for a single spraybar.) The other fittings for one spraybar included:
1 90 degree street elbow (female on one end, male on the other)
2 90 degree regular elbows (female on both ends)
1 end cap (3/4 inch)
4 feet of 1 inch "inside diameter" flexible hose (braided or non braided)
4 pipe gaskets (1 1/4 - 3/4 inch)
1 bottle of All Purpose PVC cement
I started by cutting the 3/4 PVC pipe into various lengths:
24 inches for the main spraybar
1.5 inches for a top connector
2.0 inches for a drop connector (this determines how far down in the water the bar goes and can vary according to your tank)
(I forgot to take a picture of this, it is very easy tho, here is one with all the peices laid out and the top assembly dry fit together, also I noticed in the picture I have the top assembly laid out backwards, do not glue it like this
)
Once the pipe was cut, I cemented the top connector between the 90 degree street elbow and the first 90 degree regular elbow. The male end of the street elbow will be used to connect your vinyl tubing... so make sure to position it correctly before applying the cement.
Next I cemented the drop connector to the street/regular combo above. I did not cement any of the parts that were below the water line in the tank. Once cemented, I let those parts set for 24 hours before assembling the spraybar.
While the top half of the spraybar was setting... I proceeded to drill the bottom bar. For the 24" bar on my 90 gallon tank, I used a 1/4" drill bit to create larger holes. I spaced the holes at 1 1/2 inches apart and inserted the end cap on the end. (I may end up drilling them again at 3/8 inch to tame the flow down even further.)
Once the top half had set overnight, I combined them with the bottom bar and then connected them to the tubing tightening them down with the pipe clamps. You can't use the tubing that came with the FX5 for this project since the internal diameter of that tube is around 5/8. At most general hardware stores, they don't carry this size fitting to accomodate that odd size. So using the spare FX5 connector valve (every new FX5 comes with three connector valves of which one is not use in daily operation) I cut my vinyl tubing to size and tightened it down with one of my pipe clamps.
When I put the spraybar into the tank, I noticed that the far end would hang down in the tank if there was nothing to hold it in place. I decided to use the spare rim connector for the output I was no longer using to solve this issue. Using a plastic zip tie, I was able to zip tie the spray bar to prevent the pipe from hanging down. ( I trimmed the tail and rotated the zip tie to hide the bulky connection after taking this pic)
After everything was set in place, and the spray bar secured to the rim connector via zip tie, I turned one the power and presto!!!!
I will be building a second spraybar to replace the one that is currently in the tank, which I will paint black to help blend into the background better.
Hopefully if any of you have an FX5 and you want to build your own spraybar, this DIY guide might help you accomplish the task. Thanks for taking the time to read my thread!
Daniel
So, I decided to make a DIY spraybar, based on some ideas I foiund while searching the internet, to spread out the flow from the filter a bit more evenly across the tank (and prevent my Burundi's from having to live in the turbulence that you get from the standard FX5 output nozzle.
The guide below was based on building the spraybar for my 90. The current that comes out of the bar is pretty gentle and doesn't disrupt the tank to much... which makes the FX5 a massive filter for my 90 in terms of total water turnover.
To start this project, I made a shopping list and visited the plumbing section of my local Lowes hardware store. I bought a 10 foot length of 3/4" Schedule 40 PVC pipe. (I plan on making several spray bars, 5 ft is all that is required for a single spraybar.) The other fittings for one spraybar included:
1 90 degree street elbow (female on one end, male on the other)
2 90 degree regular elbows (female on both ends)
1 end cap (3/4 inch)
4 feet of 1 inch "inside diameter" flexible hose (braided or non braided)
4 pipe gaskets (1 1/4 - 3/4 inch)
1 bottle of All Purpose PVC cement
I started by cutting the 3/4 PVC pipe into various lengths:
24 inches for the main spraybar
1.5 inches for a top connector
2.0 inches for a drop connector (this determines how far down in the water the bar goes and can vary according to your tank)
(I forgot to take a picture of this, it is very easy tho, here is one with all the peices laid out and the top assembly dry fit together, also I noticed in the picture I have the top assembly laid out backwards, do not glue it like this
)
Once the pipe was cut, I cemented the top connector between the 90 degree street elbow and the first 90 degree regular elbow. The male end of the street elbow will be used to connect your vinyl tubing... so make sure to position it correctly before applying the cement.
Next I cemented the drop connector to the street/regular combo above. I did not cement any of the parts that were below the water line in the tank. Once cemented, I let those parts set for 24 hours before assembling the spraybar.
While the top half of the spraybar was setting... I proceeded to drill the bottom bar. For the 24" bar on my 90 gallon tank, I used a 1/4" drill bit to create larger holes. I spaced the holes at 1 1/2 inches apart and inserted the end cap on the end. (I may end up drilling them again at 3/8 inch to tame the flow down even further.)
Once the top half had set overnight, I combined them with the bottom bar and then connected them to the tubing tightening them down with the pipe clamps. You can't use the tubing that came with the FX5 for this project since the internal diameter of that tube is around 5/8. At most general hardware stores, they don't carry this size fitting to accomodate that odd size. So using the spare FX5 connector valve (every new FX5 comes with three connector valves of which one is not use in daily operation) I cut my vinyl tubing to size and tightened it down with one of my pipe clamps.
When I put the spraybar into the tank, I noticed that the far end would hang down in the tank if there was nothing to hold it in place. I decided to use the spare rim connector for the output I was no longer using to solve this issue. Using a plastic zip tie, I was able to zip tie the spray bar to prevent the pipe from hanging down. ( I trimmed the tail and rotated the zip tie to hide the bulky connection after taking this pic)
After everything was set in place, and the spray bar secured to the rim connector via zip tie, I turned one the power and presto!!!!
I will be building a second spraybar to replace the one that is currently in the tank, which I will paint black to help blend into the background better.
Hopefully if any of you have an FX5 and you want to build your own spraybar, this DIY guide might help you accomplish the task. Thanks for taking the time to read my thread!
Daniel
