Fluval FX6 Cleaning After 3-months on my African Cichlid Tank

In this video I show the full process of cleaning my Fluval FX6 canister filter and maintaining my African Cichlid Tank! My aquarium is a Waterbox Clearpro 7225 and houses a mix of Peacocks, Mbuna, and Haps from Lake Malawi. It has been set up for about a year and a half now and has been relatively stress free. Hopefully you enjoy seeing the process of maintaining the tank and find it helpful!

Timestamps:
0:59 - My Aquarium Setup - UVC, Lights, Canister Filters
1:18 - Preparing to Clean the FX6
1:30 - How to Empty the Fluval FX6
2:23 - Getting the FX6 Drain
3:51 - Draining the Fish Tank
6:00 - How to open up the Fluval FX6
6:53 - Inside the Fluval FX6
7:12 - How to Know if your Canister Filter Needs Cleaning
8:18 - How the Fluval FX6 Works
8:47 - How my FX6 Filtration is Set-up
13:97 - Siphoning and the Nitrogen Cycle
14:30 - How I Siphon my Fish Tank
16:12 - Reducing Noise from the FX6
16:32 - Setting the Fluval FX6 Up
18:50 - Refilling the Aquarium
22:00 - Cleaning the Glass
23:09 - How to Start up the FX6 (turning it back on)
26:45 - How Quickly the FX6 Clears the Tank
27:12 - Update on Future Videos!

If you enjoyed this video or found it helpful don't forget to give it a like and leave a comment down below :D

If you are enjoying my content you can also subscribe to my channel to show your support! You can click the link below to subscribe:

You can also follow me on Instagram at Kaitys_Cichlids:

And on Facebook:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Music Provided by Lofi Records:

Nocturnal - noni
Flying Away - Enluv
Slow Your Mind
Life Aquatic - Phlocalyst x Mr Käfer x Akin
Promenades - Phlocalyst x Mr Käfer
Time of the Day
We'll be Waiting a While - S N U G x tender spring x Rook1e
Home - cxlt.
Solemn - Towerz
Summer Nights - Laffey
Equipment
Calm Afternoon - Akīn x Living Room x Phlocalyst

📥 | Download this music (free)

[rionasera]

Obviously I love the information especially on African cichlids, but I just have to say you literally have one of the sweetest voices out there.

[grahamhall]

What a beautiful aquarium. Your fish are very lucky to have you as an owner.

[thwickdnd]

When I was 18 still living at my mum's house I had a massive aquarium in my room. Full of Cichlids and too many to list. I can't wait to get back into it. 😍

[RichRocketMan]

I don't have a fish tank. I have never watched a video on fish tanks. I don't even eat fish. Yet, YT brought me here. But I enjoyed the beautiful fish and the video just the same. I would LOVE to see YT's algorithm.

[MikeLangfordGoogle]

Very efficient operation Kaity! I haven't kept fish since I was a teenager, but enjoy your content . My filter cleanings were way more messy. Used to have 7 aquariums in my room, largest was a 1.2m that I built myself for one Oscar, also had 3 ponds in the garden that I built & landscsped. Had to sell everything when the family moved to the UK in 1986...we were back in South Africa within 6 months as things didn't work out, fishless. Then photography beckoned...now living in Cusco, Peru & enjoy watching wild fish when visiting the rainforest 😊

[miamichi]

Give you a lot of respect.

Taking care of those huge tanks & delicate fishes.

Is hard dedicated work.

Beautiful fishes & tank. 👌!

[SrenBruun]

Hi Kaity. I have small tip to avoid that the filter is leaking: You should really cross-tighten the white lid fasteners to ensure an optimal flush seating on the edge of the bucket. First close all 8 fasteners and then tighten the one closest to yourself. Don't fully tighten, but reserve perhaps 1or ½ final rotation for later. Then tighten the one directly opposite and again reserve the last rotation for later. Then you go back to one of the fasteners on the side (90 degrees from where you began) and tighten that one and then the one opposite. Continue around the lid, always cross tightening the fasteners. Then lastly you go around again and tighten the missing last bit, you left off, the first time round.
It might sound a little involved, but it really ensures that you get an even pressure on the lid and a lot lower risk of leaks 🙂 And this not only goes for pumps, but everywhere you need to tighten something round...

[Greenfig]

Hi Kaity, thank you for spending the time to respond to me in your previous video, much appreciated.
In relation to Cyan Bacteria, I used the black out method. Towels over the aquarium for 4 days to prevent all light and post blackout reduced my lighting duration haven't had it return in over a year. Good luck with it 😊

[sschario]

Wave maker to dislodge muck... I've not seen that before. Clever!

[rsmfernando]

Wow thanks for that concise tutorial on tank cleaning and valuable information regarding the looking-after filter media.

[brianp]

Good video Kaity, I love the FX6. It’s a beast and hard to clean but you don’t have to do it as often as smaller filters. I use the duel filters like you do and alternate cleaning. Does a great job! I enjoy you videos from the USA. Nice to see fellow fish keepers point of view from all over the world

[Ciggy]

Love the fact that you have taken the time to run through your process, and your tank looks great (I may well move into Mbuna's myself).
Im running a 500 ltr tank with the same FX6, but when I come to water changes I let the FX6 do most of the work for me. I have one long hose conected to the purge valve, this runs out into a garden water tank (we use the water on the garden plants). I then turn off the power, close the 'output' valve then turn the power back on, and run the filter until approx a quarter to a third of the water has been drained. Turn off the power and close the purge valve.
Changing the hose to a shorter one I place a 30 ltr plasteres bucket next to the filter, fill the bucket with 30 ltrs of treated water, adjust the output valve to just less than 50%, fully close the input valve, turn the power back on and the pump re-fills the tank for me, while I keep the bucket topped up.
Cleaning the filter (approx every 2 months), Im doing much the same as you, but I drain the filter using the big hose to outdoors. I cut large pond filter panels to create my internal sponges, but I sandwich a coarse and a medium together in all 6 spaces in the three trays with bio medium through the centre and pads top centre.
Refitting the filter, I simply re-attach the input hose and gravity fill the FX6 from the tank, and again re-fill the tank as above once the filter is full..
This filter certainly saves me a lot of humping about with buckets, syphones and steps!!!

[MrGsxr]

You have a great looking aquarium, very healthy. But hold on, 80% a week? Thats over kill to the 10x power! Its your tank and do what ya like. I've been in the hobby for over 50 years and have managed a successful Pet shop. I cant began to remember how many aquariums I have had. So I think I know my stuff on aquariums fresh and salt. 20% a week is more than enough. You have really good filtration on your aquarium. Unless you have some way to match the parameters of the new water first you are subjecting your fish to sudden changes and we all know thats not good for them. Good luck, love your videos. very pleasant to watch.

[elijahheyes]

As a beginner iv'e found this an extremely informative video. Your explanations are invaluable. Thanks you 🙏🏻🙋🏻‍♂

[mikeallison]

To stop the crud from the pipe from rushing into the tank when you turn the filter back on I place a net over the outlet for around 20 seconds, helps to capture most of it.

[abhishekbsws]

Never watched a tank maintenance video before..
With this much interest ❤️❤️

[kodibox-ictp]

Hi Kaity,

You should always clean your propeller if you have access to it. I find it helps keep the magnet free of slime and buildup allowing it to spin freely. This will also keep it from wearing out from debris causing impellor to work harder or get unbalanced from gunk. I few paper towels to clean outside of magnet and also the inside cavity it is seated in. As always your tanks look marvelous.

[justwho]

Hello Kaity this was a real pleasure to watch

[ryanramsaroop]

I love watching your videos. There's always something to learn. Thank you for sharing ❤️

[edyoung]

Great Job!!!! I wish I could have a tank like you do!!! Beautiful Tank!!! I just don't have the space! 20 years ago I had a a 75 Gallon and 2 55 Gallon tanks of African Cichlids! Love them!! They have personality's! Now I just have a small 29 gallon Fresh water planted community tank.