You’re experiencing FX Series Smart Pump technology hard at work! Once plugged in, the filter’s electronic priming sequence begins: the pump runs for 1 minute to fill the canister with water, then stops for 2 minutes to evacuate air, and then restarts. This sequence repeats itself every time the filter is unplugged, and every 12 hours to help evacuate air that may have become trapped inside the canister!

The water first moves to the bottom of the canister, and then rises to the top through the foam pads. It then passes back to the bottom of the canister through the media trays in the middle, before finally being returned to the aquarium.

Fluval ribbed hosing is beneficial for a number of reasons! It’s quick and easy to install, does not kink or collapse over time, is not influenced by temperature, maintains a wide, constant water flow area over the aquarium rim, and its aesthetics are not compromised over time. Most importantly, Fluval ribbed hosing provides superior clog resistance to help prevent loss of flow rate: third-party testing has shown that after only 4 months of operation, a 36% decrease in flow rate was observed with standard PVC hosing, whereas only a 1% reduction in flow rate was observed with Fluval ribbed hosing after 7 years of operation.