Lifegard 24 media placement

[Eyeguy05]

I just recently set up a lifegard 24 and was wondering what media is best and what chamber to place it. It has 4 chambers and in the 1st one I will have an intake media basket, the tank came with bioballs that are currently in chamber one. Once I get the media basket I was going to place filter floss on top and the bioballs in the middle. 2nd chamber has the heater, 3rd chamber has a big sponge that came with the tank and I stuck a bag of ceramic rings from an established tank and 4th chamber has the return pump. Any and all input on what to use and where to place is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Azedenkae]

I just recently set up a lifegard 24 and was wondering what media is best and what chamber to place it. It has 4 chambers and in the 1st one I will have an intake media basket, the tank came with bioballs that are currently in chamber one. Once I get the media basket I was going to place filter floss on top and the bioballs in the middle. 2nd chamber has the heater, 3rd chamber has a big sponge that came with the tank and I stuck a bag of ceramic rings from an established tank and 4th chamber has the return pump. Any and all input on what to use and where to place is greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Do you have any other biomedia in the tank? I.e. live rock? If so, how much?

 

[Eyeguy05]

Do you have any other biomedia in the tank? I.e. live rock? If so, how much?

I have about 20lbs live rock and 20lbs reef sand.

 

[Azedenkae]

I have about 20lbs live rock and 20lbs reef sand.

Ah. In that case your filtration chamber don't really need much changing. The bioballs and ceramic rings will contribute somewhat to nitrification, but you have plenty of live rock and sand to do it. Filter floss is good for mechanical filtration, so that's cool too.

So yeah, no change needed, and long term if you really want to, you can also remove the bioballs and ceramic rings.

What is your primary method for nitrate removal at the moment? One thing that you can do if you want to is set up a mini-fuge or algae scrubber or something to help soak up nitrate, phosphate, etc. That's probably the only thing I would seriously consider as an upgrade.

 

[Eyeguy05]

Ah. In that case your filtration chamber don't really need much changing. The bioballs and ceramic rings will contribute somewhat to nitrification, but you have plenty of live rock and sand to do it. Filter floss is good for mechanical filtration, so that's cool too.

So yeah, no change needed, and long term if you really want to, you can also remove the bioballs and ceramic rings.

What is your primary method for nitrate removal at the moment? One thing that you can do if you want to is set up a mini-fuge or algae scrubber or something to help soak up nitrate, phosphate, etc. That's probably the only thing I would seriously consider as an upgrade.

Should I add chemi pure blue? And should I leave the foam sponge?
primary method for nitrate removal is water changes. I’ll look into the mini fuge and algae scrubber.

 

[Azedenkae]

Should I add chemi pure blue? And should I leave the foam sponge?
primary method for nitrate removal is water changes. I’ll look into the mini fuge and algae scrubber.

Yeah it may be a bit hard to do it effectively in a smaller tank, but if you can get a mini-fuge/algae scrubber going, it would really help with nutrient control.

I don't think Chemipure Blue is needed, at least not normally. Could always have some on hand just in case you need chemical filtration. Foam sponge yeah you can leave it if you so like.

To be honest for me, few things are 'compulsory' for the filtration chamber. Mechanical filtration is nice to clog up detritus and stuff that you can remove by wringing it all out. It's also nice to have your heater there rather than in your display. The rest of it is all just anything fancy you might want to try out.

I have a pseudo-algae scrubber in the back. Basically just a submerged light that grows whatever algae (slime, hair, etc.) that I regularly remove. Otherwise do have some rocks that ended up having quite a bit of life, so that is cool. Also three grocery store clams, but that's just a small experiment lol.