What to stock fluval trays with for reef tank

[reb]

I have a 65 gallon reef tank with 2 fluval 306 filters. Each filter has 3 trays. Fluval recommends the top tray be used for carbon, middle tray for ceramic rings, and bottom tray for their bio foam filter. A friend of mine told me today that I should eliminate the ceramic rings since they are nitrate farms, and that I should look at using purigen, and gfo since I found out my phosphates are high.
Should I get rid of the ceramic rings?
Should I use purigen and gfo at the same time?
Should I use carbon at all if I switch to purigen and gfo?
Which trays should each go into?
And should I do this in one filter and something else in the other filter, or the same thing in both filters?
Thanks

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Reb http:///t/396433/what-to-stock-fluval-trays-with-for-reef-tank#post_3532265
I have a 65 gallon reef tank with 2 fluval 306 filters. Each filter has 3 trays. Fluval recommends the top tray be used for carbon, middle tray for ceramic rings, and bottom tray for their bio foam filter. A friend of mine told me today that I should eliminate the ceramic rings since they are nitrate farms, and that I should look at using purigen, and gfo since I found out my phosphates are high.
Should I get rid of the ceramic rings?
Should I use purigen and gfo at the same time?
Should I use carbon at all if I switch to purigen and gfo?
Which trays should each go into?
And should I do this in one filter and something else in the other filter, or the same thing in both filters?
Thanks


Hi,

The answer to your question is...anything you want, and in any order you want. That's the beauty of canister filters. Canisters are not nitrate factories unless you don't maintain them. I used the white bio beads for years and years on my reef without a single problem.

That being said, the GFO is designed to go into a reactor, which has water in and out very slow to remove phosphates, a canister pumps the water way too fast to be used as a reactor. So no GFO in any basket. The rings are not really needed, but it won't hurt anything....just remember to rinse them in saltwater not freshwater, to clean them up. I always ran carbon because corals use chemical warfare to fight each other, and the carbon keeps the toxins away. Sponge material (foam filter material) or floss is another constant I always used...to filter and collect the big stuff.

Purigen is also pretty good, but not as good as a phosphate reactor would do. Two Little Fishes brand make an awesome phosphate reactor, Bulk Reef Supply does as well.