sarah_2891
New Member
- Messages
- 23
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Denver, CO
Running a Fluval 307 on a 55g and I've had the same stack for like two years now. Coarse sponge on the bottom, then a layer of floss, then ceramic rings, then Matrix on top. Water's clear, nitrates stay where they always stay. Fine.
But I keep seeing people argue you want the bio media FIRST so the water hits it before anything else, and other people say mechanical first is obvious because you don't want gunk coating your bio. I flipped mine once just to see, matrix on the bottom and sponge up top. Didn't notice a single difference. Clarity same, flow same, params same. Only thing that changed was the sponge got way nastier way faster, which I guess is the whole point of it being first.
So my honest take is that order is mostly internet religion unless your filter is way undersized for the tank. The thing that actually mattered for me was not stuffing every tray to the brim. First setup I did that and my output was basically a dripping faucet. Pulled half the media out and flow came right back.
What order do you all run? Anyone actually tested it side by side or is everyone just copying the same YouTube setup like I did