# How to setup the media trays for sunsun 303b



## goodbytes (Aug 18, 2014)

This guy has the right idea. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szrUlHTW5Zo


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## fishkeeper01 (Oct 2, 2012)

goodbytes said:


> This guy has the right idea.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szrUlHTW5Zo


This was one of the videos I came across in trying to answer my question. So basically you're saying to go with two baskets of biological filtration and 1 basket of mechanical?


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## PlantedRich (Jul 21, 2010)

How and what you use depends on how and what the filter is used to do. It is pretty standard to run the water flow through some course media and then smaller media before passing it off to the bio-media. that allows the bio to stay cleaner, longer as it doesn't do the straining job in the dirty water. clean it first then bio. 
but then how you want to use the filter is what determine what to put in. Do you need more bio as you find trouble keeping the ammonia processed? Add more bio than mechanical. But if it is too make the water look cleaner, you may want to leave out the bio and use all mechanical like sponge and then filter floss. 
I think of "why" I am adding the filter and then think of "what and how". Canisters are really great for flexible use.


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## goodbytes (Aug 18, 2014)

PlantedRich said:


> How and what you use depends on how and what the filter is used to do. It is pretty standard to run the water flow through some course media and then smaller media before passing it off to the bio-media. that allows the bio to stay cleaner, longer as it doesn't do the straining job in the dirty water.


He's absolutely right, there's no one way to set it up and you can adjust it based on your needs. I posted the video to hopefully give you some some ideas, but while two baskets of bio suit his needs for whatever he was doing its certainly not necessary. Your needs might be completely different. I like the idea of ceramic rings in the bottom tray and that's what I do with my SunSun to strain some of the muck and hopefully have it not gum up my coarse media. You've got the right idea about putting the mechanical media before the bio and Purigen. The pads that come with the SunSun aren't great but they'll do. In my 302 I have ceramic rings on bottom, bonded filter pads with poly quilt batting sheets on top in the middle, and a single sheet of batting beneath my bio which I have in a mesh bag for easy removal.


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