Lifegard Fluidized Bed Filter

The media could not be loaded.  I own 3... 2 of them are in the sump of one of my larger freshwater tanks that I keep a very large 30"+ inch long Payara (Hydrolycus armatus)... and are kept working with a single Siccesubmersible pump and have never been backwash or cleaned in ANY way for about 2 years now and they work great still. I know that if I hadn't kept them in my trickle filter sump that they would leak a little bit. I have no problem with them because of my forethought on the water leaks that have been described by misc. owners of this sand filter. Overall they are EXCEPTIONAL at holding the biological load even and broken down so there aren't any spikes in the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate that are enough to be harmful to my Payara. I have fed it large size whole fish up to 13"+ inches in length that it swallows whole and just when you think 3 days later that the Payara had finished the digestion process of the large meal, it would regurgitate the 75% digested fish's skeleton, fins, & muscle into the tank overnight and I feel it was bad enough fouling on the water quality that it probably should have killed the Payara without a doubt if I had not had these sand filters running in my wet/dry filter. They are cheap insurance for the things I have done that I knew better than to do... these filters help but are NOT a substitute for large frequent water changes on your aquarium.So just remember; yes they do leak... with a little bit of external gluing they will be better, but still will probably need to be in a sump and NOT hung on your aquarium or used as a stand alone without a water catching device surrounding the filter.These are my only option that I have found available for purchase which will be small enough that I can get them to fit inside my sump. These sand filters are NOT my first choice... maybe I need to design and build my own out of plexiglass or acrylic with a larger amount of sand in the fluidized bed filter...Just remember*If you're gonna be dumb... then your filter's gotta be tough!!!

I've read a lot about Fluid Bed Filters, they are supposed to be the most efficient filter type available. With that in mind, I purchased this Lifeguard filter. The filter is a nice size, although once you connect all of the hoses, it takes up a lot of room under the tank. It is designed to be versatile, allowing you to connect it in several configurations depending on your set-up and how you want to use it. I connected it in-line with one of my canister filters on my 120 gallon Discus tank, as they produce a lot of waste and I am hoping this will help keep the Ammonia and Nitrites under control. It's too soon to tell how well it work because it will take several weeks for it to cycle. After making all the connections and turning the system on, I found several of the fittings leaked. Most notable was the top adjustment valve. This valve is where you charge the unit with sand, and adjust the flow rate. It has an O-Ring seal, and is held in place with a screw. It took awhile messing with it to get the leak to stop. Every time I would try to adjust the flow, it would start leaking again. I finally just set it for full flow, and added an in-line ball-valve for flow adjustment. the other fittings were easier to fix, but it was still frustrating that they were not better designed. I can see now why Fluid Bed filters aren't more popular.

I read a lot of these leak an I don’t see how. Mine has been going strong and it was sealed very well. Easy to set up.

The media could not be loaded.  I've only had to buy this because my old one got crushed when we moved. This is the ideal biological filter enhancement when you don't have a lot of space (hang-on configuration like I did) or want to add 200 sq ft of biological filtration capacity to your sump. When you have a large bio-load, you want a biological filter that will easily accommodate it after it's been properly cycled. I don't recommend this as a primary filter. It is only good as an enhancement to your current setup. I have mine set up on a bypass feed from the outlet of my SunSun 404b https://amzn.to/3fd1e5B. Search for my name if you want a how-to for assembly and installation of this filter.

I've had three of these, two leaked brand new out of the box and the third had the bottom come right off of it after being used for about a year. It's a real shame they have not quality control for this product.***************UPDATE 3/6/2014***************I purchased a replacement, Lifegard wouldn't make right on the defective units because it was an older model even though they were never used until now. New Lifegard FB300 came with a slight design difference which may have corrected the LEAKING GLUED TOGETHER BOTTOM PLATE. However, I cannot test the unit I purchased as it came missing parts. Lifegard is mailing the missing parts out but it will a week or more before I can use the product I had priority shipped. In total I am out about $250, had one replacement previously and 3 major leaks. Lucky for me my tanks weren't set up where a leak could cause damage to floors/cielings/carpet and I was around to catch the leaking early.I call no joy on the Lifegard Fluidized Beds and thier customer service lacking in compasion for known issues with their products.

Leaks out of places you would not think would leak would not buy for the price the more I sealed the worse it got

The media could not be loaded.  I have this on a 60 gallon as a secondary filter to my Fluval 407 cannister filter. Easy to set up. Works great for the biological portion of my filtration. Only strong bacteria grow due to the sand shifting and constantly moving. Very quiet. I would recommend this product to anyone thinking of a secondary filter option.

The cheapest low grade plastics used. The main chamber is not even a type of clear acrylic as you’d expect. It’s some kind of chewy plastic recycled bottle that’s not fully clear and slightly lumpy and wavy. The blue top and bottom pieces are not much better. The most brittle amd weak plastic you will ever encounter. Plus the unit leaks once it’s hooked up. What a waste of time. Do not trust this thing in your house.