filter sock help please

rogergolf66

rogergolf66

im an addict lol
Everytime I changemy filter sock my skimmergoesnutsforhours. I washthem in washing machine turned inside out with a splash of bleach. Then I let them air dry for a few days and up to a week or so and skimmer always goes nuts.

What I have tried to do to fix.

I filled a 5 gallon bucket with rodi water and dunked it in the bucket over and over. The weird thing was the water started to make suds in the water.

Do u haveany ideas on how to get the skimmer to stop doing this? I'm starting to change filter sock less often because I want the skimmer to run but that's no good either. I really need to stop this problem.

Thanks for any help

Roger
 
Run you machine empty on hot first, then was the socks. Better yet get a cheap used washer dedicated to socks.
 
jk1138 said:
Run you machine empty on hot first, then was the socks. Better yet get a cheap used washer dedicated to socks.
Click to expand...

I will try to run the hot cycle first next time. I would love the extra washer already thought about it but just no room for it.

What about washing them a different way if the hot water dosnt work? Could I just turn inside out and play with hose high pressure and then store over night in bucket with some bleach then let dry. Would this make them clean enough?
 
I have the same filter sock problem. I have tried running the washer empty first on hot. I have tried the extra rinse. I have tried both at the same time. Both helped a little. The only thing I have found that works most of the time is to rinse the sock under hot running tap water and wring it out by hand really good before I put it in. I have learned to clean the skimmer cup before changing the sock just in case so it doesn't pump a bunch of skimmate into the water if it goes nuts. I check on it about 1/2 hour after changing the sock, and if it's full just empty it then it's fine until I change the sock again.
 
installman said:
I have the same filter sock problem. I have tried running the washer empty first on hot. I have tried the extra rinse. I have tried both at the same time. Both helped a little. The only thing I have found that works most of the time is to rinse the sock under hot running tap water and wring it out by hand really good before I put it in. I have learned to clean the skimmer cup before changing the sock just in case so it doesn't pump a bunch of skimmate into the water if it goes nuts. I check on it about 1/2 hour after changing the sock, and if it's full just empty it then it's fine until I change the sock again.
Click to expand...

Thanks for info. I think its a common problem there has to be a way to stop this once and for all.

I hhave tried empting cup first then changing sock and letting it over flow for a bit. But it over flows way to long. I would have to empty cupp 100 times. It never stops over flowing for hours.

Roger
 
I have a nice new washer and dryer and I'd never, ever consider putting a filter sock in there. I bombard a dirty sock with the "jet" setting on the hose nozzle and rinse much of the dirt away. Then I soak the sock in a gallon or two of tap water to which I've added about a 1/4 cup of bleach. After a couple of hours I rinse the sock in tap water, wring it out and hang it to dry. Once the sock is absolutely bone dry, the bleach will have completely evaporated and be ready for use. I have never noticed any change in skimmer operation when done this way.
 
I bombard a dirty sock with the "jet" setting on the hose nozzle and rinse much of the dirt away. Then I soak the sock in a gallon or two of tap water to which I've added about a 1/4 cup of bleach. After a couple of hours I rinse the sock in tap water, wring it out and hang it to dry. Once the sock is absolutely bone dry, the bleach will have completely evaporated and be ready for use
Click to expand...

Sounds like a good idea, maybe we are just making it more difficult than it has to be
 
EllieSuz said:
I have a nice new washer and dryer and I'd never, ever consider putting a filter sock in there. I bombard a dirty sock with the "jet" setting on the hose nozzle and rinse much of the dirt away. Then I soak the sock in a gallon or two of tap water to which I've added about a 1/4 cup of bleach. After a couple of hours I rinse the sock in tap water, wring it out and hang it to dry. Once the sock is absolutely bone dry, the bleach will have completely evaporated and be ready for use. I have never noticed any change in skimmer operation when done this way.
Click to expand...

Awesome I like to hear no issues with skimmer I think I will be tring that when I get home!!!!

Thanks
 
Wash them,then run extra rinse cycle,then put them in a bucket with some declorinator,then let air dry.should be good to go then.
 
I just wash them out really good in the hose using the jet setting. Then just let them air until dry. Never had problems and no soap to worry about.
 
i wash em out with the jet setting on the hose. run the rinse cycle on the washer , wash the socks with bleach, do a rinse cycle after then put them in the dryer and done
 
I soak my dirty socks in RO water & bleach for 24-48 hours. Then I hand rinse them in clean RO water (changing the water 3-4 times). Finally I air dry them until I can't smell any bleach. Most of the time my skimmer is ok and won't go crazy when I change a sock. Once in awhile it will go crazy though. I also started waiting 30 minutes or so to turn on the skimmer after a sock change and that seems to help.

For you guys that are rinsing with the hose or sink, are you not worried about the phosphates in the water staying in the sock? Do they evaporate like the bleach does? I bleached a purigen one time and rinsed it under the faucet and I could see it turning light brown in my hand so I know my water has tons of phosphates in it.
 
There was a thread about using hydrogen peroxide instead of bleach and a lot of benefits to doing so. You can buy sodium percarbonate as a dry crystal. I bought some sodium percarbonate to try this, but never got good instruction on how much to use to make a good solution of peroxide that is near the 3% you buy at the store. It dissolves into soda ash (Sodium Carbonate - KH) and hydrogen peroxide. It was linked to the last sock washing thread in the tbrc forum. Let's see if I can find it.
 
Ferguson1977 said:
I soak my dirty socks in RO water & bleach for 24-48 hours. Then I hand rinse them in clean RO water (changing the water 3-4 times). Finally I air dry them until I can't smell any bleach. Most of the time my skimmer is ok and won't go crazy when I change a sock. Once in awhile it will go crazy though. I also started waiting 30 minutes or so to turn on the skimmer after a sock change and that seems to help.

For you guys that are rinsing with the hose or sink, are you not worried about the phosphates in the water staying in the sock? Do they evaporate like the bleach does? I bleached a purigen one time and rinsed it under the faucet and I could see it turning light brown in my hand so I know my water has tons of phosphates in it.
Click to expand...

Hmmm well put.. Never put too much thought into that.. although I think I would rather have slightly high phosphates than bleach in my tank :hmm3:
 
I think one of the keys is making sure that the sock is dry after cleaning with bleach. The whole oxidation of the bleach is one of the keys IMO.
 
we currently pressure wash ours then wash with bleach and run a second rinse. Skimmers tend to go nuts for about 10 min afterwards. I'm looking into making peroxide using sodium percarbonate to keep it economical.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

sickman
Filtering out Chloramines in South East Florida
Replies
11
Views
213
griss
griss
T
I'm confused...
Replies
12
Views
599
wvned
wvned
E
Setting up 10g quarantine tank
Replies
9
Views
413
Dr. Reef
Dr. Reef
P
DIY Hang on back Sump Tank
Replies
14
Views
3K
kharmaguru
kharmaguru
S
Overskimming on New Protein Skimmer
Replies
2
Views
125
wvned
wvned
Back
Top