Filter sock issue

[grafspee1217]

Hi folks,
I have an issue with my reef tank that I can't seem to figure out. My filter sock overflows a day after replacing it. The sock is located in the sump and it doesnt appear dirty. I have found that the sock gets slimed for lack of a better word and doesnt allow the water to flow through it. It takes forever to drain when I pull it out to replaced it and you can see a gelatinous slime covering it. If I scrape it off it will flow water for a few hours then slime up again. Any ideas?

 

[thegrun]

Are you using bio-pellets or carbon dosing? It sounds like a bacterial issue. Worse case run the tank without socks. I used to use filter socks all the time, I only use them now when I'm disturbing the sand bed or flushing detritus off the rocks, truthfully if anything my corals look better since I stopped using them regularly.

 

[FirstContact]

If you have a lot of soft or lps corals, the slime might be from them if they got irritated. Try running some carbon.

 

[grafspee1217]

I don't use bio pellets or carbon dosing.

 

[flananuts]

How new is the tank? What kind of skimmer are you running? Do you run a light on your sump for a fuge? The slime thing seems odd unless it's some sort of algae. I get about 4 days now with my Red Sea socks but in the beginning it was less


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[JammyBirch]

Are you using bio-pellets or carbon dosing? It sounds like a bacterial issue. Worse case run the tank without socks. I used to use filter socks all the time, I only use them now when I'm disturbing the sand bed or flushing detritus off the rocks, truthfully if anything my corals look better since I stopped using them regularly.

+1

I am not a fan of socks or sponges, in fact i took the sponge filter out of my Eheim return pump because it was getting loaded up so bad to the point of restricting flow and spiking nitrates.

Pull the sock and see what happens. What are your nitrates at right now? if they are higher than you want a water change is in order too.

 

[Bent]

Sounds bacterial to me as well.

My suggestion is to remove them for a few months to allow that bacteria to colonize something else and then try it again.

 

[grafspee1217]

The tank has been running for several years. I do run a light on the fuge with chaeto. Nitrates are near zero. If the corals are causing it then I would expect the slime to be on everything else. This has happened before then it eventually goes away. It just drives me nuts when it does happen.