Filter socks good or bad?

OK,
I have a question......I am using socks as well & I am changing them out every week when I do my water changes. Question is, how long does it usually take for organics to break down into nitrates? I have @ 15ppm nitrates & want to lower that number. Is it possible that the filter socks need to be changed more often?
ALL INPUT HERE IS GOOD!
:beer:
 
I would imagine the stuff starts to break down as soon as it is caught. You may want to try changing eveyr other day and see how it affects your nitrates.
 
Re: Filter socks good or bad?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10637890#post10637890 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dover101
[BI have noticed that the filter is usually light brown in color after 1-2 days,upon further inspection I have noticed many different and small creatures caught inside sock ,microfauna or plankton I hope.Do you think the benefits of this filter sock filtering food and detrius is better than the unwanted removal of these organisms? [/B]
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hey fellas not trying to hijack this thread (if it seems that way just point me out and i will post a separate thread)...

i have been contemplating this same issue
in my 125 mixed reef... i was told by the LFS that NO SPONGES/sox/nothing (should be used) blocking the flow throughout the system and to let the skimmer/DSB do the work removing stuff etc.... let the particles 'flow' thr system... food for corals etc etc

basically i have accumulation of detritus in my DSB that has my phosphates up at .048 which i have not been able to get down even w/adding 50GAL fuge w/ macro-chaeto (i have never been able to read nitrates in my system iow always zero... but phosph on other hand...)... this is result of not having enuff flow for the first 3-5 mos the system was set up (i am ordering a phosban reactor based on JETCATS thread!)

which brings me to (hijacking) this thread...
:rolleyes:

i have 2 filter sox that came w/ one of my sumps when i purchased it... but have never used them... and w/ the thinking that they would take out too much of the 'good stuff' i opted not to add them to the system...

now w/ detritus build up in my DSB and now accumulating in the DSB of the fuge i set up (i have now started 'vacuming' it out wherever i see it in system)... i am thinking its time to add the filter sox... but i still dont know mainly bec i dont want to disturb the 'pod' population and the free floating 'good stuff' throughout the system...

i have been surprised at the number of people who freely use them w/o any thought about the good critters etc that the sox would be removing.

do the benefits far outway the negatives (assuming they are changed on a regular basis)

what about all the 'good stuff' that is supposed to be floating around feeding the corals, pods etc

or is the sock more for the established tank where these people are less concerned w/ the fauna issues ???

thank and regards
 
Well,
I still have not gotten the answer that I was hoping for but, I use socks & have for a long time. When I change them out I empty the pods that were caught by the socks back into my tank. The fish & corals will eat them right away if they are caught.
:beer:
 
Rockit

the trapped debris start breaking down fairly quickly, with that said i change mine every day to every other day and take them off during my nightly feedings (not during the daily feedings) and my NO3 levels in my reefs stay less then 5ppm and in most cases near undetectable with a PinPoint NO3 monitor.

Ronan

I've used socks on the 180 from the GFO thread and when i drained it the other day the last 1/2" of water had a few gazillion pods in it and as i pulled rocks out the bottoms of them looked like you kicked a fire ant bed there were so many pods kicking/crawling around on them. that tank also had two spawning mandarins in it that were consuming more then their share of pods. between the socks and the Mandy's the pods still had an overwhelming population. it would therefore be my suggestion based on my personal experience that the minimal amount of micro funa that gets trapped in filter socks is so minuscule that the benefits far outweigh the loss of those very few losses.

29872mandy1.jpg
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10651181#post10651181 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JetCat USA
Rockit


Ronan

I've used socks on the 180 from the GFO thread and when i drained it the other day the last 1/2" of water had a few gazillion pods in it and as i pulled rocks out the bottoms of them looked like you kicked a fire ant bed there were so many pods kicking/crawling around on them. that tank also had two spawning mandarins in it that were consuming more then their share of pods. between the socks and the Mandy's the pods still had an overwhelming population. it would therefore be my suggestion based on my personal experience that the minimal amount of micro funa that gets trapped in filter socks is so minuscule that the benefits far outweigh the loss of those very few losses.

29872mandy1.jpg
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JetCat

thanks for the reply!
those mandarins look like they should be put on a diet! lol... your tank sounds like it is much more established then mine...

so for right now
i like the idea of using one occasionally... like perhaps at the time of hoh change... blow off some detritus from the rock and from around corners in the tank let it all go into the sock... perhaps run it for a little til tank clears up then remove it...

in the long run
i think i am definitely going to consider using one full time... might even just start incorporating it slowly... use it for few days at time etc

thanks again and regards!

ps that was a great post on the gfo... you got my vote on that one!:beer:
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10653135#post10653135 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ronan021

ps that was a great post on the gfo... you got my vote on that one!:beer:
Click to expand...

Thanks, need all the votes it can get.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10653135#post10653135 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Ronan021
JetCat
so for right now
i like the idea of using one occasionally... like perhaps at the time of hoh change... blow off some detritus from the rock and from around corners in the tank let it all go into the sock... perhaps run it for a little til tank clears up then remove it... :beer:
Click to expand...

Exactly. Install the sock, blow detritis with baster or power head, let it skim off, repeat until happy, then perform H2O change. Works great!!
 
I love to run without a sock I get detritus in my cheato. It usually isn't too bad but I rearranged my rockwork a few weeks back and I am still blowing tons of it. I suspect I will have to run socks for quite a while to get that all stabalized.
 
I believe there are two disadvantages of using filter socks.

1)Lots of flow goes through the filter sock in just one hour and when detritus traps in it, due to the pressure they get mixed into the water before you clean the filter sock.

2) Detritus and planktons get trapped in the filter sock. Although this is the purpose of filter socks, detritus is used by many organisms like corals, anemones, tube worms, fish, clams, etc. Since its quite impossible to provide a tank with enough micro foods all the time, at least I prefer the existing ones to stay and not taken away by a filter sock.

I dont think floating detritus is a problem for a healthy reef tank, since they are used by filter feeders.
 
I don't want to hijack this thread either, but what about for a new system say 3-5 weeks old with a standard LFS sump with built-in sock holders/refugium and compartment for sponge and another for the return/skimmer?

Another reefer recommended perhaps removing all sponge media and the socks until the tank is established. In this case, we're talking about a fairly new 70 gallion reef. My nitrates are around 15 -- I'd like to see them at zero.

Maybe someone should post a poll?
 
I think I will try to rinse out any pods in my filter socks when changing every 2-3 days.The tank seems to stay much cleaner and clear with the use of the socks vs. without.
 
I agree 100% with Dover101. I do my best to save teh pods when I do my cleaning, but with my great water conditions, I wouldn't want to go without using socks!!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10661166#post10661166 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ozadars
I believe there are two disadvantages of using filter socks.

1)Lots of flow goes through the filter sock in just one hour and when detritus traps in it, due to the pressure they get mixed into the water before you clean the filter sock.

2) Detritus and planktons get trapped in the filter sock. Although this is the purpose of filter socks, detritus is used by many organisms like corals, anemones, tube worms, fish, clams, etc. Since its quite impossible to provide a tank with enough micro foods all the time, at least I prefer the existing ones to stay and not taken away by a filter sock.

I dont think floating detritus is a problem for a healthy reef tank, since they are used by filter feeders.
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I would agree that some good stuff does get caught, but if you think that the socks remove all or most of the detritus I think you may be worng. Take your hand or a powerhead and make some waves go across the rocks and corals in your tank and look at how much detritus gets kicked up. When you do feedings, you can do this with your pumps off and then it will feed your corals when you feed your fish whatever you feed them. Then when you turn your pumps back on the socks will catch whatever garbage is in the water column.

Nothing personal just my 2 cents. :smokin:
 
I have several tanks. Some of the tanks used to have mechanical filters in place and others did not. I saw NO difference in water clarity. That being said, the tanks WITHOUT the socks I always had HUGE populations of feather dusters come out of nowhere and thrive in the tank. The ones with the filters had much less (if any) feather dusters.

But the main point is I saw no difference in the clarity of water with and without the mech. filters. I have since removed all the filters except for one tank that uses bioballs as the main biological filter.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10668846#post10668846 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by honda2sk
I have several tanks. Some of the tanks used to have mechanical filters in place and others did not. I saw NO difference in water clarity. That being said, the tanks WITHOUT the socks I always had HUGE populations of feather dusters come out of nowhere and thrive in the tank. The ones with the filters had much less (if any) feather dusters.
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there are many things that contribute to the proliferation of the small feather dusters, the sock i can assure you wasn't the deciding factor. as mentioned earlier in this thread i had socks on the 180g tank that was the subject of the GFO/PO4 test and this is a pic from that tank.....

61xraj8.jpg


the rock work was even more so covered with them.
 
Here is my experience:

I had my newly established 120 without filter socks for three months. I have an ev180 on one side of the sump, a refugium with Chaeto and miracle mud on the other and a phosban reactor in the middle return section.

The water was not as clear as it could be, and there was a little nuisance algae growth on the rocks/in the sand bed. There is a large enough"cleanup crew" in the tank, as well as two tangs.

A few weeks ago I added a 7 inch filter sock/bracket from Dr Foster/Smith on the skimmer side of the sump. The refugium side is sockless.

The water is now totally clear, and the algae growth has receded.

I do have to change the sock every three days, when the water level rises in the sock to almost overflowing. It only takes a minute to swap the socks, and the dirty one goes into the wash machin on rinse/spin cycle two or three times until it is white again. Then hang to air dry.

I have thought about adding a 4 inch sock to the refugium side, to control dirt build up in the miracle mud. We'll see. . .

I have to clean to orp probe and check on the skimmer and add two part solution every few days so taking a minute to swap socks really is not an inconvenience. Everything else is automated and I have not done water changes, so I don't feel like the maintenence is a chore.
 
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