Filter socks - yes or no?

[EDJFA]

How many of you use filter socks? I don't. For every person who uses them it seems like there are twice as many who don't. So, I've just never gotten around to using them.

I get a lot of detritus building up in my sump and on my rocks and was thinking about adding some mechanical filtration to see if it would help. I can suck it all out during water changes, but I can help but think that all of that stuff sitting there decomposing isn't helping the phosphate levels in my tank.

Looking for opinions.

 

[Nexenn]

I used to use them for years and stopped. I think if you have a bubble issue in a sump where they are making it back to your return and you have no other solution than they can be used. Otherwise i think its more work, more money and more wasted time changing them out frequently and cleaning them for minimal to no gain. I never saw a change with or without them but they clogged up twice a week on me and stunk up the washing machine which my wife didnt care for. Im glad i stopped using them. On that note i have like 8 four inch ones id sell cheap if anyone wants them. They are used but in decent condition

 

[Lance A. Lot]

How often do you want to be messing around in the sump? If its every couple of days then sure filter socks are a great way to remove gunk as long as you clean them regularly. If you let them sit there for weeks then I wouldn't bother using them.

 

[Pife]

I have three on my system and I think they work great. Mine are very easily accessible and only have to be changed once every 7 to 10 days.

 

[South City]

I use them. I find that they filter out some of the bigger particles from the water column and help the tank look a bit clearer. To me, they also seem to slow the build up of detritus in the sump which means I don't have to clean that out as frequently.

Mine fills up about every 7 days and begins to overflow and so I then swap it out with a clean one. My cleaning process involves dropping the dirty one into a bucket of bleach water and letting it soak for a few days. I can run about 6 or 7 socks through the same bucket of bleach water before it needs to be replaced. After sitting in the bleach water for a few days, I take it out and rinse it by hand under the utility sink faucet for about 30 seconds. At that point, the sock is so white and clean that it looks nearly new. I then drop it into a bucket of clean RO water for a few days to rinse away any of the bleach or city water contaminants. I then hang it on a piece of string over top of the utility sink where it air dries for a few days and is ready to swap in when the other sock gets dirty.

In case I get lazy and forget to move them around between buckets, I have a few extra socks that I can work into the rotation. I'd say the whole process of swapping the socks and cleaning the dirty one takes about 3 to 5 minutes a week.

Add about 5 minutes onto the weekly process if I feel guilty about sending a few dozen pods to their death and take the time to fish them out of the sock before it goes into the bleach water.

 

[mpcart]

I don't use them. Too much hassle for me.

-Mike

 

[Bent]

I had some and got tired of messing with them. The only time I use them now is when I know I'm going to make a mess. Blowing off rocks or doing water changes and stirring up the sand bed etc. I take them off the next day.

 

[Scubareefman]

I started using them just before the swap, I got sick of changing them out and have stopped already , however they did solve my micro bubble problem.

cheers, Tom

 

[kegogut]

I use them but they do have to be changed twice a week and I'm getting lazy about changing them so I'll prolly just pull them and go without.

 

[EDJFA]

I had some and got tired of messing with them. The only time I use them now is when I know I'm going to make a mess. Blowing off rocks or doing water changes and stirring up the sand bed etc. I take them off the next day.

After spending quite a bit of time reading various threads about filter socks, I think this is more what I'm concerned about than the day to day use of them. It's what got me thinking about them to begin with because I was feeding with a turkey baster and blew a stream of water at one of my rocks that sits right under the powerhead and saw this cloud of detritus blow off the rock. It was pretty gross. Then I realized that all of that gunk was going to end up either back on my rocks or in my sump.

It also reminded me that I need to get a better clean up crew.

 

[South City]

I think what it comes down to is whether it is worth the extra work for you. If they are changed out regularly, they do offer a benefit to any tank. How much they help is really dependent though upon your tanks individual characteristics. Some setups will benefit more than others.

Then you just have to ask yourself if it's worth x minutes a week of extra work for you for what you are gaining in the process.

For me, the answer was yes. It was worth about 3 to 5 minutes a week to remove all the gunk from my system that the filter socks take out. For others, perhaps with fewer benefits gained and more time required, the answer would be no.