Sock over skimmer output ok?

[GrayJ]

My skimmer ouput in my sump is putting microbubbles into my tank. I put a 100 micron mesh sock over it and it really helped. Will this hurt anything?

 

[rguyler]

No, not so long as you exercise good sock maintenance. That is assuming the skimmer output just "dumps" into the sock and you don't have the sock tightly attached to the output. If the sock is tight on the output then it could really mess with your water level by impeding the outflow of the skimmer. If this is the case then I would consider changing it to loosely dump into the sock.

 

[GrayJ]

Yea, that's the way I got it. It dumps into a loose sock. Thanks.

 

[Aquarist007]

Filter socks should be changed out every second day. They have the ability to trap nitrates in all the other crap they filter out. Eventually these nitrates could be released back into the water column if you don't change the socks regularily

 

[jbird69]

if your skimmer output is a standpipe, they make foam cylinder/sleave that goes over it. I use it to quiet the splashing I was getting, but it would eat up microbubbles too

 

[sjm817]

Tunze feels that it is OK.

 

[swencel]

I've had mine that way for as long as I've had that type of skimmer. Never had an issue but you do have to watch and clean them regularly.

 

[Aquarist007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14893719#post14893719 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sjm817
Tunze feels that it is OK.

that's on the output of skimmed water and I have run the msx250 that way too.
But lets not confuse runninng skimmed water through a filter sock then running raw drainage. The need to change the filter sock would be less frequent in the case of the skimmer sock.

 

[sjm817]

Re: Sock over skimmer output ok?

Isn't a sock on a skimmer output what this thread is about?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14891901#post14891901 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GrayJ
My skimmer ouput in my sump is putting microbubbles into my tank. I put a 100 micron mesh sock over it and it really helped. Will this hurt anything?

 

[GrayJ]

Thanks again for all the input. We've been doing this about a year and I still feel clueless on some issues. Put a lot of time and hard work into the tank and I don't want to do anything to screw it up. I research everything on here before I do it, but I couldn't find any threads on using a sock on a skimmer. But duh! Low and behold, some manufactorers had all ready solved this problem. MSX didn't say anything about it in their users manual.

 

[rguyler]

Well, the "typical" way to get rid of bubbles is with sump baffles/weirs but there is nothing that says you can't use a sock if you are happy with the results. Assuming you have some other form of pre-filtration on your return lines to the sump, this sock shouldn't catch much debris so just using it for a bubble trap is just fine with the caveat I mentioned above. Check the sock for debris every 2 or 3 days at first and if there is still nothing in there then go to 5-7 days or whatever your regular maintenance schedule dictates.

 

[rguyler]

BTW, if you've only been doing this for a year then you are in the best place you can be...RC! Ask as many questions as you have. Some jerks will be jerks but most of us here will be happy to help in any way possible. Don't be afraid to mess something up or try something new. Even if it fails you will learn something through the experience. Hopefully the failure won't result in loss of livestock life but unfortunately that is part of the game.

 

[carlisimo1969]

I do it as you describe...homemade felt socks, attached loosely to the skimmer outflow. I try to change it every 2 days, if I miss a day, it plugs up and pulls off the pipe. Amazing how nasty they get!