Take Out Filter Sock???

[markaren]

Should I remove the Filter Sock???

76G/40sump had a coral life air pump assist skimmer.

Replaced with a XP2000SSS .

I am thinking that I can reduce Nitrates substantially %wise and the New Skimmer will help reduce particles since I would also further slow the water turnover thus increasing skimming effect. I have a hard time deciding here if I am being logical. I have a three chamber sump. Inlet Chamber with bubble baffle/Mid Chamber with Skimmer (soon small bio reactor)/ bubble baffle with coarse black sponge and then the exit Chamber.

Note: Skimmer has been rotated 180 degrees and had only been in 12 hours in photo.

 

[GPB]

I'm no expert and won't go into any excrutiating mathematical detail about turnover and flow rates. I simply say no. Leave the sock. I use them. They clog fast and I change and clean them. I use 2/ week.

I think you have significantly upgraded your skimmer. That will help. I like the amount of debris the sock removes. It keeps sump cleaner and that organic particulate can't be good for system health.

 

[markaren]

They clog fast and I change and clean them....

...I think you have significantly upgraded your skimmer. That will help. I like the amount of debris the sock removes....

My wrestling thoughts exactly.

On one hand ...nitrate incubator

One the other ...particle remover

I clean it every 3 days and that is because it needs cleaning. I think the Yellow Spotted Sand Sifter is part of the culprit too. I just added an MP40Wes and another 40Wes after it is repaired , also. They have helped ALOT in cleaning up the tank. I can not used them at 100% together, but I had to go with 40wes do too the 1/2 glass thickness. I brought the pwer heads up because they added some short term particles.

My Nitrate hovers high at 10ppm
My Phosphate high at 0.06ppm
Calcium at 460

 

[laf-reef]

Not only keep the sock, get a few more. It sounds like you have one sock and you clean it every three days. While you're cleaning the sock the return water from the tank is allowed to dump all that gunk you see on the bottom of the sump. If you have at least 2 socks you can have one clean and ready to go when the active sock needs cleaning. If you always have a sock there should be no need for the black sponge - the sock material is finer than the "coarse black sponge".

Clean the bottom of the sump, get a few more socks, remove the black sponge, and enjoy your tank.

 

[markaren]

Hmmm, good idea. They are expensive buggers, but as it is I have to shut down to prevent exactly what you describe.

What is the best way to clean one. I turn it inside out and put a hand held shower head inside to blow it clean. It never gets perfectly clean this way.

My sump is FILTHY. I thought it would be smart to put shells and some sand in there. WRONG. The other day when I took that Picture I removed as much of the sand as I could. Now I have to Vac with my next water change Monday and remove everything..

 

[laf-reef]

I have ten filter socks between 2 tanks. I keep them in an old salt bucket when dirty. When I'm down to the last 2 being clean I turn the dirties inside out and put them in the washing machine on the "heavy load" setting WITHOUT soap. I then hang the clean socks in the fish room until needed.

 

[smatter]

I have rinsed a lot of felt in my day and my felt-rinsing days are over. Sponges too for that matter. I am just not a fan of capturing particulate matter in a high flow area. Cryptic life proliferates without heavy mechanical filtration and IMO has much more of a positive impact on the health of the system. Just siphon the detritus where it settles.

Sent from my DROID3 using Tapatalk 2

 

[markaren]

Since No sock is the other alternative...and I do want input from both user experiences.

I must guess that sediment has been collecting on top of my dirty sump and I never noticed. So when I do my water changes I always turn system off and empty the sump and then re-fill sump. I suppose this is the logical time to suck the sump clean?

Is that what people do that have no sock?

 

[sirreal63]

Mark, I have never run a sock, not that there is anything wrong with it, but I am old school in a few things and was taught not to use mechanical filtration with a reef. I have very high in tank flow and very slow tank to sump turnover, detritus settles in the sump and I clean it out with water changes. Socks can filter out food that could be eaten by the corals and sponges. Leftover food deteriorates quickly and that incoming rush of water can also help pulverize whatever has been caught in the sock, helping to break it down quicker, this is why some people switch them out daily. All of those critters in the sump help break down detritus and they probably do not do that as well inside a sock. Balancing food with nutrient levels is always a balancing act, if you are happy with them and it is working, then use them, but I do think it is important to change them out very frequently.

 

[CHSUB]

I have always used some form of mechancal filtration. however, in sept. i removed my filter pads (socks) and have seen no change. only that my skimmer works better!

 

[Hamsternuts]

I had filter socks on up until about 3-4 months ago. I was just getting tired of constantly washing them out. After they came off, I noticed increased organic goo at the bottom of the sump, my chaeto ball grows significantly faster, my gfo/carbon filters clogged faster and water clarity seemed about the same. I also noticed lower nitrates and had to stop carbon dosing. I'm guessing thats because the chaeto grows fater.

I'll leave them off for now. I like it better without them on.

 

[Curious George]

I don't run a sock. I don't see the point of changing out filter socks when the skimmer will save me the trouble by depositing the detritus into the filter cup. I stopped using them in my sump long ago.

 

[salty child 79]

I've gone with and without and it seems as though visual clarity is little better with the sock (when it's clean!). For those that think running skimmer takes the place of a sock..... What's the largest size particle a skimmer can remove? Over 200 microns?

 

[Fishamatank]

I used to change 3-4 times a week and would run the dirty ones through the washing machine with bleach.
They really need to be changed every 2 days at least, and then they are a major pain.
I got tired of it and now I vacuum the sump every 3rd or 4th water change and run no sock. Not worth the effort.

 

[Voxboy]

I stopped using them about six months ago. I have a 1300gph powerhead in my sump.....the skimmer section. My skimmer (reef octo) skims twice what it used too.

 

[Al]

Here's an device you could plumb inline before the sump: http://www.ntotank.com/15gafudrcobo.html . Detritus will collect in it, and just opening the cap at the bottom will let the detritus drain out. Much easier than having to siphon around the equipment in the sump. I've never used it myself, but Walter Adey used these on his big Algal Turf Scrubber systems. For home systems, you could build something smaller out of PVC.

 

[SantaMonica]

Or you could just try to re-circulate all waste back to the corals so they can eat it, since that is a large part of what they eat.

 

[mhucasey]

I will add to the no-sock side - I took all mechanical filtration out a long time ago and saw immediate improvements, especially in nitrate. Particles will skim out, settle, or be eaten, and you wont be capturing and killing generations of planktonic life like coepepods.

 

[Reefnut2010]

I stopped using them for months and my sump got filthy! Now they are back on. I prefer to clean socks not the dump.

 

[markaren]

I am going to guess without research that the feather dusters I have by the dozens live on plankton?