Filter sock or not to filter sock
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URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=82310
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Topic: Filter sock or not to filter sock
Posted By: Boxfish
Subject: Filter sock or not to filter sock
Date Posted: March 30 2017 at 9:17pm
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Thoughts on this. Do you use socks or not and why. I use them now nd its always just change change change, yea Im lazy. Do we need them? |
Replies:
Posted By: Krazie4Acans
Date Posted: March 30 2017 at 10:18pm
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They polish the water and keep detritus from deposited and building up in your sump. They also pull excess food and debris from the water before they break down and potentially increase nitrates. I run them but have enough that I don't have to change them but every 3rd day. I know people that don't run them and do fine as well. If I choose not to run them it's easy enough to just remove them as well. ------------- My ocean. 90g (yup, won it!), 40g, 28g, & 10g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63568&title=krazies-nano-paradise" rel="nofollow - Tank Thread: |
Posted By: Boxfish
Date Posted: March 30 2017 at 10:48pm
| Oh I've been running them for years. I'm just tired of it 😆 lazy I guess and I don't change them when I should do is probably like running with out them. |
Posted By: kevski
Date Posted: March 30 2017 at 11:50pm
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Not sure why I'm so different?? I use 1 of the 7"!diam socks on my 100 g. I change mine out when the water in the sock starts rising above the water ilevel of the chamber it's sitting in. That is about every 7 - 10 days. I don't mind it at that frequency. I use a Mag 9.5 return pump running fully open, so a pretty decent flow through the sock. ------------- 100 G Mixed Reef / AI Hydra 52 HD-T5 Hybrid |
Posted By: Krazie4Acans
Date Posted: March 31 2017 at 6:08am
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Ya I get tired of changing them as well. I have an apex on my tank and I added some float switches to my sump so that i get nagging emails when I don't change them often enough. My sump holds 3 - 4" short socks and I have to change them every third day. I run a dct-12000 return pump running at 100% and my flow sensor tells me that I'm getting ~700gph to my tank and through my sump. You would think it would be more than that on a pump rated at double that but it's not. I think people would be surprised at how little flow they are getting from their return pumps. ------------- My ocean. 90g (yup, won it!), 40g, 28g, & 10g Systems PADI Advanced Open Water http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=63568&title=krazies-nano-paradise" rel="nofollow - Tank Thread: |
Posted By: love2skiutah
Date Posted: March 31 2017 at 6:18am
| I use 2- 7 inch socks and change them 2-3 times a week. It helps keep my equipment clean and like Krazie said, it helps a lot on detritus build up in the sump. I do, however HATE washing them, so the last 6 months, I just started throwing them away and buying them in bulk. |
Posted By: kevin.st
Date Posted: March 31 2017 at 7:21am
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With so many things in this hobby, I'm not sure if it matters. I've seen killer tanks with/without filter socks. I guess the question is-do you mind cleaning your sump every now and then?
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Posted By: Marcoss
Date Posted: March 31 2017 at 8:07am
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I do not run any socks on any of my systems simply because I do not want to deal with cleaning them. Once a month I siphon out any ditritus from my sump and call it good. ------------- RedSea Max S400 - 90G Rimless Frag Tanks x2 - 185 Lookdown Bin |
Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: March 31 2017 at 9:27am
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I love them, just be sure to change them every couple days. Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: phys
Date Posted: March 31 2017 at 4:20pm
| If the area around the socks are hard to clean detritus from, i'd say keep them. I've seen a few sump designs that make it hard to clean that particular chamber. They help keep the big stuff from accumulating like was said earlier but also helps get the stuff that would accumulate around your skimmer that wouldn't normally be picked up by it. If you change them often enough, it helps keep the phosphates and nitrates in check a little easier by removing the crud that decays into these. If you don't, they become another place for the crud to decay. Also, I've noticed when the detritus collects for a long time in your sump and you can see a significant layer, people start having problems with their nitrates and phosphates and then start having issues with their corals and fish. So having them keeps this to a minimum. |
Posted By: Boxfish
Date Posted: March 31 2017 at 5:25pm
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Well Im going to try with out them for a time and see. I read a post somewhere where a guy put a decent sized pump in his sump and every night at 10pm it turned on for 10 minutes and blew everything up so it flows back into the tank and doesnt stay at the bottom of the sump. |
Posted By: Reefer4Ever
Date Posted: March 31 2017 at 10:22pm
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I run 100 micron socks and prefer the crystal clear water with no floaties, personal preference I'm sure but having control over nutrients building up in the sump is also another reason I run socks. ------------- 90 gal reef w/refugium 24 gal softie tank 11 gal nano anemone tank 5 gal fresh water |
Posted By: phys
Date Posted: April 01 2017 at 1:40am
| That is one idea but just be aware that detritus can accumulate in your acros and start to smother it. So you'll have to be sure to blow them off if they do. |
Posted By: xheliBIGZ
Date Posted: April 17 2017 at 3:48pm
| Been using them for three years with zero issues. I really like how clean they keep the back of my all in one SR80. Some think they are nitrate traps. I wish because I have to dose nitrates. |
Posted By: Boxfish
Date Posted: April 17 2017 at 5:16pm
| Well so far I love it. No issues and no junk build up yet. |
Posted By: Adam Blundell
Date Posted: April 17 2017 at 7:45pm
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Rebel Adam ------------- Come to a meeting, they�re fun! |
Posted By: MadReefer
Date Posted: April 21 2017 at 5:13pm
| I don't use them. I keep things as simple as possible. I like the results. |
Posted By: Boxfish
Date Posted: April 21 2017 at 5:26pm
Ahhh a fellow supporter 
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Posted By: Reefer4Ever
Date Posted: April 21 2017 at 5:38pm
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I feed so much that if I didn't use socks the detritus build up would be tremendous in my sump. When I do my weekly tank chores I do pull the sock and let it run open for as long as it takes to do all 4 tank wc, water.testing, cleaning skimmers, etc. Not sure it does much. ------------- 90 gal reef w/refugium 24 gal softie tank 11 gal nano anemone tank 5 gal fresh water |