Are filter socks necessary?

[Montiman]

Just changed my filter sock. Seven days of use, 100 gallons total volume. Feed one cube per day with eight fish.

Sounds like you have a really low bioload if you are only feeding 1 cube per day.

In my 180 I have an auto feeder feed 4 times per day and I do my best to have one more feeding and I usually do 4 cubes.

The most plausible reason your socks last this long is the low bioload.

 

[X-37B]

Can you grab a pic of this step up...?
im curious

Now thats old school!
Thats the way I did it in the 80's.

 

[RedReefer]

Sounds like you have a really low bioload if you are only feeding 1 cube per day.

In my 180 I have an auto feeder feed 4 times per day and I do my best to have one more feeding and I usually do 4 cubes.

The most plausible reason your socks last this long is the low bioload.

Correct. When I was feeding the same fish 2 cubes per day the sock lasted 4-5 days. I have oversized skimmer, it helps.

 

[X-37B]

Might not be the case for everyone, however I have lots of trouble with the CA reactor in my frag tank’s outlet constantly clogging, and that is just from when the sock overflows on me. . I use large media so it doesn’t really filter much and what goes in ends up coming out. So much so that I ended up putting a filter in-line on the effluent line.

The effluent line in my display never clogs because I run a second chamber with fine media for CO2 control.

In the carbon reactor of my frag tank the detritus build up ends up pushing the sponge/carbon to the top after a while.

come to think of it, I placed my reactor pumps in the first chamber In my sump where the detritus entering the sump would be the most likely to still be in suspension, might move them to the return chamber and see if that helps.

I run a small mesh type sock on my carx intake. It never impedes flow. I also do not have a feed pump on my carx.
I just took my BM filter roller offline.
It passed way to much detrius for my liking.
Went back to 200 micron 7" socks and change around every 4-5 days.
My system is only running around 100-150gph through the sump.

 

[nkyreef]

Filter socks do serve a purpose but I don't think they're absolutely necessary.

My Red Sea tank has a place for 4 filter socks but I've switched them out for filter cups and use cheap polyester batting for media filtration. Switched out 1 - 2 times weekly.

 

[NowGlazeIT]

I used to but not anymore! Detritus is building up faster in the sump, that’s my only major difference

 

[Jax15]

I used to use them religiously, but it became hard to keep up with. Now I use them as a selective tool - if I'm basting rocks, cleaning sand, or doing anything that disturbs detritus, I'll pop a felt filter sock it and leave it for a few days. My tank (and sump) used to be cleaner when I was running the classic 1x mesh / 1x felt sock combo, without a doubt. But the maintenance ultimately didn't outweigh the benefits.

 

[blaxsun]

Does it matter? For everyone who runs sock filters and believes they’re needed you’re going to find someone who doesn’t and the exact opposite perspective.

I think the better question to ask is why some people insist that the way things are done by others is necessarily wrong.

 

[Rubberfrog]

Filter socks do serve a purpose but I don't think they're absolutely necessary.

My Red Sea tank has a place for 4 filter socks but I've switched them out for filter cups and use cheap polyester batting for media filtration. Switched out 1 - 2 times weekly.

That's exactly what I do

 

[Thomthom329]

Absolutely do not need to use socks, and if you run a fuge, it’s best not to. That said, you will have to suck up some of the detritus that builds up over time to better control PO4. I siphon my fuge approx 1x/year and I still have to dose nitrates to avoid Dinos.

 

[Ardeus]

When I used filter socks the skimmer wouldn't do much.

Am I the only one that likes to see particles in suspension in the water?

I don't see them much though. I think the flow is so slow in the refugium that it works as a decanting area.

 

[RedFrog211]

I think it depends on your bio load- I have a 49g with 2 ocellaris and a wrasse, stocked with coral. A sock would have little benefit for my system- though someone who has 150 heavily stocked with fish, a sock and skimmer may be necessary.

 

[Damien Buckley]

I used to run the socks that came with my Reefer but eventually got tired of cleaning them. When I took them out it made little to no difference to nutrient levels, water clarity, or anything else. I later took the bubble trap out too and my nitrate dropped…

With my new tank I ditched the socks shortly after the initial fill and run-in. I’ve used the area in the sump to add more chaeto so the water pours right in on the chaeto - which grows like there’s no tomorrow and my nutrient levels are right where I want them. I think having the water and detritus pour in is feeding and building the population of critters, pods etc in the fuge so it’s all good.

Triton actually recommend against filter socks in favour of letting the fuge do the work.

 

[Angel_V_the_reefer]

For nutrient removal this only works if you clean the socks/ replace media every 2-3 days.

this is how I brought my nitrates down in my reef tank. What went from changing filter floss weekly to every 3 days worked wonders.

Granted this was a nano AIO tank