Filter socks and copepods

[Cornerboy]

Good morning everyone!

I was wondering if there was a larger mesh filter sock that allowed most Copepods to pass through. Is there? What practices do people use with standard socks to return as many Copepods to the tank?

Thanks!!

 

[Brew12]

Good morning everyone!

I was wondering if there was a larger mesh filter sock that allowed most Copepods to pass through. Is there? What practices do people use with standard socks to return as many Copepods to the tank?

Thanks!!

I typically don't worry about it. Most of my pods grow in my fuge so I don't worry about the ones I lose in the filter socks. I catch plenty of amphipods in my socks each change but the population in my tank stays stable. I'm sure there are a lot of copepods in there too, they just aren't visible.

When I do restock my pod population I run without socks for a day while they get settled in.

 

[Clueless Reefer]

I'm with Brew12, the majority of my pod population grow in my marinepure section and my chaeto; while I do knock out the few that are in the socks each each week there's always a bunch to replace them the following week.

 

[ihavecrabs]

When I ran filter socks... note past tense.. I felt horrible and used to pick out the pods (typically amphipods though) and bristleworms and return to the sump..

I'm a sucker who obviously had too much time on his hands...

 

[Greybeard]

One of several reasons why I don't run socks.

What are you running socks for? For most, the purpose is to trap as much organic matter as you can and remove it from the tank before it can break down into particles small enough to pass through the sock. Using a more open mesh in a sock defeats the purpose. If it's big enough for copepods and amphipods to pass, the organic materials you're trying to trap are going to pass right through.

I'm a lazy reefer. I know that there is no way I'm changing socks every day or two. Most of the stuff I'd be trying to catch would already have broken down and passed through the socks before I'd get around to changing them. So... no socks for me. Let that stuff break down. I'll get it later. That's what the protein skimmer, macro algae, and water changes are for