Filter Socks or Media Cup & Floss

[Reefrats]

Hey I do the same thing!

I tried this method and it seems within a few hours the water level starts rising in my cup chamber. I tried a filter sock in the first compartment and then the cup/matrix/polyfil in the second and I watch the water level in the one with the cup start to rise. I’m concerned it will overflow. I tried the rolled up filter pad too and the same thing happens. With the mesh bags I have next to nothing in them after 4 days. My tank has only been up about a month and a half and has a very light bio load. Why do my cups start to overflow so quickly?

 

[Reefrats]

I have a 3-D printed cup with holes in the bottom and 2 Red Sea cups. I have tried a small handful of poly floss in the cup with the grid in the bottom, seachem bio media with poly fil on top in the Red Sea cup, blue white filter pad rolled up with poly fil in the middle, no matter what I try my cup/sock chambers fill up.

There is very little bio load in the tank and my mesh socks are still super clean when I change them after 3-4 days. I would like to switch but I am concerned it will overflow since it looks like this after a few hours. It’s a WB 130.4 is it a waterbox thing?

This photo is from 6 hours with an outer rim of blue/white floss and poly fill in the middle with the Red Sea cups.

 

[NY_Sea]

I'm tired of filter sock maintenace.

my next upgrade i will be setting up a dedicated 10 x 10 drip tray filter box before the skimmer and will load it with filter floss and change it out every week or 2.

 

[Reefrats]

So I stuck it out and let it go for 24 hours. The level has not gotten any higher. So maybe this is just the case with filter cups in the WB sump. The level in the first cup is higher with a filter cup and flush with a sock. Hoping that’s the case and I can switch. This is a photo one day later and the level hasn’t really gone up higher - yet. I know it will when it gets clogged. Just less freeboard than I am used to with the socks.

 

[Mark Bradley]

It seems to me that if you are happy to wash the filter socks twice a week then all is good. When I see the work the socks do it doesn’t seem to be replicated by the filter wool used in cups on YouTube videos. Another personal preference from what I read/see. I like the idea of adding media however - shame I don’t need two socks/cups in my 170 as I’d try both.

 

[fish frinzy]

I run filter cups most of the time with loose poly in them it works good just a little loud.

 

[litebulb]

So I am curious how all you wonderful people keep the polyfil from floating? if i put just a small amount or large it overflows different amounts lol and small amounts of polyfil float up like its somehow catching air