filter socks: Pros vs Cons

[Waters]

As dirty as mine get in a 2 to 3 day period I couldn't image not using one and letting all that junk continue to circulate through the tank. I hand wash/soak them with bleach then Sodium Thiosulfate. Let them dry and they are ready to use.

 

[gtbarsi]

Yep, and we have reactors, and pumps that do not get fouled with detritus.

Thinking about it I wonder if a carbon reactor on a system w/o filter socks is putting out any ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, or phosphate after a month of running. Probably not much but I would be curious if anyone w/o filter socks would be interested in testing.

I'll bet all you filter sock users have sandbeds too!

Lol j/k

:behindsofa:

 

[Saltkreep180]

I use tap water and a pressure washer..... It does get them very clean but!!! its a lot of work... My tank has four... maybe I will try peroxide...

 

[Jimbo662]

I use the same exact process as 3Twinklets. I keep a spare 5 gal bucket in the guest bathtub and a bottle of bleach on the side of the tub so it's always there and ready.

 

[YodaHart]

Only takes me a few seconds to change mine with a filter tray

I ordered about 50 from filterbag.com http://filterbag.com/PONG100P4P-p845.html
When they get dirty I just throw them in a small garbage can and bring them to the laundromat once a month or so.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I agree. I wash them by hand in the sink and they get quite clean. Not mixing gunk with clothes or risk bleach leaching into my tank.

What's the purpose of the washing machine and bleach? Isn't rinsing them in the sink with a good scrub going to clean them just as well?
Also, what does the bleach do? Besides make them nice and white

 

[saltyhog]

Bleach is not stable when it gets dry, rapidly dissipates. As long as you let your socks dry before using them you have nothing to fear from bleach.

I have about 18 and throw the dirty ones in a 5 gallon bucket after a rinse in the utility sink. I have two socks (one for each of my two drains) and only have to wash about every two to three weeks.

 

[JMLewis]

Only takes me a few seconds to change mine with a filter tray

I ordered about 50 from filterbag.com http://filterbag.com/PONG100P4P-p845.html
When they get dirty I just throw them in a small garbage can and bring them to the laundromat once a month or so.

My next sump will definitely have a rack like this. much better than just 1 sock.

 

[caldone]

No sock for me. Nitrate factory if you not cleaning it almost daily.
Plus id like for any pods that make it into the overflow to be able to get back into the refugium and not get wased down the sink

 

[caldone]

The only time I use a sock is the day before a water change after I have blown off my rocks, during the water change I pull it out and wash it for next time

 

[ricwilli]

If I dont't use a filter sock, my sump get really nasty. The only thing I hate about them is what a previous poster mentioned. They catch to many pods. Sometimes I try to get them out by turning the sock inside-out in a a 5 gallon bucket filled with a little tank water.
Isn't there a thread floating around, about using peroxide to clean filter socks? I thought I read that it should not be diluted with water in order for it to work well. That is why I keep using bleach.

 

[Mike J.]

My filter sock is under my sump light so it acts somewhat like an algae scrubber and it gets changed every 3 - 4 days.

 

[YodaHart]

My next sump will definitely have a rack like this. much better than just 1 sock.

It's so much more versatile. Right now I'm running 2 felt socks and 1 mesh sock with carbon for filtration. I love it!

 

[Moonreef]

I plan on making a tray and using filter floss on my new setup...much cheaper and does the same thing. And way easier to clean, pick it up and bag it in one of the zillion plastic shopping bags we get and throw it all in the recycling bin.

 

[mcarroll]

The only time I use a sock is the day before a water change after I have blown off my rocks, during the water change I pull it out and wash it for next time

Smart usage! I'm not generally a fan, but as a tool for a finite job this makes sense!

It's so much more versatile. Right now I'm running 2 felt socks and 1 mesh sock with carbon for filtration. I love it!

I like this usage too! Not conceptually unlink the mesh bag Tunze builds onto the outflow of their skimmers. Really handy for media! Hopefully you clean or swap those felt bags pretty frequently!

I plan on making a tray and using filter floss on my new setup...much cheaper and does the same thing. And way easier to clean, pick it up and bag it in one of the zillion plastic shopping bags we get and throw it all in the recycling bin.

I may be reading too literally, (and correct me if I'm wrong) but I don't think polyester fiberfill would go to recycling. Trash it. (I've seen some bags of PET - polyethylene - fiberfill...not common at all IME, and recycling that may be a different story.)

-Matt

 

[Moonreef]

I may be reading too literally, (and correct me if I'm wrong) but I don't think polyester fiberfill would go to recycling. Trash it. (I've seen some bags of PET - polyethylene - fiberfill...not common at all IME, and recycling that may be a different story.)

-Matt

It's 100% polyester media that is able to be repurposed into carpet, plastic chairs and so on. The "Starboard" people use in bare bottoms, myself included, is made of HDPE which is basically milk cartons, plastic bags and so on. I haven't seen the msds for the product but it is 100% polyester.