NEW TANKER -- Mesh or Felt filter socks?

[redfin9]

112 gallon Reefer 425 XL

 

[PDR]

I prefer felt socks.

 

[lapin]

Felt for me too
The mesh socks dont point down in my sump. They kinda flap sideways in the current

 

[Ron Reefman]

Felt probably need to be changed more often. But I think that's because they do a much better job. I just got enough socks so I could store the dirty ones in a flip top box in the garage until I have enough to do a small load in the washing machine. BTW, the box tends to keep the dirty socks damp and I even fill the box with water and let them soak for an hour before I wash them. The soak tends to loosen up any dried crusty areas in the socks so the get cleaner with just a wash and rinse. Before I started doing this I found myself doing 2 and even 3 wash cycles to get them clean.

 

[Jesterrace]

The only complaint about the felt are the potential lint balls that they can produce between cleanings in the wash. Filtration wise though they do a much better job. @Ron good tip on keeping the socks wet before the wash. I will give that a shot.

 

[scott11106]

felt, but really i dont care too much either way

 

[lariat8099]

Felt and change every three days

 

[DSC reef]

I'm going mesh on this one. Used felt for many years but once we tried red sea nylon mesh it was awesome. No more soaking or washing, just rinse and back in the tank.

 

[mckinney0171]

felt or none at all

 

[Almondkc]

I am new to filter socks and my tank came with a mesh in the first sock port and felt in the second. The mesh gets large particulates and the felt seems to really polish the water. It was noticeable when just setting up the tank and debris from the new sand hadn’t settles and clouded the water

 

[Chuk]

I use mesh. They are so easy to clean. Flip it inside out rinse and it's good to go back in the tank.

 

[DougPurkey]

Not to hi-jack this thread, but how do you ensure that you don’t contaminte the filter socks when washing in the washer? Also with the mesh, do you use some kind of floss or media?

 

[Ron Reefman]

Not to hi-jack this thread, but how do you ensure that you don’t contaminte the filter socks when washing in the washer? Also with the mesh, do you use some kind of floss or media?

I don't wash them with laundry soap! I may use some bleach. And when I do, I do a 2nd wash cycle with just water and then the rinse cycle. It's not necessary, but I do my socks (and a lot of my laundry) with RO reject water. I have a big cistern in the garage to collect all the reject water and use a pump and hose to move it to the washing machine.

 

[DSC reef]

Not to hi-jack this thread, but how do you ensure that you don’t contaminte the filter socks when washing in the washer? Also with the mesh, do you use some kind of floss or media?

We used to use bleach but then switched to oxiclean. I always rinsed after in RODI. Switching to mesh eliminated that whole process. Red sea makes 225 micron that worked very well. Rinsed in the sink, dip in RODI if you want then done.

 

[Idoc]

Mesh for me... so easy to clean.

I have a small bucket of water/vinegar mix i keep near the sink. Clean out once sock and then stick it in the water/vinegar bucket overnight... then rinse it out with tap eater and let it dry. I just switch back and forth between 2 socks.

 

[Reefcowboy]

Mesh 100%. You can clean them in 30 sec and use them for many months.
You go with felt, get ready to be washing them nasty socks in your washing machine, and to clean them properly, with bleach. Felt will “clog” up much easier too and can cause splashing in your return section.

If you feed your corals powder foods often, they will clog fast.

Felt are such a chore I can understand the Klir type filters becoming so popular. I clean my mesh socks one a week, no big deal

 

[Vahanyos]

I use mesh - although i do have more debris in the water than i would like. I'm sure felt will do a much better job but I really hate cleaning them. I don't have a place to store them or multiple ones to swap out so just the fact that i have a hard time cleaning them makes me use mesh. Mesh is so darn easy to clean.... like others have said, just flip it inside out and rinse and put it right back

I will agree that felt polishes the water better

 

[Skep18]

+1 for felt.

Depending on whats going on in the tank, especially like after a water change, the socks are tan or brown within hours. There's plenty of debate on whether people think they're good or bad to use but I think its a hard argument for anyone to claim they don't polish the water pretty well.