tell me about your socks

GHill762 · Nov 18, 2013

sunshinereefer said:
I like mesh..felt for me is clogged in a day or two and cleaning is painful for felt..and I DO NOT have the permission to wash the socks in our washer

I ran the tank without socks for 1 1/2 year and it clogged my reactors and the sump collected lot of gunk and built up nitrates..wish someone would invent something much easier than socks

"easier" would be an attachement of some sort that made the drain water pass through disposable filter floss.. I've seen some neat DIY's to accomplish this.. no rinsing, just pitch it and replace it..

vetteguy53081 · Nov 18, 2013

Just ordered a pair of Felt today. yes, takes labor to clean but also does what it intended to do : TRAP THE PARTICLES ! Worth the labor.

FL_Reefer · Nov 18, 2013

I use (2) 50 micron socks on my 220 gallon. Yes they do need to be changed out every 3-4 days but not a big deal to me. Water clear always and sump is clean as a whistle. I wash mine with a little bit of bleach and a double rinse. To me it's worth it for the result they produce. It is smart to have a rotation of them, makes life a lot easier.

blue.flyzz · Nov 18, 2013

I will be upgrading my 75 g to a 125, using a wet/dry now (tank started as a FOWLR) but will be building my own sump with a 55 g tank. I hoped I get some help reading this but it's funny whenever one of these a or b choice threads start up, you get answers split right down the middle, and my choice of what to use (I'll be using socks for the first time) isn't any easier after reading everyone's responses lol

Chameleon · Nov 19, 2013

jedimasterben said:
Don't need no stinkin' socks.

(except when stirring anything up, then I run a 1 micron felt sock for a while til it clears up)

1 micron?!? even our filters for filtering out microbes from solutions in lab are 2.5 microns. liquid goes through them slowly and often wee use pressure or vacuum to aid in the process. are you sure about that measurement

Chameleon · Nov 19, 2013

I dont use filter socks but instead use my frag tank as a settling tank...I just have to make sure I siphon out detritus with water changes

jedimasterben · Nov 19, 2013

Chameleon said:
1 micron?!? even our filters for filtering out microbes from solutions in lab are 2.5 microns. liquid goes through them slowly and often wee use pressure or vacuum to aid in the process. are you sure about that measurement

1 micron nominal. They get clogged very, very quickly, but still do let fines through. When I was removing some of my sandbed the past few days, I would siphon the sand and water into a 5g bucket, and when the bucket was full (the water was VERY murky from detritus and sand particles from me not rinsing the sand to begin with, ginormous mistake) I poured the water back into the tank through the 1m socks. The water coming out of them was still cloudy, but only minutely compared to what was in the bucket. I could only pour around 8 gallons of that water through each sock before they were 100% clogged.

Chameleon · Nov 19, 2013

jedimasterben said:
1 micron nominal. They get clogged very, very quickly, but still do let fines through. When I was removing some of my sandbed the past few days, I would siphon the sand and water into a 5g bucket, and when the bucket was full (the water was VERY murky from detritus and sand particles from me not rinsing the sand to begin with, ginormous mistake) I poured the water back into the tank through the 1m socks. The water coming out of them was still cloudy, but only minutely compared to what was in the bucket. I could only pour around 8 gallons of that water through each sock before they were 100% clogged.

ahh i see...i was thinking you ran them in an overflow setup...now i see how it works

jedimasterben · Nov 19, 2013

Chameleon said:
ahh i see...i was thinking you ran them in an overflow setup...now i see how it works

Nope, I don't run any mechanical filtration unless I'm doing something like I was earlier.

Spendley · Nov 19, 2013

Used to mess with hanes but bought some mid-calf polo socks and the comfort is just unmatched. Lasting comfort too, don't seem to be fading as easily as other socks.

Sorry to be a smart a**....can't believe I'm the first though!

Flameback Pair · Nov 19, 2013

I used a brs holder on my old sump but my new sump is eurobraced. On this I will use a length of 4" pvc pipe and stick the sock down in it. The ring holds in on the end. On the bottom, I cut a hole to let the water out.

64Ivy · Nov 19, 2013

I use 4 x 100 micron felt socks and change them out every other day [640g system, btw]. I have a fairly substantial rotation right now but they're getting harder and harder to find.

DavidinGA · Nov 19, 2013

Stopped using them as they were too much trouble; just vacuum out sump every few months now instead.

redfishbluefish · Nov 19, 2013

jedimasterben said:
1 micron nominal. They get clogged very, very quickly, but still do let fines through. When I was removing some of my sandbed the past few days, I would siphon the sand and water into a 5g bucket, and when the bucket was full (the water was VERY murky from detritus and sand particles from me not rinsing the sand to begin with, ginormous mistake) I poured the water back into the tank through the 1m socks. The water coming out of them was still cloudy, but only minutely compared to what was in the bucket. I could only pour around 8 gallons of that water through each sock before they were 100% clogged.

I would not recommend this. Although you might think you are putting clean water back into your tank, it is loaded with nitrates, phosphates and everything bad. These are the chemicals you can't see, but are there in that dirty water. Dump it out and replace with freshly made saltwater.

impur · Nov 19, 2013

I had been using felt on my tank since I set it up in April, but just stopped this week. Too much of a pain to remove, clean, replace. I will just shopvac my sump if it gets dirty

mcarroll · Nov 20, 2013

vetteguy53081 said:
Just ordered a pair of Felt today. yes, takes labor to clean but also does what it intended to do : TRAP THE PARTICLES ! Worth the labor.

At least in my tank, particles = coral food. Often in the form of plankton. I sort of understand these socks being used as a "patch" for a buggy system design that sends microbubbles to the display, but not so much for filtering purposes. Seems counterintuitive in a coral tank.

$0.02!

-Matt

KologneKoral · Nov 20, 2013

Actually, I use both for different applications, but prefer the felted ones. Mesh clogs too fast and needs to be changed often (2 days!). Yes, felt are more difficult to clean, but much more effective, as well as having a slight biological action (they are changed weekly, so no big thing). In the machine with my whites and typically tossed after 6-8 months. I know people who use the drawstring felted to control microbubbles by tying them to the guilty pipe.

HoaglandDiver · Nov 20, 2013

Slightly off orig topic, but definitely related:
Well, I think you all have made me think I must be OCD (regarding cleaning of felt socks)... I have a front loader. It has a "clean" cycle. Before I wash my socks, I run a "clean cycle" w/ bleach. then I run my socks (just the socks) bleach only on a delicate cycle (warm) w/ extra rinse. Then I run again in same way but cold water... then I run thru yet again on a 2nd cold water delicate run... I then take them out and hang dry... Then I run the washer empty on another clean cycle w/ bleach and then on a rinse only cycle. Note: I only use regular bleach (not splashless) as the splashless bleach tends to lead to suds (I know, it makes no sense but I've tried them both numerous times and the splashless DEFINITELY "makes" suds. Waiting to get some water hookups in my basement so I can have a washer Just for the socks as the other half is not happy about washing them in our washer we use for our clothes.