Why replace filter sock every 3 days?

[pickupman66]

mine are changed on a weekly basis as they get close to overflow. unless I forget... but weekly works well for me.

For cleaning I wash mine in our front loader on super white setting with just bleach. use the 2nd rinse and extra spin. Let them dry for a few days before use.

 

[kissedpicasso]

thought i'd put a face with the name. Have mercy on me boys as i'm new to reefing and nobody in my house shares my hobby. Can use all the advise you can offer.
I've been keeping fish (tropical) for as long as i can remember and even years ago had a 150 fish only salt tank that I gave no mind to water quality. Now i make my own water, have a seneye monitor and i'm slowly learning about dosing etc.

I've had a 14 gal nano for a while but mostly leathers and mushrooms. Nothing to hard. The Red Sea 170 is my new baby (even have a baby cam on it as its at my office).

No stupid question right?

 

[pickupman66]

Filter soaks are costly little boogers, First time using them. Does anyone have any bulk buying suggestions.

Not really, I bought teh 4" ones from amazon. in a 5 pack. they work great and are a good month rotation. I then made a 12" tall piece of 4" pvc holder for them in my sump. works wonders and is dead silent.

 

[sticky polyps]

I dont dry in dryer and there is no need to use declorinator 12 hours of air dry is sufficient, also i dont even do a second rinse. I use 1 four inch at a time on my 65 gal

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

Not sure where you heard about changes every three days...I change when it's overflowing. What I don't get is that it use to be every 5 days or so...but now it's every 1 1/2 to 2 days. I also wouldn't want to leave it in there for "several weeks" out of fear of decomp, and releasing nitrates and phosphates back into the tank. I'd stick to the weekly changes if it were me.

I'm pretty sure that your socks, just like any filter, are getting slowly clogged over time despite thorough washings. You can never remove 100% of the accumulated matter each time you wash. I would bet that if you measured the weight each time you washed and thoroughly dried them, you'd find the mass of each sock slowly increases over time.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I will admit that I've had these socks for quite some time and that they might be doing exactly what you say. However, what I do about once a year is soak them in bleach for a day or two and rinse. After doing this a couple months ago, there was no change in the time they lasted.

Otherwise, my cleaning protocol is to run them under the sink faucet when rubbing fabric to fabric. They are seven inch mesh socks, 200 microns.

 

[Wayneb332]

I also started making my own. I buy a yard of the fabric at Joanns for 5.00 it makes about 15 socks they work very good. I do rinse them before use for the first time in a bucket of ro water seems to help with the micro bubbles.

 

[redfishbluefish]

The problem for me making my own is that I need the plastic ring.
And what fabric do you buy???? nylon mesh??? with micron size??? I apologize, I'm ignorant when it comes to purchasing fabric.


@AllSignsPointToFIsh , so you got me......I just ordered four new socks. Let's see if there is a difference.

 

[b4tn]

I found 100% acrylic white felt at joanns fabric. I figure if acrylic is safe in my tank so would this. So far no issues.

 

[MikeyAl]

I swap mine out every 4 days so they don't become a nitrate factory. To keep skimmer from going nuts I soak the sock in rodi for 24 hrs prior to changing.
Cleaning is easy- rinse out thoroughly inside out. Soack in bleach water for 1/2 hour. Then rinse through. Soak in rodi overnight and hang out to dry in the sun. They can last many changes. Never had issues with nitrates or skimmer going nuts.

 

[Bryce Peterson]

It polishes the water

I don't run one and my water has always been crystal clear. Nasty things imo.

 

[b4tn]

I have found that if I put the sock in and let it run for about an hour before turning on the skimmer it does not go crazy.

 

[AllSignsPointToFish]

The problem for me making my own is that I need the plastic ring.
And what fabric do you buy???? nylon mesh??? with micron size??? I apologize, I'm ignorant when it comes to purchasing fabric.


@AllSignsPointToFIsh , so you got me......I just ordered four new socks. Let's see if there is a difference.

Sorry, didn't mean to give you the urge to impulse buy. Lol. I was just trying to shed some light on the issue

 

[redfishbluefish]

Sorry, didn't mean to give you the urge to impulse buy. Lol. I was just trying to shed some light on the issue

Don't worry.....I'm sending you the bill! It's your fault!!!!

 

[Wayneb332]

I made a plastic ring out of a piece of pvc.

 

[Wayneb332]

Here is the fabric there is a very good tread on here about diy filter socks. Very informative.

 

[jasonrusso]

I change mine every other day. I have 800GPH going through 2 socks. They clog up after 3 days. My theory is that any food or detritus in the sock will get dissolved by the rushing water over time. This will get back into the tank and break down. That being said, I have 30 socks which I toss into the washing machine with vinegar on the "steam" cycle which makes them like new.

 

[redfishbluefish]

Here is the fabric there is a very good tread on here about diy filter socks. Very informative.

Interesting! First off, I'm a mesh user, so no interest in attempting to make socks out of this stuff. However, the second issue I'd have is what binders did they use with making this felt. Whenever you manufacture nonwovens, you need to use a binder to hold everything together. What binders did they use with this stuff? And is it reef safe?

 

[Wayneb332]

Sorry yes that is a good point. I have been using them for a couple months they have been rotated out with bought ones. There is also many others using the same fabric.

 

[H.B.O. Reefing]

I change mine out every three days....I use both store bought and diy socks....I started off with the same fabric and still using them after a year....5.00 for about 10 to 12 is a great deal of you know how to see.