filter sock flow rates?

[Caleb1244]

i have a 420 gallon tank and the sump has 3 7'' filter socks, i am having to change the socks daily or the sock chamber will fill up (flow is too much for the socks)
the socks i am running are 200 micron i am considering going to mesh or a 300 micron sock, does any have any info on the max flow rates of the different micron socks?
my flow is somewhere around 5500-6000 gph maybe a little more

 

[Doberman13]

I am no expert on large systems but 5500k through the sump sounds pretty high. What size sump do you have? @Adam's 525 display has a ~150 gallon sump with about half of that flow.

 

[Caleb1244]

I bought the system several years ago second hand I did not plumb it, it had a reeflo hammerhead 6000gph pump on it, I went with a dc pump for noise and efficiency it now has a red dragon 3 pump 5000 gph I also have a small dc pump that feeds the skimmer and the discharge from the skimmer goes back through the bubble chamber in the sump I am just guessing at the flow through the sump, do you know what type of flow he is running through his sump? I can reduce the speed of the red dragon

 

[Doberman13]

He will have to chime in but here is his build

Dream 525 gallon peninsula display with large fish room.

As many of you know I moved in the fall of 2019 and shut my 220 & 60 frag down. Special thanks to @spike for holding the livestock I wanted to keep. Glenn has been awesome holding everything and dealing with my delays getting the basement finished. He also got to see my Blue Throat Triggers...

atlantareefclub.org

 

[Caleb1244]

Thanks for the info I will try to reach out to Adam

 

[scuba steve]

I swapped mine out for filter cups. Can place filter floss in, they make mesh bags that fit that rinse out real easy for daily use, or you can put the socks back in for a periodic finer polishing.
Much happier than when I had socks.

 

[Adam]

Some of that plumbing almost looks like a closed loop. I'd have to see the system.

Regardless, for a 420 display (With 350ish gallons in it) the normal flow through the sump should be be somewhere between 1300 to 1800gph. That's actual flow after head loss, not what the pump is rated for. When the flow is turned up that high 24/7 the only thing that will work well is the socks, which you're seeing as they clog quickly. Not only is the skimmer not as effective but most everything else doesn't work as well either. Using a rough guess of 50% head loss through the piping, with the RD3 pump running at 100% the actual flow is probably closer to 2500gph, which puts the display turn over rate at a little more than 7 times per hour. Try running the pump at 75% and see how the flow looks through the socks. It should be pouring in and not look like a water fall foaming up in them. You want to shoot for 3-5 turns an hour. With 3 7" socks you should get up to 3 days before they clog.

I could see cranking up the flow while doing major cleaning, I do that when I clean the rocks. The most I can get is probably around 4000gph with my setup. With only 2 7" socks, I can clog them up in an hour or two. But that is the only time I use socks anymore. I now use two Klir 7's and haven't looked back.

 

[Caleb1244]

It's not closed loop but I wish it was lol, there are 6 return lines the y in the center and 2 returns on both ends there are to valves on the lower pipe he was running some type of aux stuff that I am not using
jcook54 came here a year or so ago and did a par reading for me, he told me you are the guy to talk to about large tanks, thank you for the info I will slow the pump down and see how it goes