filter sock? pad? none?

[thbrewst]

I am still planning the details of my sump. I had always planned on using a filter sock but when I read on melevsreef.com that he does not recommend anything but a rubble stack I started having second thoughts.

Anyone have any input here? Would using filter pads be better/worse?

Also, if using socks do you need 1 or 1 for each drain pipe (this is for a 175 gal, with 2 overflows).

Thanks for the input.

 

[grouper therapy]

I ran them the first couple of years but quit when I started ozone use. I would at least set the sump up for them and I would use at least two. When I change my carbon and gfo out I run the effluent thru a sock for a day or two in case I did not rinse well enough

 

[jcusmarine]

I used them for the first 6 months and then stopped.

I would also recommend the sump being setup to run filter socks, even if you choose not to for the time being....

 

[smallblock]

I didnt run any for the first couple of months, I eventually got some, go with the mesh socks they rinse so easy and work just as well.

 

[mojo]

There are benefits to filter socks - namely to polish the water. If setup correctly (ie- all the water going through the sump passes through the socks/pads), they are very effective in keeping the water clean of particulate matter. However, the flip side is that they trap organic matter and allow it to decompose, thus making the dissolved organics higher. So you must keep them clean, replacing or washing them every few days.

I use them and clean them weekly. Having 5 sets to cycle though helps me out.

Ultimately, you need to decide how much you're willing to keep them clean.

 

[guerry]

I use a sock after storming tank or when feel water needs little pollish, I think they are a good thing for newly set up systems and as tank comes to its own you can start using less

 

[acroholic]

Chris said it best. If you use them, clean them. If you know you won't clean them, don't use them.

There are basically two types of materials socks are made of, a polypropylene felt material (feels like cloth), or a mesh material (like windbreaker material). The mesh can be polyester, nylon or polypropylene. I use the polyester mesh because I believe it has the best wear for the type chemistry it encounters in a a reef tank (KH and pH mainly).

I use polyester mesh filter socks, and cleaning them is no issue. I use a 100 micron pore size, so ever 2-3 days I pull them and blast them clean with a garden hose, then replace. I alternate two pairs. Takes 3 minutes.

I talked with the national Sales Manager of filterbag.com about using felt vs mesh socks in our tanks, and he told me that mesh filter socks actually keep their pore size a lot longer than the felt type socks.

 

[weaglereefer]

For my new sump I'm building, I'm planning to use a bubble tower, like Melev's, but will also have the ability to run filter socks should I choose to. Basically just having the end of the drain line come to a Y with a ball valve on each side. Close one and it's the tower, close the other and open one, it's the filter sock. This would allow me to polish the water if I want/need.

 

[smallblock]

au01st;559064 wrote: For my new sump I'm building, I'm planning to use a bubble tower, like Melev's, but will also have the ability to run filter socks should I choose to. Basically just having the end of the drain line come to a Y with a ball valve on each side. Close one and it's the tower, close the other and open one, it's the filter sock. This would allow me to polish the water if I want/need.

Nice!!

 

[corigan]

I find filter socks make my sump more quite and steady on water level fluctuations. If I don't have a filter sock on the setup it is much louder on the drain splash, as well as that the skimmer chamber fluctuates up and down as the water splashes in. It also keeps my sump much cleaner as the organics get trapped in the sock instead of floating around the sump. Like stated you really need quite a few to keep swapping them out and it doesn't make it too bad. I have 7 or so. I change em out every other day and that gets me through about 2 weeks without having to wash them (which I just throw in the washer).

 

[thbrewst]

So, if I was planning a 3 chamber sump, with the drain and the skimmer in the same chamber, does that mean I can't really use the socks? I think the skimmer has to be in ~7 inches of water which would mean the socks were 'under water'. Does that matter? Would I need to have a 4th chamber?

I was planning on a Drain/Skimmer -> Return <- Fuge set-up. Planning to use a 40 breeder (if it will fit in my stand).

 

[weaglereefer]

With my socks on my current tank, only about 2" of the sock is above water. They can be submerged, or half submerged, so long as the water flows down through them and not up over the rim.

Drain line in the same chamber is how my current setup is, and how my future one will be, too.

 

[grouper therapy]

most all socks are partly submerged

 

[thbrewst]

Cool. One last question. Can one 7" sock handle 2 drain lines or should I have one sock per line (note one of those will be split to the fuge).

 

[weaglereefer]

Well I would do one sock per drain line. Have them both empty into the skimmer chamber. Then have another pump or the return pump feed the refugium.

 

[thbrewst]

au01st;559299 wrote: Well I would do one sock per drain line. Have them both empty into the skimmer chamber. Then have another pump or the return pump feed the refugium.

I could do that, but why would you think to pump into the refugium versus just letting part of the drain go in there? I have no specific reason for draining in there other than I had read that quite a few times leading up to my plan.

 

[weaglereefer]

Well for one, you don't want detrius building up in there. You are probably planning a DSB and ball of chaeto, right? Well all the nitrates and phosphates the algae and bacteria need are products of stuff decomposing in the water. Why not let your filter socks and skimmer get as much as possible, and let the chaeto handle whatever is left, instead of relying on it to handle 50% of the filtration.