To use filter socks or not use them?

[Adam]

I'm surprised at how disgusting my skimmer cup is (almost black) considering I'm swapping out the filter floss every few days that is a deep brown with lots of little chunks in it.

I think the combo is one major factor in my nitrates being 0.25ppm, but as @anit77 says, mine is certainly a new tank. I plan on throwing socks of carbon in the cups from time to time, but I'm not sure if I'll ever remove the floss completely considering how much my kids love to feed the tank.

The drier you skim the darker the skimmate will be, sock or no socks. The chunks you're seeing is where the dry skimmate is clumping together to form a film. When that film gets thick enough it falls down into the cup. When things are normal you generally want to skim drier. Since you're seeing that nice dark brown, almost black, skimmate, I'd say you have it tuned just right and it's running great.

 

[dolfan]

I use this material that is similar to a sock, and I have a reminder in my Apex to change every 3 days. I have probably 20+ cut to fit into the water entry area so not an issue to clean them periodically with a little bleach and freshwater. I just soak and shake the pads in a 1 gallon container and set it in the sun, cleans up real easy, then soak afterward in freshwater for a day before letting dry.

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[snowmansnow]

I have a great SKIMZ sump w double filter socks. However I no longer use them. I just decided that the extra step of filter sock maintenance was something I didn’t need.
Now, I simply remove my sump a few times a year and make it sparkle like new. It takes a few hours, but it beats down my socks :/


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[nolan71416]

I have 1 sock that I will use if I’m vacuuming the tank but not wanting/needing to do a water change. Then I’ll leave it on the main drain for an hour or so to catch any debris that floats up.

 

[mhandley92]

Reviving this because I think that's better than starting a new repeat thread!

For you guys that aren't using filter socks, what do you use? Is my setup okay to not run them? Cleaning them every 3-5 days seems intense
This is what I have currently and am thinking I want to ditch the sock, and only use for certain occasions like vacuuming or after moving things around.

Sump:
Intake -> Refugium -> Return

Intake:
Filter sock on the overflow where water enters.
Protein Skimmer

Refugium:
Rocks, Chaeto, light, copepods, & red macro algae soon

Between the refugium and return there is a course filter media sponge (This I plan to leave)

Nothing in the return except the pump and thermometer

 

[ZapataInc]

Once I go through all of my Polyfil that I have on hand. Im going to leave it out. I have a couple of CUC in my sump that should take care of the leftover food that goes into my overflow. There are a few people that i think skip all mechanical filtration. Ill be one of those people in a couple of days.

 

[mhandley92]

Awesome, I thought leaving the course media would be good for slowing the flow and letting copepods reproduce in the fuge. Also would keep a decent amount of the chaeto strands and rubble from rocks from going up into the display.

 

[Shawn]

I use them and anyone who doesn't is crazy and wrong.

Just kidding of course, there are a lot of opinions regarding filter socks but I do still use them and change them out regularly. The biggest drawback I hear is that they can turn in to "nitrate factories." I've never had the issue and just keep on using them. If I'm honest, 20% of the time they get clogged so I'm, in effect, not using them but I usually get around to swapping them out before they overflow.

I need a nitrate factory...

 

[ZapataInc]

I need a nitrate factory...

you and me both.

But they clog up so fast I dont know if it enough time for the food to start to decompose.

 

[jcook54]

As it turns out, I'm in need of nitrates now as well!

 

[mhandley92]

I took off the filter sock today after my water change. So far, I've only noticed that it makes a lot more bubbles in the intake section of the sump. The skimmer also lives there so it could be helping make suction.