Filter Sock

[fish flipper]

How often do I need to change my filter socks? Can they be cleaned or do I have have to keep buying new ones?

[snulma1]

I would change them at least once a week or even more if you feed heavy.

As for cleaning, yes they can be cleaned. I usually throw mine in a bucket with a bit of bleach till im down to my last 2, then throw the ones from the bucket into the washing machine with bleach and an extra rinse. Then let dry

[Aframomum]

You can usually pick up several from online vendors that way you swap them out. When you have several waiting to be cleaned just toss them in the washer with a bit of bleach and use the long cycle. Leave them to dry for several days before reusing (air dry, not dryer). Don't forget to clean the soap basket of any residue soap before using. Socks should last some time before needing replacement.

I change mine out each week along with cleaning the skimmer cup, as its in the way and I have to take it off anyway. If yours is overflowing after several days then you'll need to change them out more often - usually from heavy feedings as mentioned.

[Tahoe Reefer]

I gave up bleach after reading this. Peroxide has worked great for my socks and tank.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1943735

[fish flipper]

Thanks guys. Just to be sure, I don't need to be concerned about the soap used when going through the washing machine or and leftover bleach?

[thegrun]

You really need to change them out at least once every 4 days or they will start to produce nitrates. I keep a bucket full of water that I dump the used filter socks into and then run them through the wash with a 1/2 cup of bleach. Afterwards I soak them in water with Amquel (or any other ammonia neutralizing product) then hang them to dry outside.

[drtango]

I switched from bleach, which destroys fibers, to sodium percarbonate, which is much nicer to the sock and leaves behind oxygen and soda ash, basically peroxide in powder form. Couple of scoops in a long wash cycle and you're good to go, can use the sock immediately.

I get socks here.
http://www.dudadiesel.com/search.php?query=%2Bfilter+%2Bbag&i=filterbags

[CStrickland]

I change mine about every other day. I have to pay for laundry so I rinse them inside out while still wet, then hang them up in my sump. I have enough to last a week, then I soak in 10% bleach over night and rinse / scrub the next day. I pour a bit of prime into the sump and swish them around in it before I put them into use to get rid of any chlorine.

I sew them out of walmart felt, so once they get all pilly I just toss them. I get like 15 socks out of a $6 roll of felt

[cloak]

Have you tried seeing if you can achieve the same results WITHOUT the filter sock? I know it's difficult to remove them once you see the color go from white to brown, but if your parameters seem to check out and all is well then there's really no point in hindering the flow IME. Let nature take it's course.

[Buzz1329]

Have you tried seeing if you can achieve the same results WITHOUT the filter sock? I know it's difficult to remove them once you see the color go from white to brown, but if your parameters seem to check out and all is well then there's really no point in hindering the flow IME. Let nature take it's course.

Kinda agree. I only use them temporarily for particular situations, like when I am cleaning/dislodging bacteria snot growth in DT due to excess carbon dosing. Or when I used chemi-clean to destroy a particularly obnoxious infestation of super-cyano.

Mike

[Entropy]

I clean mine about once a week with a little bleach in a bucket full of water. After about an hour I rinse it and let it air dry overnight. My main reason for having one is to keep all the random items (snails, fish, algae, etc...) out of my return pump. I have a yellow watchman that has spent more time in my filter sock than the display tank....

[Buzz1329]

I clean mine about once a week with a little bleach in a bucket full of water. After about an hour I rinse it and let it air dry overnight. My main reason for having one is to keep all the random items (snails, fish, algae, etc...) out of my return pump. I have a yellow watchman that has spent more time in my filter sock than the display tank....

Hah! Good point. Amazing what washes up in sump sometimes. And a single snail or hermit crab can wreck havoc with sump pumps.

Mike

[slief]

I change mine every week to 10 days when the start getting backed up. I have a very heavily stocked overfed tank and I have no detectable nitrates and no nuisance algae growth in my display. If you don't have socks like most people, that waste that backs up in the socks ends up elsewhere in your system in the form of detritus (the skimmer will never catch all the undissolved solids and organics that the socks catch) whether its the bottom of the sump or in the tank to break down. The socks are there to capture solids. Dissolved solids will for the most part pass through them. If the solids break down, they become detritus and dissolved solids which is what we have protein skimmers for. The socks will prevent detritus as the larger solids/orginics to pass through unless you use mesh socks which are pretty much a waste. Solids will be retained in good felt socks regardless of how long they stay in the tank. If they didn't, the socks wouldn't back up.

That said, in a well designed and well planned system, nitrates from the socks if they even comntribute to them (I think that's somewhat of a falacy) should never be an issue. That said, the more frequently you change them the better but changing them every other day or every few days is an absolute waste of time unless your system doesn't have enough bacterial surfaces for a sufficient amount of dentrifying bacteria and or your skimmer isn't efficient enough and can't keep up.

[cloak]

I change mine every week to 10 days when the start getting backed up. I have a very heavily stocked overfed tank and I have no detectable nitrates and no nuisance algae growth in my display. If you don't have socks like most people, that waste that backs up in the socks ends up elsewhere in your system in the form of detritus (the skimmer will never catch all the undissolved solids and organics that the socks catch) whether its the bottom of the sump or in the tank to break down. The socks are there to capture solids. Dissolved solids will for the most part pass through them. If the solids break down, they become detritus and dissolved solids which is what we have protein skimmers for. The socks will prevent detritus as the larger solids/orginics to pass through unless you use mesh socks which are pretty much a waste. Solids will be retained in good felt socks regardless of how long they stay in the tank. If they didn't, the socks wouldn't back up.

That said, in a well designed and well planned system, nitrates from the socks if they even comntribute to them (I think that's somewhat of a falacy) should never be an issue. That said, the more frequently you change them the better but changing them every other day or every few days is an absolute waste of time unless your system doesn't have enough bacterial surfaces for a sufficient amount of dentrifying bacteria and or your skimmer isn't efficient enough and can't keep up.

Just out of curiosity, how often do you do water changes? I see that you said that you usually clean your socks once every seven to ten days or so. While I don't run a filter sock on a regular basis, I do however do a 10% water change every week or so. I'll pull more detritus out in a one hour period via a siphon and a filter sock then the filter sock alone could catch in a weeks time. So ultimately there's really no need to waste my time with them. This is probably the case with a quite a few reefers out there too IMO, but they just haven't put two and two together yet and figured out that they can achieve the same results without the hassle. KISS, GL.

[slief]

Just out of curiosity, how often do you do water changes? I see that you said that you usually clean your socks once every seven to ten days or so. While I don't run a filter sock on a regular basis, I do however do a 10% water change every week or so. I'll pull more detritus out in a one hour period via a siphon and a filter sock then the filter sock alone could catch in a weeks time. So ultimately there's really no need to waste my time with them. This is probably the case with a quite a few reefers out there too IMO, but they just haven't put two and two together yet and figured out that they can achieve the same results without the hassle. KISS, GL.

I do automatic water changes. 5 gallons a day on a 650G volume system. I never vacuum but I have a ton of flow in my tank and designed my Tunze power head profiles and closed loop setup so that there is no way for things to settle on the bottom. My closed loop returns out below my live rock so nothing can settle under there and my flow profiles include a flush profile that blasts my Tunze's and closed loop RD3 230 pump at full power. The Tunze's switch from one side to the other during the flush cycle and at the same time the RD3 closed loop pumps ramps way. My Tunze's all aim slightly towards the bottom too and the end result is that anything that could have settled is kicked up into the water column. Then the profile changes to the pulse profile and what ever is in the water column is sent into the overflow for the socks to take care of. I also run mostly bare bottom with exception of a few patches of sand in the center areas of the tank. I have no detritus issues in my display or in my sumps as a result.