Filter Sock Question

[Cliff]

I’ve been trying to make up my mind on whether or not to use a filter sock in my sump for my 90 gallon tank. I’m going to start off with a just fish set up and slowly adding the corals making it into a reef tank. I’ve read a lot of different opinions on using filter socks. If I really don’t need one, I don’t want to use one. My sump is going to be small enough once I up-grade my skimmer to a Vertex ( a 180 I think it was ) so space is at a premium.

Some people swear by filter socks. Others would never use them and leave the solid debris for their clean-up crew to take care of.

I’m starting to think they are not required provided you have a good clean-up crew and you do not overfeed. But on the other hand, by not using a filter sock and cleaning it out twice a week, could you get increased nitrates to deal with ?

I would like to hear if others use filter socks or not.

[Myka]

The detritus is not so much for your CUC to take care of (most will add to detritus or break it down from fresh solid poop into powdery detritus, not consume it), but for your powerheads to take care of. Properly positioned powerheads as to not allow any dead spots for detritus to accumulate will keep particles suspended where they can float into the overflow and down into your sump. This is important regardless of whether you use a filter sock or not. At that point the skimmer will skim out the detritus. The filter sock essentially pre-filters the water going into the skimmer so the skimmer has less work to do. Does the skimmer notice or care? I'm not convinced it does.

What filters socks will do is catch everything that goes into the sump that is bigger than 100 microns (or whatever size you use). That means fresh fish poop, detritus, algae bits, food bits, even pods! This is all good, except it is beneficial to keep the pods in the tank. Many people who use filter socks will turn them inside out and gently shake the pods out when they change the sock. The detritus will stick to it, the pods fall off.

A filter sock probably won`t increase or decrease nitrate provided you use it properly, and everything else is working well, and planned out well (like powerheads, a good skimmer, good maintenance, etc). If you leave the sock in too long you will increase nitrate. The sock will only decrease nitrate if you have a poor skimmer or no skimmer at all where the sock will become the primary form of filtering.

Filter socks can come in very handy when used at certain times, like when you have a cyano outbreak, or just after doing a water change to catch floating bits or algae bits that you pruned, or catching excessive detritus you stirred up.

Many people consider filter socks to be the ultimate water polisher that really makes it crystal clear. I find Zeovit Coral Snow does the same thing if you dose it according to the label for quantity, but only once per week. Works really well.

[Cliff]

Thanks for all of the great info Myka

Cheers

[Myka]

You`re welcome. :)