Socks or no socks, that is the question.

[mlott132]

As the title states, what is everyones opinion on using them? Ones that do use them, do you use mesh or felt, and what micron? I am in the process of setting up my 75 gallon FOWLR and am on the fence as to whether or not to use them.

[skidoctor]

Just took off my sock last night. I think thats why my nitrate wouldn't get below 10. I see there purpose, but I am not able to change them as often as necesary right now. I figure that thecritters and macro in my sump will make good use of anything that comes in by way of the overflow. too soon for a real comparison, but I think I;m better off for now. I would suggest 200 micron felt, but get a few and change every 2-3 days. Get a bunch if you're lazy like me, or don't have a washing machine.

[HaKs310]

Ditto skydoctor.

If you are good with a maintenance schedule then go with a sock. They help out by trapping any larger debri from breaking down and fouling the water.

[Playa-1]

I rarely run socks anymore. Just occasionally after a cleaning chore and a water change. When I do it's just for a couple of days and then it's offline again.

[DrDirt]

Originally Posted by HaKs310

Ditto skydoctor.

If you are good with a maintenance schedule then go with a sock. They help out by trapping any larger debri from breaking down and fouling the water.

Absolutely correct. Socks are great if you change/clean them regularly. In fact, they are probably the most overlooked strategy to have better water quality if maintained properly. Bottom Line.... if you do use them change them all the time.

[skidoctor]

Here's the weird thing though- I expected my skimmer to go crazy once I removed my sock. Figured more organics are headed to the sump--> more nasty in my cup. But the exact opposite happened. My skimmer is not producing as much as when I had the sock on. Not so worried about it as of now, everything is still in check. Just strange. Any ideas?

sg 1.025
ph 8.2
alk 9
cal 460
nitrates <10
amm, nitrites, phos 0 (phosphate is probably false reading because all the macro in the sump)

[Tmoriarty]

Just cause you have macro in the sump doesn't make it a false reading :P. The macro is keeping the PO4 down as intended. I run sockless as well for the same reason. I am bad at keeping up with changing my socks out. I have been sockless for months and have not had any problems so far with it. I suck out debris in the first stage of my sump when I do water changes to help reduce organics before they breakdown.

[mlott132]

Thanks for all the great feedback. With your comments along with the other reading I have done I think I will go the sock route. Think I will order a few sets to have on hand. I would imagine that when I first start the tank I should change them daily, just not sure how fast they will get dirty.

[skidoctor]

that would be my next step. honestly, i've never cleaned my sump. just the scrape the glass, change my carbon and phosban and forget it. i have to figure out a way to siphon seeing as it sets on the floor. i figure i'll rig up a powerhead with some tubing or use a shop vac.
as far as a false reading- you're probably right seeing as my cheato was growing ridiculously a week ago, but has since started to grey and shrink a little. but my lettuce and calpura is now growing like mad. competition for the remaining nutrients maybe? what are the dangers of decomposing cheato? will the other macros or critters use these nutrients? or should i just trim/ remove it out before it whithers to nothing? there's still a couple of softball sized clumps left with excellent pod life in it.

[chrispc66]

Socks don't do anything for my system, the corner weir / durso set up allows surface detritus to settle in the weir, where a large worm population uses it. I siphon the settled products from the weir when I do water changes.

You can't run socks when you are away from the tank for any period of time IMO witout causing problems, so personally I am Bette off without them. My systems also has a hood so surface particulate is not an issue for me really.

[Ron Reefman]

OK, so you've read some feedback from both sides of the issue. There are good points and bad points, some people have success with them and some have issues. So consider a middle of the road program. That's what I have done. I use 100mic felt socks (when I run socks). I have 5 drains running into my sump. One feeds my skimmer (gravity feed) and the other 4 feed either end of my sump. When I run socks (80% of the time) I only use a sock on one drain at each end and let the other drain at each end run free. I leave the socks in place until I see water flowing out the top of the sock and then change it. Some people call them nitrate factories and don't run them... and all that 'stuff' you collect is going where if you don't run socks (or have some other type of filtration)? So the open drain lines do dump 'stuff' into my sump. One end is a frag tank and then a refugium with a DSB. That end stays pretty clean. The other end, where the skimmer and reactors are does get 'stuff' on the bottom of the sump. And once every 3-6 months I vacum it up with a siphon hose and a 5g bucket when I'm going to do a water change. I'd do it every water change, but I have a direct line from my sump to the bathroom sink drain. So all I have to do is open the ball valve and drain 25g out of the evaporation section (where the sump return pump is) and then add new saltwater from my mixing Brute. I have pretty clean water so I don't feel the need to run more socks (or carbon for that matter). I have zero nitrates and no nuisance algae, so no GFO either.

Chrispc66 (the post above) seems to think it's an all or nothing thing. What will he do about sock changes when he is away from home? And the solution to that is to not run any at all? Really? And socks getting clogged and over running have NOT shown any affect on the nitrate levels in my system. Now I do have a fair amount of LR, a DSB and a diy coil de-nitrator. And for over 18 months now, I've had zero nitrates even though I only do a 25g water change once every 4 weeks (some times even 6 weeks).

The reason there are people on both sides of this issue is because both methods can work. BTW, I keep a large supply od filter socks (about 20) and wash them when I get down to my last 2. I keep the old ones in a rubbermaid contaier in the garage. When they are kept dried out they don't smell. And I soak them in hydrogen peroxide (something like OxyClean) for an hour or more before I wash them. It's not like it's hard work or time consuming.

Good luck.

[mlott132]

Thanks for the feedback Ron. I did wonder how the particulates would be cleaned out if I did not run socks. I do have two inputs into my sump so I could do one with and one without. I think I will try 200 micron for a little while to see how they work. Then once the tank gets more established, may switch to 100 micron. When you clean yours do you turn them inside out and rinse them out in the sink, then soak in OxyClean, then in the washing machine with bleach only?

[chrispc66]

I just think socks are another gimmick that just adds additional maintenance. We can run successful tanks without them, so why the need ?

The OP wanted opinions on for / against / experiences, hence my post.....not a debate, you either use or not depending on your system design and need.

Cheers

[thegrun]

I change out my socks twice a week. I turn them inside out and blast them off with a garden hose in my slop sink, then turn them right side out and repeat the water blasting. Hang them up to dry and the reuse them at the next filter sock change-out. Once every 6 months or so I wash them in the washing machine with beach (no soap).

[kevinrf]

I bought a bunch of them from BRS 200felt and change them out twice a week. (sometimes I slack and do it once a week). Throw them in the washer when I'm getting low on them.. ta-da!

[skidoctor]

Opinions are the basis for debates. Op wanted opinions- what good would it be to have a one sided conversation. Obviously the op doesn't know whether to use them or not- hence the debate. Even the thought of them being a gimmick is terms for discussion. Figure it out yourself- great input and I'm sure that has helped the OP.

[cloak]

I don't use one. I would much rather let any leftover food that might have gone over the falls keep passing through the system until something can utilize it as opposed to sitting in a sock being allowed to rot. Plain & simple.

On a sidenote, I will be running a sock today for a few hour to polish the water. I have to do a water change so I'll be stirring everything up in the sump and blowing the detritus off the rocks in the DT. (a time and a place)

[Allmost]

detritus will rot, and release po4. we all agree.

its up to individual how to deal with this now.

you can run filter socks, and clean it often.

or you can not run filter socks, and siphon out the detritus.

I personally am lazy and have too many tanks, and a full time job ... so I run socks when cleaning and moving the sand bed, and siphon the sump and sand bed weekly to get the detritus out.

[drew2007]

I use mine. I rotate 5 100 micron ones. I dont mind changing them. Keeps me on top of maintenance so i dont get lax about it. I change mine out once a week. Im not heavily stocked yet. I rinse mine out with tap water and throw them in the wash with bleach no detergent and they come out looking new again. Like others said if you keep on top of regular maintenance then you should not have any issues.