Sock it to me!

For those of you with DIY (fish tank) sumps with filter socks:

What kind of sock holder do you have?

where did you get it?

What size sock do you use? 4" or 7"

I see both sizes all over the place and I do not know the differences / advantages of sizes etc.

(my sump will be a 20 Long).

I just want to know what size sock and type of holder would work best for my money.

Thanks!

ps: xmetalfan - you still owe me a sock!

 

Filter socks are bad m'kay

 

Why's that? Provided you clean them regularly I have seen great results with them.

I just shove the PVC pipe into the sock and let it sit inside the sump. I change every 2 days.

 

well, my friend - some of us don't have the option of french silk stockings and garters on our sumps!

*grin*

(I don't mind hijacking my own thread for a moment of brevity - 'tis Friday and I am in a goofy mood).

 

Ok, so you are a fan of the sock - so you don't use a holder for it?

what kind of sock is it as far as micron size and diameter? is there some issue with a 4" versus a 7"?

 

Filter socks remove what I consider to be free coral food

 

I use a 7. I briefly tried 4" socks and they fill up quickly and the water just overflowed the sock and defeated the purpose of having it in the first place. The filter sock holder was pointless to me as the socks have loops inside the plastic ring that are perfect for shoving the pvc pipe through and it works great. I use 200 micron nylon right now. It removes larger debris and doesn't fill up as quickly as the 100. Skimmer takes care of the rest. Fish poop is coral food but the corals can only "eat" so much and I don't want detritus collecting to break down into nitrates.

 

I use a 4 and just wedge it in place. I mainly use my sock to stop the splashing caused by water running into the sump.

 

hey Zach,

Thanks for the input - that puts the 4" versus 7" issue to rest for me then

I am concerned about the detritus / nitrate / phosphate issue myself since I have been guilty of overfeeding etc which I am MUCH better about. Much of this is also my overall inexperience in the hobby.

I want very much to feed everything as "naturally" as possible but without too much build-up.

thanks again!

 

We have a powerhead in the sump that is connected to a timer which goes off after the lights go out in the tank. This prevents the build up of detritus in the sump. We don't overfeed but we have a tank full of sps corals so there are a lot of mouths to feed.