Filter Socks: Worth the Dirty Laundry?
Another question saltwater tank owners always ask is:
“Do I need to run filter socks on my tank”?
My answer is always, no, unless you are a reef junkie.
In its simpliest sense, a filter sock is a tube sock looking piece of mesh or felt that goes below your downpipe on your tank so that as the water falls from your tank to your sump, it has to pass through the sock. The sock catches small particulates (down to 200 microns) which means clearer water for your tank, but it comes with a cost.
These socks need to be cleaned and changed out every 3 days so keep from creating nitrates which can really wreak havoc on your tank. (The trapped particles break down in the sock and generate waste – the nitrates). Filter socks can also get clogged and overflow if you leave them unchanged for a long time.
As a tank dabblers, its not worth having to clean a piece of your tank every couple of days. The difference you notice with the filter sock isn’t worth the effort. The same is true for reef enthuiasts. It’d be nice to run socks, but you can get by without it.
Reef junkies..stock up. Remember you want the best tank and if someone saw small pieces of who-knows-what floating around your tank, it’d be detrimental to your reputation. Just remember to change them out every 3 days and wash them with cold water and no soap!
Browse the Store! Questions?
OK, I hear about stuff breaking down and creating nitrates in socks -then you hear the reply that if the stuff isn’t taken out of the tank isn’t it still going to break down in the tank and creat nitrates? So if I add a sock and miss changing it every three days, lets say I go a week? How do I get more nitrates than if I didn’t have a sock wont the junk just flow around in the tank, get stuck in the rocks etc and break down anyway? But worse as it’s never removed.
Brad…the stuff in your tank will have a chance to get eaten by your clean up crew (CUC) and therefore not turn into nitrates. Some might still turn into nitrates, but not as much as stuff caught in a filter sock. The stuff in the sock doesn’t have a chance to get eaten and turned into something other than nitrates. In the sock, it can only break down via the nitrogen cycle.
If you miss changing the sock for a week a time or two, it won’t wreck your tank. Staying regular with them is the best defense against having them turn into nitrate factories.
Mark, The buy one get one free link above goes to a coral grow product that is discontinued.
Mark, this is a great posting. One thing I don’t understand though. There are all sorts of creatures and stuff getting picked up in my sock that I don’t want in my sump (I think). I have brittle stars and amphipods as well as some algae. Without the sock they will be stuck in my sump. The algae won’t grow I think without any light, but not sure about the others. Seems like over time this would cause problems. What do you think?
Thanks!
I always fish those critters out of my socks and throw them back in the tank. If some get through the sock and into your sump, they’ll clean up any detritus that comes through.
Hi Mark, I jusr recently installed a HOB overflow for a 20 gallon sump ( it was not fun getting it up and running and I had one small flood). I am worried about how I am going to complete a water change ( even a small one of 5 gallons). If I turn off the pumps my overflow box will still lose it’s siphon-will I have to go through this every week? or is there a way to keep everything running and still sneak in a 5 gallon water change?
Thanks Brian
Mark,
So if I remove the sock from the sump…what filters the water?
Also do I just add bio balls to the place that was taken by the sock in the sump inlet?
Thank you
Marcial…your rock in the tank will act as a natural filter of sorts. Avoid the bioballs.
And don’t let your wife wash them with the dog’s bedding or they wil get so many hairs in them that you will need to replace them.
Mark,
Any thoughts about how to use a filter sock on a non-drilled tank? Currently running a HOB RO skimmer and CPR HOB refugium..guess I could use e sock on the intake from the tank into the fuge. What do you think?
Hey I have been washing my filter socks in the washing machine with hot water, no soap or bleach. I noticed you said with cold water, is it bad that I’ve been using hot water? Thanks
Kelly…hot water is ok.
Hi Mark, Have an Elos 160xl tank that’s 3 months old. The skimmer produces lots of micro bubbles so the supplier recommended putting a filter sock on the return hose in the sump. This has cut down on the micro bubbles but its necessary to wash the sock weekly. At the cost of $20 per sock and the fact they can only be washed a few times this becomes a expensive exercise. Can you recommend an alternative?
Charlotte…$20 a sock?! Wow…I can easily find them for $3-4 each over here. The sock should last for lots of uses. I easily get 6 months of life out of my filter socks, so I’m not sure how you are cleaning it.
You could also try a block of foam to catch the bubbles
The filter socks are Elos filter socks and there is only one supplier in Australia and that is the cost.
Can you recommend a different brand and where I might purchase would be very helpful. Thank you for your reply.
ammazon.com
they shipp internasunaly