To sock or not to sock??

i was wondering about the live rock rubble in the chamber thing, any thoughts??

 

I ran a sock for a couple months. The only thing it was good at was catching a watchman goby who insisted on going into the overflow on a regular basis. I took the goby back to the lfs (he was easy to catch!) and removed the sock shortly thereafter. I don't miss it.

I don't like socks because:

- Increased maintenance
- They catch pods and other beneficial critters
- You have to have multiple socks if you really want to clean them properly (e.g. one soaking/cleaning while the other is working)
- You have to have something that holds the sock effectively

I like them because:

- They trap micro bubbles - though I've designed a bubbless sump that eliminates this need.

 

Most of the stuff I'm concerned with filtering out are almost microscopic. You probably wouldn't notice it without some decent magnification.

 

No one has answered my question

As water flows from chamber to chamber in the sump/refugium, bubbles float to the top and matter which is heavier sinks to the bottom. I'm concerned with what sinks to the bottom and what additional maintenance is required to maintain the sump if the sock is removed.

I see a number of posts by users who have never used a sock. My question is do you have to perform additional cleaning of your sump? If so please identify the cleaning and frequency required.

Thanks!!!

 

My sumps don't require a lot of cleaning, some stuff settles down but if you have a good skimmer you shouldn't need to worry too much, every couple of months (maybe 3-6?) just siphon or pump the junk out with a water change.

You can also try keeping everything suspended to get skimmed out by putting a powerhead in the area where detritus collects down there.

It will vary with every system to some extent, how heavily stocked it is, how good your skimmer is, what your overflow is, etc etc so your mileage may vary. I wouldn't worry too much, try it out and see what happens!

 

Thanks for the information. I'm getting far enough along with my tank to possibly try it out.

 

microscopic stuff will then be picked up by your skimmer and the sock would not be the problem. i use a 200 micron sock

 

A skimmer is not 100% efficient on a single pass, even if you feed your skimmer directly from your drain. I wouldn't count on it being as efficient as a micron filter in place which WILL definitely catch everything that falls into it, unless you poke holes in it or something.

The idea is that some stuff is left circulating through the tank and not removed entirely. Some excess is taken up by the skimmer but some of it is left to go about it's business. I can tell you running without a filter sock that some stuff definitely does get past the skimmer.

 

Again why clean out a sump all that settle out is coral and fish food you can buy it also its called marine snow. I use a few strong pumps to come on at night to blast water around in the sump to stir it all up out of the corners where it tends to settle out then that feeds the tank.. I have a system now running that my cares for been up now for 15 yrs sump has never been cleaned . As long as the mater stays in suspension either it will be eaten as food or broken down then the skimmer will get it .

 

This is how Tangster showed me to plumb my sump so that the bubbles stay to the top of the water. Once you come into the sump with your OF go all the way to the bottom then use 2x 90's to turn and go back up but increase the size of the turn so that the pressure of the water is decrease. Then run the tube to just under you water line and the bubble will be released at the water surface and pretty much stay there. This will also quiet down your water sound in the sump too.

Right OB1 ??