Yet another question

Are there options other than filter socks I could use in an e shoppes R100?

My wife and I will be away for week starting Saturday. All of a sudden my tank stating surging like crazy and I has to back the output from the pump way down. The 90 gallon states it is good for a 700 GPH pump but I am guessing that as the sock gets a bit dirty that the pump output becomes too much. I have only had this sock in place for 2 days but I can not think of any other reason why the sudden surging.

Would a 600 GPH pump be better so as the filter material gets dirty it does not overwhelm it, or is there something else I could use that would not need to be changed so often?

I have someone staying at our house who has taken care of our smaller tank, but there was not a filter sock in place. The sump used bio balls and foam instead. I understand the bio balls can create nitrate issues, which I was having, so when I got the larger tank I switched to the " filter sock." I don't want our friends daughter to have to deal with anything other than adding water. I will probably turn the protein skimmer off for the week. At the rate it's going it won't be broken in by then anyway.

Sorry for all of the posts but thanks for all of the good advice.

 

Lots of folks don't use filter socks at all, even with mature, fully-stocked tanks. I see no reason why yours can't be removed. You can replace it when you return, if you wish.

Your tank will probably be fine without the skimmer, but I would not recommend shutting it down for that long; the water in it will stagnate, so when you power it back up, you'll be sending a surge of water with low oxygen and high ammonia levels into the system. You can turn off the air and (if possible) reduce the flow, but I would keep the pump running.

 

I agree. Pull the filter sock. I removed mine after the first week of getting my tank online, and never put it back.

I asked this in your other thread, but what do you have for a drain in your overflow? A dirty sock should not cause surging. It is likely your drain isn't keeping up as already mentioned. Please post some pictures of your drain setup to make it easier to help.

What I would do is make a reverse durso for where the drain enters the sump. Plenty of threads on here on how to make one. You can use the bulkhead on the sump to hold the drain piping, but get a piece of PVC to extend it a couple inches below the water line.