siskiou Posted June 11, 2007 Share Posted June 11, 2007 Do you use them, and if yes, how often do you rinse them out? I've been staying away from them, because I have enough trouble with nitrates as it is, but there is a lot of tiny stuff floating in my water and I'd like to polish it a bit. The diatom filter works great for it, but it heats up the house and I don't want to run it all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy-S Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Yes i use two one for each of my returns. I run them through the wash about every week or two at the most. Hot water wash no soap them back in the sump they go. if your lazy i think fantaseas has a exchange program, were you bring your dirty ones and grab clean ones and they do all the washing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robz Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 I think it depends a little bit on a few factors as to how often they need to be changed out such as bio load, how often you feed, and if you turn off your flow through your socks when feeding so not very much uneaten food get's trapped in them to break down and raise nitrates. Also water volume could play a role in frequency of changeing out your filter socks. Because if you have 130gal. of water in your system like me, or 350gal. like some other reefers. Less water voulume=a higher probability of an increase in trates due to dirty socks. JMO I could be way off. I usually am Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J & Jr Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 I use filter socks on both returns and have noticed a much clearer tank, also helps control microbubbles in sump also quieted splashes and gurgles comming from sump. I wash once a week and have noticed no increase in nitrates so far.I realy like socks just my 2 cents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180Brandy Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 We use the socks. Change them once a week,wash them in the washer no soap added. In hot/warm water. All by themselves. I think they work pretty well. Always nice and dirty when we change them out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cyenna Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 We use the socks. Change them once a week' date='wash them in the washer no soap added. In hot/warm water. All by themselves. I think they work pretty well. Always nice and dirty when we change them out.[/quote'] off topic but :eek: you wash only two socks at a time in your washer? I would imagine the effect of a sock is the same as a sponge in your filter. Rinse off once in a while and you're a-ok. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180Brandy Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Yes on a small cycle. Actually I Have also just put it on a rinse cycle. It works great!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted June 12, 2007 Author Share Posted June 12, 2007 Do you all use the large filter socks? Or is there a skinnier version around? I'd like to attach them to both drains. Can't do it on the returns, since they'd be hanging in the tank then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted June 12, 2007 Author Share Posted June 12, 2007 Yes on a small cycle. Actually I Have also just put it on a rinse cycle. It works great!! No residual soap in the machine? Or is it so little that it's nothing to worry about? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wegotjs Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 I wash mine with a load of towels and I use soap, I just make sure that there is no fabric softner in the soap. I do liker the bigger socks just because the are easier to clean and turn inside out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAVES Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 I have 7 inch and 4 inch, I wash them in the machine with bleach, then do a second cycle with just water to be sure they are fully rinsed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
180Brandy Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 We use the large ones. I don't think there is soap residue left in the washer. If there is it's really a tiny amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffP Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 I use the larger ones so I can turn it inside out when I throw it in my washer - Hot water, no soap, pre-rinse, extra rinse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 Too much hassel for me lol i know i know hassel = lazy (laugh) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitterbait Posted June 12, 2007 Share Posted June 12, 2007 nope, BAS is the solution to all problems... (BAS = Big a$$ skimmer) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
siskiou Posted June 12, 2007 Author Share Posted June 12, 2007 Can't afford BAS right now, so will have to get off my lazy a$$ and wash socks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 BAS does not take care of suspended particles in the water column. So as soon as I move my tank to the basement (1 or 2 weeks away), I am going to hook up my new sump, and I got a filter sock to go in the sump to help filter. I was wondering what to do with it when it got dirty... Now I know. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twitterbait Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 BAS does not take care of suspended particles in the water column. So as soon as I move my tank to the basement (1 or 2 weeks away), I am going to hook up my new sump, and I got a filter sock to go in the sump to help filter. I was wondering what to do with it when it got dirty... Now I know. dsoz Actually they do pull out the particles... if they don't then you have one of 2 problems. Skimmer is too small not enough flow in the tank to move the particulate matter to the skimmer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 Actually they do pull out the particles... if they don't then you have one of 2 problems. Skimmer is too small not enough flow in the tank to move the particulate matter to the skimmer. Good to know. Now I know that my CSS is too small. It is better than what I had before (nothing). Now I gotta plan on buying a new BAS. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted June 13, 2007 Share Posted June 13, 2007 Or you could mod the CSS add mesh it does wonders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Or you could mod the CSS add mesh it does wonders. That may be something for me to try this summer. I am just afraid that I will mess it up, then I don't have a skimmer at all. Maybe that can be something that someone is willing to talk about at one of the meetings this summer. We all bring in our skimmers, and someone has some extra mesh that we can buy, then you show us how to do it. I am also afraid of how mutch it will raise the water level inside the skimmer body. The water goes partway up the neck to begin with. Adding more, smaller, bubbles may cause it to constantly overflow. I also have the problem when I add top-off water to the tank, the skimmer goes nuts and overflows. I have to turn off the skimmer for about 30 minutes whenever I add water. Once those 30 minutes are up, the skimmer works fine. Until then it overfills the cup and water goes all down the backside of my tank... It will get me by for now. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 Well luckily the mesh mod is something that doesn't hurt anything. You just zip tie it or tie it with fishing line to your existing impeller. If you don't like it just remove it. Nothing to mess up I'd be willing to show you how at the meeting at Advanced if you are going. Adding mesh actually increases air into the skimmer, and as a result the water level in the skimmer must be lowered. More air into the skimmer = less water. Are you running the skimmer wide open right now? I know that skimmer has an adjustable dial on it to adjust the water level in the chamber. How much topoff water are you adding at once? What it sounds like to me, is you are adding the topoff which in turn lowers the SG of the water entering the skimmer. The skimmer does not work the same in FW, or even lower SG water, the air bubbles do not act the same in that case. You skimmer is then pulling in more water than air, and results in overflowing. Can you try adding less topoff more often throughout the day? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 I should be at the meeting at Advanced. Do you have some extra mesh that I can buy off of you? Thanks for offering to show me how. I'll bring the unit (just the powerhead sould do, right?). I thought for some reason that you had to cut some of the blades off the impeller to make it work. That was what I was afraid of. I know that more air will decrease the water volume, but the water surface is what I am talking about. Will having more bubbles make the surface of the water go higher in the neck? What about microbubbles? The CSS already spits out major bubbles. Will a mesh mod make the microbubble problem worse? That is my other main concern. Maybe when I get my sump in place I can direct the output of the skimmer back into the filtersock that I will have. That should take care of any bubble problem, right? I have the output wide open, and I have experimented with closing off the input, but I was told to leave the input wide open as well. For the top off, I am actually taking about a 1/2 bucket of tank water out, and adding the TO water to it, then I mix it by hand for about a minute or two. Then I use a 1/2 inch hose to slowly syphon it back into the tank. It still messes with the SG, and the skimmer goes nuts and overflows if I don't turn it off for a while. When I get my tank moved to my basement, I will hook up my "new" used sump. This will let me put the skimmer in the sump so if it happens any more the water will not go all over my floor. Thanks again. Dennis Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted June 14, 2007 Share Posted June 14, 2007 I have some extra mesh i'll bring you free of charge Just bring the PH that will be fine. You will need to open up the dial on the skimmer to lower the water level. Having more bubbles will make the water level lower. You'll just have to account for the extra foam head by lowering the water level in the skimmer. Yah direct it into a filter sock or something. That'll work great. On the topoff it sounds like what i described above. Adding slower or less water more often should help that, or maybe your new sump will fix that problem. I'll do some searching to see what ppl have done on that skimmer after adding mesh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tidalsculpin Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 It looks like most users of "socks" is the fabric type sock. Do any of you use the fine nylon rated socks? I like em and there is less nitrate producing area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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