2 day old socks

[Carl C]

hi ALL
I've had my reef tank 3+ years ; and just recently added a sock .
according to BRS it should be changed every 2-3 days ; after 2-3 days i see the water rise in the sock anyway (detritus etc) so that makes sense; not a big deal swap it out throw used one in the washer QUESTION: so last year i went to Florida for 2 months and paid my LFS to come by weekly and maintain tank. now im thinking ahead , what do i do next time i go away ? do i need to find someone to come every three days ... anyone have experience here? thanks Carl (Boston area)

 

[Eagle_Steve]

hi ALL
I've had my reef tank 3+ years ; and just recently added a sock .
according to BRS it should be changed every 2-3 days ; after 2-3 days i see the water rise in the sock anyway (detritus etc) so that makes sense; not a big deal swap it out throw used one in the washer QUESTION: so last year i went to Florida for 2 months and paid my LFS to come by weekly and maintain tank. now im thinking ahead , what do i do next time i go away ? do i need to find someone to come every three days ... anyone have experience here? thanks Carl (Boston area)

If it was me and I was still running socks, I would just do one of the nylon mesh ones. It will not catch smaller stuff, but will catch larger stuff. This means more time to clog.

When you get back, throw a small wavemaker in the sump to kick the detritus that settled up and put your fine sock back in to catch it, or just suck the detritus out of the sump.

 

[snorklr]

well, if the tank was running successfully for 3 years without socks why couldn't you just remove them when you go away?...i spent a month in florida this winter and removed them and shut off the skimmer....did a water change right before i left and again when i came back...

 

[Carl C]

well, if the tank was running successfully for 3 years without socks why couldn't you just remove them when you go away?...i spent a month in florida this winter and removed them and shut off the skimmer....did a water change right before i left and again when i came back...

Good question: not sure I have a answer lol. For the longest time 2years plus I had 0 nitrates o phosphate; but crazy algae much of the time … so assuming the algae was consuming the nutrients (guess?) I got several additional fish and nutrients went up … then way up !! Could not get ‘em down … finally now they’re reasonable .25 phosphate; 16 nitrate (treatment gfo; plus the sock and a water polish pad …. I guess I try no sock no polish pad as experiment at some point see what happens??

 

[moz71]

What I just did was just removed the socks for a 10 day vacation. I always haves socks. When I got home just did a good water change and put socks back in. Do you have a skimmer? Because only problem I had was then skimmer cup filled quicker. But had time for sitter to empty that. Next time plan to run it dryer /thicker.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Orrrr.....ditch the sock altogether and run a filter roller. Haven't changed out my roll in over 2 months. I will never touch a filter sock again.

 

[melonheadorion]

i have my sump setup that if my socks are too dirty, it tends to overflow when it cannot flow through the sock fast enough. if youre going away for a week, you might be able to get away with just keeping it as is. what the sock doesnt get, your skimmer probably would. thats assuming that you are changing your socks at the right time. i dont know what your socks look like, but i can generally tell when mine need to be changed, and i could go 3-4 days without changing, and up to a full week before they are doing absolutely nothing, to the point where any water coming in is just overfilling and just going through the sump. i guess it all depends