Here's an easy game to play. Here's an easy thing to say...

[ISR Jimmy]

"New socks. Two socks. Who's socks. Sue's socks. Who sews whose socks. Sue sews Sue's socks. Who sees who sew whose new socks, sir?"

Dr. Sues "A Fox in Socks" aside... are socks required for a sump / refugium? What purpose do they provide? Is it safe to run a sump without a sock? Is there risk to the pump?

Thanks

James


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[CUNAReefer]

Hey James,

Good question. Filter socks are not needed. I've never used them.

Pros:
Filters out excess food that is not eaten by fish.
Helps keep nitrate and phosphate in check if you are able to clean the socks on a regular basis. You can remove the excess food and prevent further decomposition into phosphate and nitrate
Excess food will not clog pump intakes
Cons
Filters out excess food that is not eaten by corals. You may want some of the coral food to recirculate in your system. Its entirely based on micron sizes of food and your socks. Even the smaller micron size food will be trapped in your socks if other particulate matter is allowed to build up.
Helps keep nitrate and phosphate low. In some cases, you may want a dirtier tank. Having a tank that is too clean can cause issues

For me, I have quite a bit of coral in my sump, so I like the excess food recirculating in my system. I also have a clean up crew in my sump that eats any leftovers not consumed by the coral. The one issue I do have is the clogging of my pump intakes. My Calcium reactor feed pump needs to be cleaned regularly.

Hope this helps!

James

 

[ISR Jimmy]

James
Thanks for the quick reply. Makes sense, appreciate the support.

James

 

[tyler1503]

Hahaha tweetle beetles!
That's good info above

 

[Shadrach72]

I sock have 5 change every other day

 

[ISR Jimmy]

I sock have 5 change every other day

Shadrach,
Why are you changing the socks so frequently? Are you feeding more often? Also, what type of filtration are you using? Is it a refugium or deep sand bed?

Thanks
James