Why do socks get a bad rap?

[DWill]

I use socks. I have 10 of them. I change them every two days. When I’m down to one left I wash them with a very small amount of bleach (4ml), run them through a second wash and pit them in the sun to dry before storing them away.

 

[luisgo]

I can’t get the video to play has a slash threw the play symbol

Changed the video to a photo.

 

[Thor T.]

I have them on my 10 gallon.i don’t know how to clean them properly.i just rinse them under hot tap water until they run clean and put them back.maybe twice a week.

Wash in washing machine with double rinse and a shot of bleach. Let the socks dry a couple days before you use them again.

 

[esther]

Super cheap? Where do you get yours I believe I pay 20 each for mine 7”

bought a pack of 20 on amazon for like $50.

 

[Questiongurl]

I have a Waterbox 220.6 and I still use socks. I change them every 3 days and basically throw them all in a bucket until I only have 2 left (I have about 20 of them) and then throw them in the washing machine to clean. Why is everyone so against them? They seem to be doing a great job for me on filtering out all of the garbage in my tank. They're super cheap and they work. Am I missing something?

Do u wash without detergent or with?

 

[esther]

Do u wash without detergent or with?

I wash on the hottest water setting with just bleach and then one additional rinse. Then I actually dry in the dryer on the hottest setting for an hour and a half and then store away until we need them. Works like a charm for me!

 

[Questiongurl]

Depends on the kind of tank you're trying to maintain.

For a tank with a refugeum, sox are unnecessary, even detrimental, IHMO. I've run many tanks, for decades, without sox. Never missed them.

Today, i'm running a zeovit system. Nitrates at <3, Phosphate at <0.05. Sox help me maintain pristine water conditions. I change them every other day. Add in a very efficient skimmer, bare bottom, high flow... tons of light (2x Kessel Ap700's + 4x 54w T5's)... Totally different type of system than I've run before, and sox are an important part of the system.

Why do u feel socks r unnecessary if ur using a refugium?

 

[TonyD1988]

I run 3 200 micron socks in my sump and change them every 3-4 days. Throw them in a 5 gallon bucket with bleach and hot water. Let them sit overnight. Next day flip them inside out and wash them clean until all the craps off and smell of bleach is gone. Zero issues whatsoever. Oh I also run chaeto and a protein skimmer. The tank is a 144 gallon FOWLR. I have no clue why they get a bad rap as they help with my nitrates and water clarity.

 

[zoomonster]

Can I ask how you are confident that detergent, bleach, etc won't stick and leach into the tank? I'm so tired of hand washing socks, but I'm so scared that the socks will have residue that will harm the tank if I machine wash it. I regularly use the downy pellets with my laundry and other softeners.

Personal experience... This tank and batch of socks I have had years and no issues. Prior to that I have been doing it 24+ years. I think I have the method down pretty good and like I said I only use quality free and clear detergent in moderation in a high end HE front loader, plus they get a second full cycle w/o detergent. I presoak in bleach, rinse well and never add bleach to the washer. You could take it a step further and soak them in RO water and add some sort of chlorine neutralizer and then sun cure them. My socks sit right next to a pretty large skimmer and I don't get any reaction when I change socks. Also I generally clean my washer once a month with afresh.

 

[PhilSD211]

Read a bunch... I'd love to get rid of the socks so I don't have to clean them. But unfortunately, I have vermetid snails in my system that started growing in my sump when I took off socks for a few weeks. =/ Scrapped them off, put socks back in and I don't see them in my sump anymore.
I'm back to using socks. As much as i don't like cleaning them, I HATE the vermetid snails A LOT more!

 

[turfster26]

Used filler socks religiously for over 15+ years. Back in December, in suggestion from R2R thread switched to filter cups and filter floss and will NEVER go back to socks. Same end result with a ton less work. $10 bag of filter floss lasts over a month. Simply change and dispose every 3-4 days. No more bleach and double and triple washing socks. #neveragain.
Upfront cost of (3) 7” filter cups $70. Best money spent in years. FWIW

 

[EMeyer]

Why do u feel socks r unnecessary if ur using a refugium?

Im still waiting for a convincing argument theyre necessary regardless of a refugium I saw no effect when I removed mine. Other than eliminating a maintenance task.

 

[ReefAddiction34]

Used filler socks religiously for over 15+ years. Back in December, in suggestion from R2R thread switched to filter cups and filter floss and will NEVER go back to socks. Same end result with a ton less work. $10 bag of filter floss lasts over a month. Simply change and dispose every 3-4 days. No more bleach and double and triple washing socks. #neveragain.
Upfront cost of (3) 7” filter cups $70. Best money spent in years. FWIW

Absolutely the best way to go! So easy, that changing them several times a week is possible if needed.

 

[Roger D]

I started out with the 100 micron filters with my skimmer to finish. Then I changed to the thick felt type and the skimmer only needs emptied once a week but with the 100 micron filter it was about every third day. I do like to feed my fish and the corals seem to be fine except haven't tried acros yet.

 

[PhilSD211]

Used filler socks religiously for over 15+ years. Back in December, in suggestion from R2R thread switched to filter cups and filter floss and will NEVER go back to socks. Same end result with a ton less work. $10 bag of filter floss lasts over a month. Simply change and dispose every 3-4 days. No more bleach and double and triple washing socks. #neveragain.
Upfront cost of (3) 7” filter cups $70. Best money spent in years. FWIW

Might give that a try... balked at it because someone mentioned it created a lot of waste having to throw away the filter floss.

 

[Squidward]

I have about 10 pairs of mesh and 10 pairs of felt socks. I put a mesh sock inside a felt sock so it lasts a little longer before changing. I like using socks. Its part of maintenance and I don't mind it.

 

[Squidward]

Can I ask how you are confident that detergent, bleach, etc won't stick and leach into the tank? I'm so tired of hand washing socks, but I'm so scared that the socks will have residue that will harm the tank if I machine wash it. I regularly use the downy pellets with my laundry and other softeners.

I've only washed mines with bleach in the washing machine. I don't use detergent. Then I put them in the dryer for 10 minutes or so. I believe once bleach is dried, its no longer effective or hazardous. So far so good.

 

[PhreeByrd]

I don't use filter socks, but I have no doubt that they will capture a lot of 'stuff'. I periodically siphon a lot of mulm out of my sump, and if I had filter socks, probably almost none of that would be there. On the other hand, the mulm is basically inert, so to me, the benefit of socks is negligible. I prefer siphoning out my sump once or twice per year to constantly changing and washing filter socks.

I'm sure it varies from one tank to another, and depends upon the amount of food going into the system, but after 3 days, food caught in the filter socks has probably substantially rotted and released nutrients into the water. That could be bad, but it could also be beneficial to those trying to raise their nutrient levels.

 

[esther]

Thanks to everyone for their input. I'm going to try an experiment.... Yesterday was sump/pumps clean-out day and we decided to remove the socks for a month to see how everything does. We threw some of the marine pure blocks we had in the refugium at the bottom of each sock section (which made more space in the refugium) and we'll be adding more macro algae. We also threw some crabs and snails into the sump as well. Here goes nothing!

 

[danieyella]

My sock chamber is actually a pita to access, so I just bought a tray insert to replace the socks and hopefully ease my maintenance a little. I have an eshopps so it's the rectangular style instead of circular. Trying to decide on what kind of pads I want to use in the tray once it arrives. I don't mind washing socks, i have a good system, but I really hate the removal process because my sump space is so cramped and I feel like this will be a lot easier than pulling a long sock out. Anyone know of pads that are washable like the socks?