I recently got a new 75-gallon FOWLR tank setup. It's been running for a month, and someone suggested moving to a thicker filter sock to remove clouds of snail poo in the water. I got all these detailed instructions on washing them, drying them, and keeping a good supply on hand for all of the laundry. Ok, I bought some but don't know how to replace it in the sump. Thanks!
There are lots of good reasons to using filter socks mechanical filtration but I have to say that using them for snail poo is a new one for me. As far as detailed instructions on washing them I would be interested to know what they are. I throw mine in the washer, not with any clothes - I have already gotten in trouble for that, dry them and soak them in water to make sure there is no detergent left in the sock before replacing the dirty ones. I change mine about once every two weeks weather they need it or not so that I don't have to do them seperately. I started cleaning them by blasting them with water - no detergent or cleaning chemicals at all - but that just does not remove the detritus well enough and they clog again very quickly. My filter socks have a plastic ring in them that rest on a hole cut in acrylic about a quarter inch less than the diameter of the ring. I just pull them out when needed and pop in another clean one. I am a big fan of mechanical filtration and have socks on all three of mine. Hope this helps.
I remove the sock, turn it inside out, put it in the washing machine by itself set to large load and somewhat surprising to many people I put in a capful of bleach. The sock comes out nice and clean with no chance of anything left living.
I clean mine the same as Slugg. It works great and the bleach doesn't hurt anything as it's such a small amount.
Instead of using bleach I began using Oxiclean. It can be in the was with hot water or in a 5 gallon bucket to soak overnight. Either was they come out very clean and I don't think the Oxi is as hard on the sock material itself as bleach is.
Cleaning filter socks I may try the oxyclean, thanks for the idea. I turn the socks inside out and rinse off then. I then put them in a Instant Ocean salt bucket, and fill with bleach and water. Let sit a couple of nights primarily due to being lazy, and then rinse them out again. I then fill yet another Instant Ocean bucket up with water and "Prime" dechlorinator. I will submerge the socks for a day or until I get ready to use them. Then I usually will set them out to dry after that. I have also used them dripping wet out of the Prime water. I just ring it out or let it drip for a couple of minutes. I have always been afraid to use the washer due to soap residue from previous loads or poor rinse cycles. I am kinda paranoid I guess. My way is kinda of a pain in the rear though, but it gives me a piece of mind not having to worry about the soap getting into my tank.
Filter socks Filter socks are usually rated by microns not thickness also. I have found that a 100 micron filter will filter the water really clear. It traps smaller particles than a 200 micron for example. You can find different filter microns at www.Aquaticeco.com I also have bought several from www.MarineDepot.com, but I cannot remember what micron they are. I want to say they are 100 micron. Just remember that the smaller the micron #, the faster they will clog and need to be cleaned.
Sump and filter sock Here is a picture of a sump I made. I had a local plastic company fabricate a holder for two filter socks on my 90 gallon tank. Thats the last post from me tonight I swear. Oh yeah the server clock needs to be set back.
Re: Sump and filter sock It is probably running at GMT. You have to change the offset in your profile... just change to -6 hours
