Someone please explain to me why i need a mechanical filter?

[mgk]

So can i ditch my Eheim and just with a filter sock with media? The media remove unwanted chemical and the sock itself remove particles.

in theory yes but it gets expensive to replace chemical filtration, also you need something to push water over the media

 

[Toby_H]

I think if you worded your question more clearly you could get a much clearer answer...

So what's the difference between a mechanical filter with media versus a sock filled with carbon, purigen,other media, etc?.

When you say "a mechanical filter with media"... what do you mean by media? there are countless things that can be used as media...

I used an Eheim and a filter sock and see no difference.

You see no difference as compared to what? When you say you "see" no difference, do you mean a visual difference? As many pollutants cannot be seen, though will can still have damaging effects...

I do 25-30% water change every week and feed 3 times a day.

Wow, that is a very heavy feeding schedule. I feed fry multiple times per day but I do not know of any adult fish that benefit from such frequent feedings, yet overfeeding increases the potential for uneaten food, creates more waste (poop) & byproducts (ammonia, nitrite & nitrate) and that is not even getting into the probable internal complications that overating causes...

Aside from looking unsightly I dont see what a filter sock cant do that an Eheim can.

With the wording you are using, you are comparing a functioning canister to a piece of media... While Eheim makes great filters and effective media, there are many other options that you can utilize that will work just as well...


In response to your threads title... "Can someone please explain to me why I need mechanical filter (filtration)"

physical waste (poop) erodes/breaksdown creating ammonia... removing the physical waste prior to allowing it to break down reduces the ammonia/nitrite/nitrate that collects in the tank...

Physical waste that is sucked into chemical/biological media will clog the pores of that media making it less effective. Thus proper mechanical filtration allows other media to do what it is designed to do makign much less of it needed to get the same benefit...

Physical waste is unsightly and the tank is generally easier to appreciate when the physical waste is removed...

 

[JakeH]

A mechanical filter sock should NOT have any media in it. The sock is the media & its purely mechanical. Any carbon, Purigen, etc. you put in it will inhibit the flow & do more harm than good by clogging very quickly. If you want to use a sock as a filter bag by filling it with media, go ahead, but this should be thrown IN the filter & will not provide any mech filtration. Its one or the other with socks/bags...

 

[JakeH]

in theory yes but it gets expensive to replace chemical filtration, also you need something to push water over the media

NOT EVEN CLOSE. NOT EVEN IN THEORY. DON'T DO THIS.

 

[mgk]

i double posted so can someone do 100 jumping jacks?

 

[mgk]

NOT EVEN CLOSE. NOT EVEN IN THEORY. DON'T DO THIS.

ammonia absorb, nitrate absorb

it will work if they do

 

[spongebob281]

Sorry for the confusion. What I have a 125 G sump connected to my 500 G. Water from the display tank go down to the sump with a sock filled with carbon and purigen to catch fish waste. My question is why do i even need a Eheim canister filter when my sock catches everything

 

[CHOMPERS]

My question is why do i even need a Eheim canister filter when my sock catches everything

If the sump is complete and of good design, then the answer is "you don't".

Post a picture of your sump (it's worth a thousand words). I don't think your sump is complete and/or being used properly. The sock should be empty. You don't want the media in the dirty area; it is self defeating. The media will clog. You want the water to be filtered first then it can be treated with the Purigen. It is ok to have media in a sock after the initial filtering. But really, you want the water to flow through the bio-media before the Purigen.

The most logical sequence is Mechanical filtration, Bio-filtration, Chemical filtration.

 

[spongebob281]

If the sump is complete and of good design, then the answer is "you don't".

Post a picture of your sump (it's worth a thousand words). I don't think your sump is complete and/or being used properly. The sock should be empty. You don't want the media in the dirty area; it is self defeating. The media will clog. You want the water to be filtered first then it can be treated with the Purigen. It is ok to have media in a sock after the initial filtering. But really, you want the water to flow through the bio-media before the Purigen.

The most logical sequence is Mechanical filtration, Bio-filtration, Chemical filtration.

that made a whole lot of sense..like you said having media in a sock would clog it up