Sump thoughts

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
nice sump.
my $00.02, they aren't necessary you have a great setup there.

Filter socks are good for SW but even in that scenario i'd rather one of these: Rollermat Filter - Bulk Reef Supply

If you have multiple sets of socks and are willing to clean them weekly, sure but i found them to be hassle.
 
I like socks because I find them easier to clean than removing pads like you have in your sump. One things for sure, you will have to do much less cleaning of your pads if you're catching all the big gunk with the socks. I think it would actually be beneficial for your bb...you wouldn't have to rinse/disturb the bio media as much and it would maintain its porosity/aeration being cleaner.
 
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Backfromthedead said:
I like socks because I find them easier to clean than removing pads like you have in your sump. One things for sure, you will have to do much less cleaning of your pads if you're catching all the big gunk with the socks. I think it would actually be beneficial for your bb...you wouldn't have to rinse/disturb the bio media as much and it would maintain its porosity/aeration being cleaner.
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This was kinda my thoughts. I was just curious if the socks and pads together would be too much.
 
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ADawson23 said:
This was kinda my thoughts. I was just curious if the socks and pads together would be too much.
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For your sump some of the medium-coarse sieve mesh socks would work great--just something that would catch the largest bits of gunk and algae. I use the thick felt type drawstring socks and they catch everything, but require changing more often...they do work great to "polish" the water though.
 
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ADawson23 said:
Would it hurt to use the felt style, I have 6 of them. I believe they are 100 or 200 micron filters.
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Doesn't hurt to try. Play around with those and other versions if you're not happy. I know keepers who swear by actual cotton socks (yes the kind you would put on your feet) as the best option.
 
Backfromthedead said:
Doesn't hurt to try. Play around with those and other versions if you're not happy. I know keepers who swear by actual cotton socks (yes the kind you would put on your feet) as the best option.
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Yeah I’ve seen that done as well. Do you think there would be any affects on the BB by having that much mechanical filtration. Also I’m pumping roughly 4,000 GPH
 
ADawson23 said:
Yeah I’ve seen that done as well. Do you think there would be any affects on the BB by having that much mechanical filtration. Also I’m pumping roughly 4,000 GPH
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Like I said if anything it will improve your BB imo by keeping the media cleaner. If the media gets gunked up you'll likely get dead spots in your sump as the water bypasses the gunky spots instead of flowing through it as intended. Afaik the bb feed directly on the molecular ammonia/nitrite/nitrate in the water column, not big gunk that's harder to break down and would otherwise just jam up the works. Moreover, dirty media in sumps frequently turns into what some call "nitrate factories" because all the gunk gets stuck in there breaking down, I like the socks because I get the gunk out regularly.

In a reef tank, you would utilize a cleanup crew to facilitate this first step--breaking down the big pieces stuck in your rock or sandbed and digesting them-- then your mechanical filtration would sieve out the finer excrement, then a skimmer to really strain the microscopic particles out of the water column.

I've typed the word gunk entirely too many times tonight. I'm probably not the best at elaborating on this but this is my take anyways. Best of luck.
 
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