Overflow socks ((Bacteria breeding ground?))

[gwilcom]

Due to some recent and still persistant problems with cyano bacteria I have been researching sumps with refug's and I have stumbled on yet another topic that no one seems to agree on.

There is a camp of people who say the socks breed bacteria and other nasty things and that they shouldn't be used. The other side says replace with a clean sock after the water spills over the top. This can take days.

So to see which camp was the majority, I started to look at different sump/refug vendor products and after awhile I lost count but they are split as well.

Based on science which side is correct? Do I go with the sock or sockless?

 

[Anonymous]

The answer is 'yes'.







Oh, you want me to explain that ? Well yes, the filter socks do breed bacteria, but that isn't why people object to them. What they are designed to do is catch big particle waste so you can remove it before it can rot. If you are diligent and change them out say once a week (or sooner if it clogs up with gack) then it isn't a problem. If you let it sit there without changing it, it doesn't necessarily add to the pollution (the stuff was there already regardless of the sock if you do nothing) but it can encourage different stains of bacteria and consequently raise nitrate levels. So, it's up to you. Personally, I am sockless but I do siphon the gack out of the sump every week.

 

[scifi_3d_zoo]

I decided to go sockless and all it did was clog my skimmer up with detrius. Now I have to break my sump and skimmer apart here to clean everything out. I think it's easier to change the sock once a week and then maybe after a year or years you might have to clean out the sump a bit. I was against anything that is EXTRA WORK but in this case I think trying to go without has just increased my work. My sump is under my stand so it's not easy to get too. If it was it can actually be a great place for stuff to collect, settle, and be siphoned out.

 

[jandree22]

Go with a sock, and only clean when it gets clogged up. There are plenty of opportunities for endless supplies of bacteria to grow in your tank with or without a sump sock. Nitrates would be the concern here, but there's not all that much surface area for the bacteria to grow, and the skimmer and fuge (if used) will be directly after the sock anyway to help take care of dissolved nasties.

Ultimately, sock or no sock isn't a major detail and mostly lies upon personal preference.

 

[scifi_3d_zoo]

http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=122009
Well, since I made that comment 2 months ago my opinion has totally changed. My skimmer was not being harmed by my sock. It was a prefilter on my skimmer pump. It didn't look bad but that little bit that was there was occluding flow to my skimmer.

So look at the similar thread in this forum in the link above. My nitrates have been exactly the same either way. I have found the only diff. is you will have to clean out your sump more often going sockless... but that's not hard at all. Less work than changing socks out all the time. PLUS you'll just trap your pods and other coral foods too. I only run a sock now after a monthly water change for just 24 hours to catch whatever stuff I stirred up cleaning the tank.