Filter sock cleaning

Smite · Mar 10, 2022

I've been running media cups for the last 2 years, with filter floss. To be honest, I'm tired of just throwing this stuff away multiple times a week and I question the purity of the pillow stuffing products. I'm considering going back to filter socks. I feel they work a little better as well for water clarity.

In the past I would just turn them inside out once dirty, put my hose nozzle on fan or stream and blast all the clogged crap out from the inside out so I didn't push crap farther in the sock. Then I rinse in RODI and let it dry.

Is this pretty standard or does anyone have an easier technique? My sump utilizes 2x 7" socks so I'm thinking of buying a 10 pack.

I also really hate going into Michaels for the stuffing. Pretty sure the cashier is convinced I'm a furry

cthetoy · Mar 10, 2022

I hated rinsing filter socks. Never can get them clean enough to last more than a week. I have about 15 socks. Once I rotate through 14 I put them to my side load washer and use bleach instead of detergent. Extra heavy duty cycle, extra rinse. Comes out clean. Wife not mad because washer does not smell nor does it leave a complete mess. Hang dry them or throw them in a dryer.
If you have an older washer you can speed wash empty to get rid of any detergent.

joseserrano · Mar 10, 2022

Why not get some kind of thick mesh media you can rise out. Like a sponge

mattyzang · Mar 10, 2022

i went to filter socks because my sump is loud without them lol. but tbh i enjoy the added water clarity. i have to change them a couple times a week, but i don't mind them. i have like 12 socks so i try to let them dry out for days if not weeks

for funsies i bought some of these recently: https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/crystal-clear-professional-filter-media-12-pcs-sera/

i figured i'd cram those in some filter cups for a couple days and see how i felt. and i gotta say the water clarity is looking really good. apparently u just wash them out and let them dry and reuse them, but we'll see if they really last for 100+ uses. and standard pillow stuffing probably achieves similar results

wowdude11 · Mar 10, 2022

Personally I use a roller 4” by klir and then another filter cup with filter pads I buy the giant roll on Amazon. Keeps water clear. What items are you buying at Michaels

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Smite · Mar 10, 2022

cthetoy said:

Basically why I swapped from socks in the first place. Kept clogging and I didn't want to use detergents/ plus we got enough laundry on constant turn around over here

Smite · Mar 10, 2022

joseserrano said:

I'll have to give this a go and see if it "polishes" the water close to floss/socks. I held onto some media sheets that came in a past Bashsea sump and cut those to fit the cups. It cut down on some filter floss but that might work great with a sponge type material above it.

Smite · Mar 10, 2022

mattyzang said:

i went to filter socks because my sump is loud without them lol. but tbh i enjoy the added water clarity. i have to change them a couple times a week, but i don't mind them. i have like 12 socks so i try to let them dry out for days if not weeks

for funsies i bought some of these recently: https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/crystal-clear-professional-filter-media-12-pcs-sera/

i figured i'd cram those in some filter cups for a couple days and see how i felt. and i gotta say the water clarity is looking really good. apparently u just wash them out and let them dry and reuse them, but we'll see if they really last for 100+ uses. and standard pillow stuffing probably achieves similar results

So are those pretty coarse so they don't just compact flat? Kind of a cool concept, media balls meet filter floss.

Smite · Mar 10, 2022

wowdude11 said:

My sump is a AA hybrid so I'm not sure where I could fit that. Plus I don't want to be on the hook for buying replacement rolls. I like the concept of constant fresh filtering with those rollers but I feel like the sump almost needs to be designed around it to work as intended.

I'm buying the 100% polyester hypo allergenic pillow stuffing. I use it as filter floss. On my last tank with 4" filter cups it wasn't that bad. I gotta pull a nice fist full out of these. One cup clogs, sends water to the second and I'm replacing both cups 2x a week right now.
https://www.michaels.com/polyester-classic-fiber-fill-by-loops-and-threads/10323436.html

mattyzang · Mar 10, 2022

Smite said:

nah they're pretty floss-like

supposedly they're very small micron so i figured i'd get like a day or two of use before they started overflowing and that seems to be what happened. i think how i'll try to use them is like right before a water change, turkey baste everything, storm it up, then the next day swap in new filter socks

BST310 · Mar 11, 2022

Having multiple filter socks is really the only practical way. I have 14 as well last, swap them every 1/2 weeks

As for washing I use the sink hose to blast all the crap out of them and then rinse on a hot cycle 2/3 times. No detergent no bleach either. As long as I blast them when I swap them out they come out pretty clean.

I am getting tired of changing socks though, it especially becomes a problem when traveling. I checked out the new Redsea auto fleece roller ar reefstock and it looks pretty interesting. Think I will install one of those once available.

thegrun · Mar 11, 2022

I blast mine with a hose and then throw them in a 5 gallon bucket with a 1/4 cup of bleach. When I have 10 dirty ones, I wash them in the washing machine with a cup of bleach, no detergent and an extra rinse cycle. I then hang them outside in the sun to dry.

drexel · Mar 11, 2022

When I use socks I just blast them with the hose, rinse in RO and go. If they get real dirty, then I do the bleach bucket bit, but that's very seldom. The Sera material looks pretty cool, especially if you have a media cup to hold them.

Flame_Angle · Mar 11, 2022

I did turn them in side out and blast them with garden hose + jet head. Let it dry then resused.

Filter sock cleaning

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