What do you do with your old filter socks???

[Ryan Hurrell]

I bought 2 and they are 16 inches if not longer. Was looking for shorter ones.

I feel the 16” ones would need to be replaced just as much as the shorter ones. Correct me if I’m wrong but won’t leaving the sock in till it’s clogged just give give the waste more time to work it’s way into the system? I seen longer ones on amazon and almost bought them but that came to mind.

 

[MadReefer]

Ryan, if you want to borrow one of mine let me know.
Went back to the felt ones.
May try shorter ones in the future.

 

[falconut]

I feel the 16” ones would need to be replaced just as much as the shorter ones. Correct me if I’m wrong but won’t leaving the sock in till it’s clogged just give give the waste more time to work it’s way into the system? I seen longer ones on amazon and almost bought them but that came to mind.

I have both the short 4" socks & the longer 4" socks & the shorter ones do clog much faster. The short ones last about 2-3 days before it spills over & the longer ones last about a week. I guess the junk collecting in the socks could break down & cause a rise in no3. You could just change the socks earlier if you feel like it.

 

[Ryan Hurrell]

Ryan, if you want to borrow one of mine let me know.
Went back to the felt ones.
May try shorter ones in the future.

Thanks I actually picked up a bunch on amazon and I tried the whole bleach in the washing machine deal so I now have like 15 socks lol

 

[KenM]

Darn you red sea and your "special" sized socks... I now have like ~20 useless filter socks, ughhhh.

 

[DangerDave]

I am currently using two 7x32 inch filter socks. They are twice as long as my sump water level. They fit by laying behind the other one. They've been able to extend my need to rinse from 1-2 days to 3-5 days. I rinse in tap water and allow to dry. I replace every two months or so.

I'd like to stop rinsing these altogether, so I'm still waiting for the 7 inch version of the klir...

 

[Hawkeye]

Isn’t there leftover residue of bleach, detergent, and softener in the machine?

I can't speak for the softner/detergent - however assuming you are using generic bleach (no special additives, not the color safe bleach) - it is going to be sodium hypochlorite (aka Liquid bleach). Exposed to oxygen, bleach will "unbind" and become totally safe. In other words, after you wash your socks with bleach, if you let them dry - there is no way for "bleach" to enter your fish system as the air will naturally remove the bleach from the filter sock. I've used bleach now for a few years on my filter socks and after drying, had no problems. The caveat is you are using just liquid bleach and not some special perfumed or color bleach.