I'm tired of washing socks

[Basile]

So every 4 days now the socks have to be replace, and i'm tired of washing them, so i've come across a post which the OP said he just machine wash them with soap and javex.

I tried it and it works no more fiddeling around with vinegar soaking buckets and ladida BS. I put it on Hot water EXTRA RINSE, EXTRA SOAK, WARM RINSE its a 2;30 hours long i don't care its out of my hands now and i'm happy with it.

I've tested my parameters, no issues with phosphates and nitrates , period.
One note though once i forgot the EXTRA RINCE and the skimmer whent crazy, so assume its necessary for removing all trace of sopa and javex. I also let areate very good too. And since i've got 4 pairs it take a while between the changes so they have time to vent any chlorine residue.

So what your methods?

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[Snid]

I'm a total newb here, but I have to ask. Why every 4 days? Seems excessive. Seems like it should be a weekly or bi-weekly task.

Not questioning your methods at all, so don't take it that way. I'm honestly just curious for my own education.

 

[Waya]

I wash mine once a week. Snid it really depends on the bio load of your tank. Use you best judgement by visual analysis. If it starts to look brownish change it lol. I have about 5 sets of socks for when I am lazy and just want to change em. Gotta remember its good to have guide lines but every tank is different and takes a different strategy to tackle the maintenance. If your tank is not fully or over stocked you might not need every 4 days like Basile.

 

[PSU4ME]

My socks fill up in about 7 days. I have about 7 in rotation and when they are all dirty i toss um in the washer for a cycle (extra rinse) with about a half cup of bleach.

 

[Basile]

I'm a total newb here, but I have to ask. Why every 4 days? Seems excessive. Seems like it should be a weekly or bi-weekly task.

Not questioning your methods at all, so don't take it that way. I'm honestly just curious for my own education.

Oh i use to be able to go a week no problem but now with what i have in my tank, the socks fill up and the sock section begin to fill and spill over the rail into the skimmer section. No biggy, but what it does is reduce the water flow or speed and then the ATO kicks in and basically screw my gravity in the long run , i've tried that experiment at the begining to see the impact of neglecting my sock and thats what happened, to the system. An unexpected side effect. So yes before that happens i change the socks now. As you increase your bioload, (fish corals and increase your feedings acordingly for diverse species of corals or what not you change the amounts of particule density in the water column , that impacts on the time it takes to clog your sock mesh . One reason for me is that i've added some NPS that i must feed more frequently, that adds lots to the water column. You must take that into consideration when you add stuff to your tank. Everything is interconnected in your tank, food-poop-oxygen-gas-etc you name it; be aware of those things when you add or LOOSE something in your tank its not always the parameters faults.

 

[reefer gladness]

When I ran filter socks I would also machine wash them. Instead of soap though I used one of those 100% organic biodegradable citrus cleaners. I felt a lot better using organic biodegradable products than bleaches, etc.

 

[Snid]

Got it. Thanks for that. This is such a great place to learn, not just find answers for the present, but the future as well. BJ:

 

[Waya]

That's why we are here Snid.

 

[Mrsalt]

During the warmer months I prEssure wash mine. I have about 14 socks and change every 2 days regardless. So I last approx 1 month and them I just blast the lot. I seem to get more crap outta them than doing the washing machine, as I have pressure washed a sock that came form the washing machine and I was able to get some more muck from it.