Filter Socks as a Carbon Reactor? (1 Viewer)

[jlanger]

This thought just entered my head, hear me out...

At the SWE Birthday Party, I noticed that they carried the filter socks with the rectangular plastic ring; new to me.
I've been thinking of a way to improve my water quality (lower nutrients) and filter socks keep coming to mind. Right now, my drains empty onto the skimmer chamber of my sump and the water doesn't get passed through any floss until right before the return pump. Any detritus that makes it past the skimmer has the opportunity to settle in two other chambers before the filter floss in a media basket.

Another way to lower the nutrients was to re-install my BRS reactor and use carbon/GFO. I stopped using the reactor when I dosed my tank with GFO fines from not putting the reactor back together properly. The best way to avoid that problem again was to just remove the reactor. Since then, I have been passively using carbon in a media bag placed in the smallest chamber of the sump. It's not the most effective method of using carbon, but it's better than nothing.

Back to that rectangular filter sock...
I was thinking that if I modified a baffle in my sump so that I could place the filter sock right after the skimmer chamber (when the water flows over the baffle), it would catch any detritus before it enters the rest of the sump. I would also shorten the filter sock so that it does not "drag" through the sump. And then I thought about this...

What if I placed the bag of carbon in the bottom of the shortened filter sock?
If the water had to pass through the filter sock that was filled with carbon, would that increase the efficiency of using carbon?

As I'm typing this... probably, but not much.
I'm probably better off digging out my old reactor and using it again. Pushing the water through the cylinder of carbon inside the reactor is much more efficient than placing the carbon in a filter sock.

Thanks for listening and helping me figure this out. :stupid:

I'll still post this thread as it may start some conversation about other methods of using carbon or other uses for filter socks.

 

[zoolan70]

I think the biggest issue is the passive control of the flow. There is nothing to stop the water from simply channeling or bypassing the carbon altogether in the sock. That may be better than just having it laying in a chamber, but not nearly as good as putting it into a reactor where it can tumble and expose the water to more carbon pores.

 

[BEAV9900]

I grabbed one of those rectangular socks. It's too long for my sump. You can check it out tomorrow. As for your post I think what zoo said is why the bag isn't as efficient. Water will eventually just go around instead of through. I think it's pretty common though for people to run it in a sock, I've read other posts about it.

 

[Bschowa]

Make sure if you run it in the sock you have it in a bag as well, if not when the sock clogs and starts to overflow for some reason the carbon goes everywhere, learned that the hard way

 

[rlinusc]

yeah i use a mesh bag and put carbon in the bottom of the filter sock. I change the sock more than i change that carbon though.

 

[Gary]

I use carbon in a bag once in a while in my tanks that don't have a reactor. It works, but I usually only leave it for about 2 weeks at most. Polishes up the water pretty nicely though. Another idea I've used with carbon is to put it in a long bag that I have and stuff it all along between the baffles. If it clogs the water just runs over the baffle.

 

[mbauma]

The rectangular socks are for Eshopps sumps.