Thinking About Going BB

[bbaz_usa]

I use a Magnum 220, with a micron filter. I've got one spot that accumulates the most amount of crap. So I dropped a line down there and I suck it right out. It just returns to the sump and I clean out the filter regularly.

Works like a champ, no mess. I can also blast the rock with a P/H and once it all settles, it just gets sucked right up.

Just another way to get things done with little effort.

[gwaco]

Originally Posted by Geoff

does putting the water back in somewhat defeats the purpose of siphoning out the detritus.

i was under the impression that when detritus is put into a high flow area it will break down and release its bound phosphates. would this not be what is going when you reuse the siphoned water?

G~

i'm sure this can happen but whats worse leaving it in your tank to rot or letting alittle get by but the bulk out of the system . i have done it pretty much as described above and have had no problems . i know some people cringe at the thought of using filter socks , but the same logic can be applied there to . whats worse using a sock and forgetting to clean it out or letting it accumulate in the sump and forgetting to clean it out ? i think that for those that siphon out the sump regularly you would find the people that use socks would change them out regularly also . in other words someone whom practices good husbandry it wouldn't really matter which way you choose .

[garvondavis14]

so, other than ordering online, where can you find a 100-150micron (etc.) bag to filter as you siphon the water?

[garvondavis14]

?anyone?

[Weatherman]

Really, unless you can find a LFS, which carries those items, I can't think of any other alternative than an online vendor.

[Mike O'Brien]

You can siphon into a bucket, let it settel and then siphon the clean water back into the tank.

[Viv]

Mike, you probably could, but most likely your pulling up detrius along with the water. You can buy the filter socks online, but if that doesn't work for you they also sell filter pads-100 micron. They are reusable (you just wash them out) and cost only a couple of bucks. They go a long way in catching stuff-even stuff that's so fine you don't see it...I bought eight, 1 for each day of the week, an extra in case I'm lazy and don't get to cleaning them right away, but many just do one and wash it out every day or every couple of days....

[REEFSTOCK]

We use a colander and some filter cloth (which could be a pillow case, pillow stuffing (home depot) coffee strainer... there are probably a ton of things that you could use to siphon into.... a sock (clean I would hope ;p) would work too...