Fish poop catcher :)

Ok, here is my thought. Fish and inverts require food which leads to waste. While waste can be suspended in the water column it is bound to land and sit somewhere which is unsightly or may even decrease water quality. Assuming either of those is correct it would be ideal to remove the undesirable detritus/sediment right?

Here are some options:

Filter sock, they work but they are just a pain to clean

I've heard of people using disposable milk socks which sound appealing but it seems like you have to change them several times a week.

I saw one guy who had an extra tank before his sump and fuge that he would empty with each water change. This would be if there was room which I may be able to work into my stand..... I can't recall what he did to make the detritus collect in the tank though....

Foam/mesh in front of a baffle or drain would work .... like a filter sock it has to be cleaned but it sounds like less of a hassle to me.


What other options are there and what do you consider to be your ideal set up?

And No, I am not going fishless

Nip the problem at the bud, don't feed them and they won't poop.

The foam is your easiest solution, take it out weekly and swap it with a new one. Clean it, let it dry, rinse and repeat.

I personally like the Filter Sock. I use a 25 micron sock (Change it every other day), but most use a 100 or 200 micron sock and on average change it out every 5-6 days.

I use a 200 micron sock filter. I take it off after the third day or it will overflow. Wash it with bleach twice and one cycle with just water. still working after several months.

Thanks for the feed back, keep it coming!

if your intent is to catch the poop - regardless of what method you choose you will need to change it often, unless you have just a few fish.....

filter socks work great I suppose you do do some inline mesh if you wanted too too - pack your return lines with some sort of filter media and force 100% of the water through them... but still, it requires maintenance, and risks clogging

I wouldn't worry about it personally. Marine fish poo is really fine and unnoticeable compared to say, goldfish poo. At least that is my experience, other fish may be big poopers though. I think the best method is the one your most likely to do. Filter socks work really well at capturing fine particulates, but if you're like me and suck at keeping up with a maintenance schedule, then it could backfire.

unless you have a few big fish, that lay out some logs! lol

Get a tang, they'll go around eating it (and each others').. blech!