- I think most of us use some sort of filter sock
in our tanks.
Certainly, if you have a sump, you're probably using one.
I didn't use filter socks in my reef tanks for years,
but after upgrading to the tank that I've got now,
I've got a custom sump,
and that includes filter sock holders,
and I've used them ever since.
But could they be causing harm to my coral
or maybe actually the coral that's growing
in the ocean itself?
Hi, guys and girls, I'm ReefMan, and this time
we'll be exploring filter socks, microplastics,
microfibers, and more in this week's video.
In 2010, the world produced around 265 million tons
of plastic, and about 12.7 million tons are thought
to have made their way into the ocean.
Now, if we extrapolate that out, around 17.5 million tons
of plastic could have gone into the ocean in 2018.
Continue the thought experiment, and by 2040 or so,
we could be adding nearly 300 million tons
of plastic into the world's oceans every single year.
Most filter socks are made out
of a material called polyester.
That's a synthetic material that's also commonly used
in microfiber towels and all sorts of clothing.
Each time you wash your filter sock...
And you are washing your filter sock, right?
It'll be releasing tons of tiny fibers into the water.
Now, those range in size, and a lot of them get caught
in your city's water treatment facility,
but some do get discharged into the freshwater,
ocean, lakes, rivers, and the ocean as I mentioned.
I'm pretty sure that this is also happening actually
in our tanks in the sumps where we use our filter socks.
As the fabric breaks down and gets old,
it probably starts happening more and more,
so I'm gonna make it a point to actually replace
my filter socks a little bit more often than I have so far.
Using a filter bag made out of netting might
also shed less than a felt bag would, it stands to reason,
and they're also easier to clean,
so the next batch I buy will be of the net variety.
Filter socks clean our water.
They remove all sorts of particulate from it.
All that builds up in the sock,
and that's why it's important
to change the filter sock regularly
to avoid all that gunk breaking down
and contributing nutrients back
into your tank causing algae.
That's a bit of a hassle,
and I bet even the best of us don't always change
our filter socks as often as we probably should;
enter the filter sock roller.
Filter sock rollers slowly rotate filter media
off a roll and expose a new part of the material
as soon as the water level starts to rise
from the previous section getting clogged.
I would encourage you to take a look online at the ClariSea
or Klir filter rollers if you're kitting out a new sump.
Also, you do need a sump that's built with those in mind,
and that's actually why
I can't use them on my existing sump.
My sump has a lip around the edge
and that prevents the clearance
that even the drop-in units would require.
Okay, but really, why should we care?
In our reef tanks it's probably true,
we don't see the negative effects that might be there.
In fact, a paper was just published
in Environmental Pollution detailing a study done
by the United States Environmental Protection Agency,
and it's entitled:
Microplastics impair growth
in two atlantic scleractinian coral species,
Pseudodiploria clivosa and Acropora cervicornis.
The paper's authors are specifically looking
at the effect that tiny little bits of plastic,
or maybe even fibers, might have on the growth
and overall health of coral.
To avoid contamination, the team wore
only 100%-cotton clothing during the study,
something that I think we should do as hobbyists
when we're working in our tank after reading this paper.
Why expose our coral to something
that will probably negatively impact it?
The authors show that coral will ingest microplastics
and they hypothesize
that plastic will slow down the growth,
reduce the availability of nutrients,
maybe reduce the reproduction,
and generally negatively impact coral survival
in the long term.
In fact, we do have actual proof that the ingestion
of plastic reduces the food that coral's willing to eat,
and the tiny particles of plastic have ample time
to pick up all sorts of chemicals and bacteria in the ocean
before they end up blocking the digestive tract of coral.
Microplastics have actually been found
with all sorts of contaminants
in and on their surface;
everything from heavy metals, toxic additives
that just get added to the plastic when it's manufactured,
and even pathogens like Vibrio.
In the study, the team mixed various sizes of plastic beads
with coral food, and then they basically fed that plastic
to the coral.
So, of course, this isn't representative
of nature; feeding corals
in this way is going to amplify the effect
but that's gonna make it easier to measure it.
I found this interesting
in another way though actually, the Acropora ate plastic
in the 425 to 500 micrometer range
and also in the 850 to 1000 micrometer range.
So given that we know a food size that will work
for Acropora if we wanna try live food cultures;
anything around half a millimeter to a millimeter
in size at the largest.
Acropora that ate the plastic and grew,
but it only increased it's tissue surface area
by about 40% versus 48% in the control group
that was just fed coral food.
And by the way, the team used Golden Pearls
from Brine Shrimp Direct to feed their coral,
so we can add that to the list of foods
that Acropora are known to eat.
Calcification was also measurably higher
in the control group that didn't get the plastic
versus the group
that got the microplastics as part of their diet.
In an earlier study
where microfibers were also studied, the fibers
between 3 and 5 millimeters in length were eaten
by corals just as easily as the microplastics
that were less than 1 millimeter in size.
Beyond that, there really wasn't any difference
in the health effects
between microplastic, beads, and the microfibers,
so I think it's worth thinking about ways to keep
those fibers out of our tanks as well
and certainly out of the environment.
We always try to micromanage the water chemistry,
the light spectrum,
so why not avoid this stuff as best we can?
It can really only help our coral in the long term.
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Bye!