Are nylons good for protecting pump intakes?

[MandarinFish]

I have a Mag 12 in my sump and want to make sure no grit gets in there.

I bought some ladies nylons (these and enema bags are the hardest items to purchase with a straight face for reefkeeping).

I read about these somewhere as a cheap solution to *massively* overpriced LFS-stocked reef filtration bags.

Are they safe? Should I just zip tie them over the end of the intake?

 

[aliendomain]

Nylons can get clogged quickly. Did your mag come with a sponge? If it did not you may consider making a sponge filter for it. Take a aquaclear 2000 sponge, some pvc pipe, and a pvc male threaded to slip adapter. drill holes in the pipe and glue it to the adapter. Cut the pvc to 3/4 the length of the sponge (if you are tight on space you can also cut the sponge to the desired size but the pipe should be 1/4 shorter). Then cut a hole, smaller that the diameter of the pipe, down the center of the sponge. The hole should be the length of the pipe. The sponge should last you allot longer that those nylons without the embarrassment.

 

[Mogo]

Ditto what AlienD writes. They can clog very quickly. Maybe ok if you babysit the thing. Even sponges will clog over time and could contribute nitrogen as well. Been there. Clog. Sump water on floor. Done that.

 

[brad789]

i don't know if this will help but i had to find a way to keep my snails from getting stuck in the outflow of my refugium tube. all i did was super glue plastic toothpicks in a fence formation every 1/2" across the tube opening.

brad

 

[MandarinFish]

I cannot afford an overflow under any circumstances.

Should I go without then?

 

[Anonymous]

Yes, now you can use them for what you really bought them for

 

[MandarinFish]

They're too small for me and my lady won't wear them. I guess I could construct a fifi bag.

My Mag12 has a 90 degree elbow coming up toward the ceiling from the intake.

I would imagine this could help cut down on particulates, wouldn't it? Grit mostly sinks, I would think...

 

[Modo]

I honostly don't beleive you should worry about "grit". These pumps are actually constructed for ponds and landscaping. So, IMO a little live sand and muck isn't going to hurt your pump compared to it's "intedended" use outdoors.

 

[Anonymous]

Ditto what AlienD writes. They can clog very quickly. Maybe ok if you babysit the thing. Even sponges will clog over time and could contribute nitrogen as well. Been there. Clog. Sump water on floor. Done that.

Yeah, I guess from now on I'll be able to just read what Al.D has to say and save myself the time...he's practically psychic! The sponges wouldn't create nearly the problems pantyhose can, though, and are much more easily cleaned in my own experience.

Nylons can still be used to hold many filter materials, though. Since they're stretched in a more open manner they're comparable to the often less flexible filter bags for media.