Oh, Brother! Here's Another.

If you don't know what a filter sock is, you should look at this picture before reading any further. Blogger still won't let me post freakin' pictures. What are you people doing? Fix this!

http://www.marinedepot.com/IMD/berlin_sump_replacement_filter_sock.jpg

Again, may I say, the ignorance of people is astounding! We sell filter socks. They are a sort of prefilter for the sump. Water from the main aquarium pours into the sump via gravity. The filter sock is what "catches" the water and strains some of the junk from it.

A lady picks one up and asks me what one does with it.
I said,"It is for your sump."
"To clean it?" she asks.
"Yes".
"Do they make smaller ones? My hand won't fit in there. It's too big".
(Apparently she thought it was to be used as an oven mitt scratch pad.)
"Yes, they do make smaller ones but it is not for your hand. It goes inside the sump as a prefilter." (To myself: "Hold on, ya got to hold on!")
"Well, people sure make some useful things for aquariums these days, don't they?"
"Yes, ma'am, they do."
"Who would have ever thought to make something to put around the pump to keep it from getting greasy? "
"It doesn't go around the pump, it hangs inside to filter the water going to the sump. Let me show you."
So I take her to an existing sump and show her the way it is used. Now, study this for a minute. Even if you have never owned a tank nor have any idea what a sump is, would you wrap a flammable piece of cotton fiber around a pump that is pushing 1500 gallons of water an hour? I think not. Unless you were fond of fires. And what the Hell would a GREASY pump be doing in your aquarium water? Other than killing everything, of course. Sheesh!