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Those people usually have bigger fish, so they poop more and clogs up the socks over time. This leads to changing the sock every other daY or few day. Algae is not needed, but recommended. You can just have sock, sand, and rock if you wish.
I like to use a canister sponge that'll reach across the tank and set it on my first baffle to the bubble trap to my return section..helps keep any debris making it into there and an added benefit is gives it a smoother "pour" down the section which I believe helps stop the bubbles sooner..I tend to clean the sponge thoughly every couple days though so that it does not build up any nitrates
Filter sock can be a pain. Much less effort need to skip the filter socks and run a skimmer rated 2 to 3 times the volume of your tank. When I stopped using socks my cyano went away