Mechanical filtration??

[emerald crab]

I don't use mechanical filtration, but I use an algae scrubber, that does bio filtration and does to a lesser extent mechanical (like an organic floss).

[kien]

I only put on a sock if I have stirred up the sand or blasted my rocks and kicked up a detritus storm. I don't normally run mechanical filtration otherwise. I really don't like washing filter socks and ya, throwing out filter floss on a regular basis is definitely not in my cards either. This is a great question because this is another one of those personal preference kind of things.

[Madreefer]

I use nothing.
I took off my filter socks a year ago and couldn't be happier.
I get very little detritus and every so often I'll vacum it up.
IMO with the right setup it's not needed