I have this same roller that I installed last October. I still have the original roll on it. I have not had to deal with filter sox for almost a year. It was on a 300 gallon tank from October - July. I then upgraded my tank to an 800 gallon. No issues. Going great!!!
A filter roller was a game changer to my reef. Natural oceans are what we in reefing would consider “ultra low nutrient” and a filter roller coupled with a good skimmer create just that when properly tuned to the system size and stock level.
I’m really happy with my Clarisea reef mat. Not needing to set time to clean out filter socks is a big deal for me. Occasionally the float doesn’t advance the roller. But it has a low volume beeping alarm when this happens and an easy fix to advance and reset the alarm.
Ok, I was unable to wait. That thing is a beast! MRC stuff is stuff you would not want to drop on your foot. I have a pair of SK-5000 in a Geo sump. I went thru 17 rolls last year. When I purchased last year rolls were $29, they are now $34. 17 rolls were $493. That $578 in today’s dollars. With 2 years of “roll cost” in mid, I’ve decided to buy a quantum 300 skimmer and bypass rollers. SK-5000 replacement motors are $60.
All the filter rollers with 50 micron rolls gets used up pretty fast. They should manufacture a 100, 150 or even better a 200 micron roll to directly replace your filter socks. That way your water flow through it and pump settings will be undisturbed and it will save you from replacing a roll every month or two with the size systems you are running with only 50 micron. You will be surprised by how good 200 micron fleece roller polishes water compared to filter socks especially since the float set up allows minimal time for break up of what it has collected to happen.
For the money they should integrate a spring loaded star gear as used on many bicycle hubs to allow for manual rolling. This could avoid that potential point of user damage and add the ability to manually adjust the roll of ever needed. Could also consider a simple spring loaded clutch plate to avoid too much load on the motor shaft.
For the filter socks, what is the benefit to using bleach to clean them? To make them look white? At the risk of putting bleach into the system + the extra time doing multiple laundry rinses (+power usage), why not just a quick power washer or utility sink rinse? My thinking is, anything that was on them before from the tank, will just get right back on them.
They get thoroughly rinsed before the bleach step. The bleach makes a big difference dislodging bound up detritus. The step that takes the longest is the spray out and going through all the other steps extends the time period between cleanings.
The aim of the video is to sell the idea of the roller filter, the video must be sponsored. I have always washed mine in a few minutes and they continue to do their job. I don't see this bleach thing as necessary
I'd never go back to filter socks. It's like saying I prefer a landline to a cell phone. As much as I don't like supporting Red Sea, the reefmat is a game changer. I change the roll every 7 months and it's care free. I was cleaning socks weekly and ready to scream.
I use an under the sink micron 9" filter roll. Plug bottom with white micron pad. Connect top to power head. Blow water with a pvc fitting to allow water to break the surface. Replace monthly
It would be easy to build one of these for a fraction of the price. I'm pretty sure one of equal or greater quality/capability could be built for under $500. Also, you can buy the filter rolls online from non aquarium related sources for much cheaper, and in a wide variety of roll size and micron filtration.
I would like to see the roller mat cycle the entire amount of mat submerged every 48 hours or if float switch is trigger before hand. I change my socks every 48 hours because the food starts to break down within that time and release nutrients. It becomes a nutrient sink after 48 hours.
My question/concern with roller mats which I have never seen addressed is can they be plumbed to work with a bean animal overflow? It seems like they would break siphon which is a non-starter for me.
Hello friend, I confess that I don't understand your idea of using bleach to whiten the shark bag, after all, is it just to see the white socks again? I always washed both sides and put them back in place. This costs me a few minutes, socks are cheap and practical, that's what the hobby needs.
The skimmers we have in the greenhouse are arguably undersized and we have climbing nutrient levels. In a few months I hope to restructure the tanks in there significantly making the systems slightly smaller in volume and adding these filter rollers. The combination of those two things I expect will make a major difference in how clean and serviceable those systems will be.
Thats strange. Because the idea is to take out the crud as quick as possible. So if doesnt move for days on end wont the stuff start to break down? Looks great
I think it has more to do with the surface area. Most filter rollers are not very wide, like a roll of toilet paper. This one is 24" wide so advancing a small amount opens up a lot more.
Wow simple design, but why is the control box fixed in place? seems like any controller box has a few cables attached to sensors and sealed motor, so extend the cables and put the box where you want? Or am i missing something?
50 um is probably the size for sediment, any smaller and you are trying to sterilize your water. The only concern is that smaller than 200 um and you are going to be filtering your zooplankton out, which might be important for ecosystem.
You won’t ever have a clean sump with one, I was on original Innovitech X-Filter beta testers with these fleece rollers you always get klum build up in sump just below filter. (Think klum is what it’s called). Also what the manufacture could do is put an adjustable by-pass built onto the unit to enable to have better control of how much water gets filtered without having to use pump.
I f.cking hate filter socks! I had two of them on my 110 gal and kept clogging up just after 2 days, gf was pissed off me washing them in her expensive washing machine. Roller filter was a life safer for me.
i not use anything on my 10feet marine tank.. coz i busy lazy take out filter sock.. i depends on 2 unit skimmer to take out the waste.. so far easier and save time, save money😊
In our systems with oversized skimmers we have very low phosphate and nitrate numbers which I love because I like to feed my fish more. I've found that feeding fish a lot reduces aggression between the fish and curbs their appetite for corals. If this roller contributes in that same way I am all for it.
@Kehy_ThisNameWasAlreadyTaken the classics still hold like sumps, HOB, canisters, refugiums, hell I've even seen old-school reef ranks with undergravel filters underneath a bed of aragonite with thriving acropora.
