is there a "best" filter roller yet?

[Jmp998]

One of the first commercial fleece roller filters had an acrylic canopy top, the Theilling filters

To contain the smell from the filtered gradeau being exposed to the air

Weird that none of them today, use that feature

I have not noticed any significant smell from mine, which was sort of surprising to me, and I have seen similar comments from others. Protein skimmer does smell, so it is not just my nose. Maybe because the organic matter is removed and begins drying out before it begins to decompose (think beef jerky/salted meat).

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

So which reef roller is your favorite or considered the best of what you've tested?

Eh, money is no object and your invested in the red sea ecosystem, they are ok.

I lean to the clarisea g2, or the bubble magus g2 rollers.

I'm using currently a bubble magus g2 small on my cube and a Aquamaxx M size on my 120g. Love them both. And I can fling just about any media density and aftermarket media I want in them.

Edit: I've been through most of the big names over the years... Bubble Magus, Aquamaxx 1st and 2nd gen, Clarisea, Klir, Theiling, and Trigger's built in setup.

IME triggers setup was the worse!

 

[Solo McReefer]

So which reef roller is your favorite or considered the best of what you've tested?

 

[BillFish Coral Lover]

What socks are you using that you get only 10 uses out of them. I've have socks over 2 years old that I use. I just turn them inside out, rinse them really good, and then put them in the washer and wash with hot water and bleach only. They come out 95% white as new.

I use these socks:
Filter Socks

But a roller does seem to be a better option to socks.

No joke. I wasn’t going to say anything, but what’s up with that? I used socks for many years, first hand washing and eventually bleaching in the washing machine and running extra rinse cycles. I wasn’t testing for nutrients at the time, though, and I had a great separate refugium and established real live rock that came from the ocean.

I’ll be a lot more on top of nutrients on my new build, though, since I’m using dry rock and only the sump refugium, and that’s why I’m looking at getting a fleece roller and appreciate the input here.

Sounds like the safe choice may be Red Sea and maybe aftermarket rolls.

 

[BillFish Coral Lover]

Sounds like the safe choice may be Red Sea and maybe aftermarket rolls.

Yeah, maybe not so much….

I just read reviews on the Red Sea Reef Mat 500 and, boy, there are a lot of angry people out there. Now I’m thinking ClariSea or Bubble Magus?

 

[mizukage]

Eh, money is no object and your invested in the red sea ecosystem, they are ok.

I lean to the clarisea g2, or the bubble magus g2 rollers.

I'm using currently a bubble magus g2 small on my cube and a Aquamaxx M size on my 120g. Love them both. And I can fling just about any media density and aftermarket media I want in them.

Edit: I've been through most of the big names over the years... Bubble Magus, Aquamaxx 1st and 2nd gen, Clarisea, Klir, Theiling, and Trigger's built in setup.

IME triggers setup was the worse!

Money is definitely an object lol and nah I'm not in the red sea system (I have a waterbox).

Sounds like you've tried a lot of filter rollers over the years. Did you ever try the red sea? I'll take a look at the Aquamaxx, that's not one i've researched yet. Thanks!

 

[ahopki1]

This all depends on the tank and the needs of the tank. I have a good variety of roller mats. KLIR Di-4 V2 on my 40 gallon. I have to have a drop in with this sump. I absolutely hated the KLIR until I used it with my Hydros and programed the app to the tanks needs. I tell the mat when to advance by programming the sensor and the min and max run times and I now I absolutely love it. The roll will last much longer this way. I also have a Clarisea 3000 that I used on my SPS tank with great success but due to some tank restraints I moved it to my display tank and replaced the SPS with a RedSea 250. It works like a charm! I also have a RedSea 500 that I also originally disliked until I worked the kinks out of it as well. Needed RedSea CS for some of this. Changing the roll on the RedSea is the easiest of all of them with the Clarisea being a PITA and the KLIR in the middle. Figure out the space you have for a roller mat, budget and be patient with your choice. They all work well and even a bad day is still better than a filter sock!

 

[C_AWOL]

Got 12 aftermarket rolls from precon filters to try and have to say they're a great way to save on red sea rolls. I assume they can do the same for other filter rollers but this will help dampen the cost for anyone considering a redsea and theyre finer at 50 micron vs 200 (may or may not be a pro)

 

[mizukage]

Got 12 aftermarket rolls from precon filters to try and have to say they're a great way to save on red sea rolls. I assume they can do the same for other filter rollers but this will help dampen the cost for anyone considering a redsea and theyre finer at 50 micron vs 200 (may or may not be a pro)

That's awesome, thank you so much for sharing this with your fellow reefers!

Noticed the aftermarket ones are a tad smaller. Did you need to do any modifications to use them? or is it just plug and play a slightly smaller roll?

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

Got 12 aftermarket rolls from precon filters to try and have to say they're a great way to save on red sea rolls. I assume they can do the same for other filter rollers but this will help dampen the cost for anyone considering a redsea and theyre finer at 50 micron vs 200 (may or may not be a pro)

how long does a red sea replacement roll last you typically?

I'm also curious how you do with the micron change please update with results

 

[C_AWOL]

That's awesome, thank you so much for sharing this with your fellow reefers!

Noticed the aftermarket ones are a tad smaller. Did you need to do any modifications to use them? or is it just plug and play a slightly smaller roll?

The roll is "slightly" smaller but longer @ 50yds(150ft) vs ~38 yds (115 ft red sea)
You need to order adapters from @mackdave to use them but after that theres no noticable change in function.

For the amount I ordered it came out to $10 a roll + shipping which is basically 1/3 the price!

how long does a red sea replacement roll last you typically?

I'm also curious how you do with the micron change please update with results

On the 470(display volume), I generally get about 32 days of use on the first primary drain and about 45 on the second primary drain (this one is dialed down) with oem rolls and a VERY high bioload

So far with the micron drop im projected to get ~23 days of use out of these new rolls on my first primary drain (not using it on my second reefmat on the same tank yet) and this is not factoring the extra length which ill utilize to clean off rocks and stuff

Chances are on a more normal bioload+less than 3-5 heavy feedings a day+less drain flow either roll will last you significantly longer

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Money is definitely an object lol and nah I'm not in the red sea system (I have a waterbox).

Sounds like you've tried a lot of filter rollers over the years. Did you ever try the red sea? I'll take a look at the Aquamaxx, that's not one i've researched yet. Thanks!

Yup, I played with a redsea 500 for a few months, it was a meh to me. Media basket didnt work great and a few times the motor stalled. Big turn off was the high media cost for their material.

 

[dangles]

Changing the roll on the RedSea is the easiest of all of them with the Clarisea being a PITA and the KLIR in the middle.

Was your ClariSea a G3 or G2? I have the G3 and it isn’t too bad. From what I’ve read it’s a huge improvement over the G2

 

[C_AWOL]

Yeah, maybe not so much….

I just read reviews on the Red Sea Reef Mat 500 and, boy, there are a lot of angry people out there. Now I’m thinking ClariSea or Bubble Magus?

I haven't looked into the 500 but i own and run 4 1200s (2 on a 470g, 1 on a 150g, 1 on a 210g) and use a gen 2 sk5000 on a 180g and gen 1 bubble magus L on a 240g.
No complaints about the reefmats but a lot of people have issues that are universal between all rollers (too much flow and/or water height is too high causing premature exhaustion)

I would say the only issues that are unique to a reefmat from the others i've used are the media basket causing problems (clogging and causing premature advancement) so just don't use it and the "motor" jamming because the feed roll isnt seated correctly (gears on the feed side need to spin to properly register even if the roll feeds correctly)

 

[juarec0201]

I have the first gen Clarisea sk3000. I love it other than changing out the roll. But I don’t do it so frequently it’s ok. Hasn’t given me any issues, going on 3 yrs

 

[BillFish Coral Lover]

Thank you to all who responded. This has been very helpful!

 

[BeanAnimal]

I literally beg any company to make pressure washable filter rolls.
I would legit pay 5x the price if it meant I could wash them, stick them in the dryer and even have a couple on hand so I won't need to i

There is no money in selling and supporting durable goods. The money is in the RMR for consumables.

No sane company is going to design themselves out of selling consumables.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

There is no money in selling and supporting durable goods. The money is in the RMR for consumables.

No sane company is going to design themselves out of selling consumables.

This.

 

[Yodaman]

I’m also a reefmat user, and one thing you can do since it’s WiFi controlled, is change how much roll it advances when the water level reaches the sensor. I was able to tune mine between flow and advance length to only replace half the fleece a day on average. So I’m getting the same performance as changing the filter socks every other day, without any of the labor. And my first roll lasted about 3 months.

But I don’t have experience with the other rollers, so I don’t have anything to say against them!

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I’m also a reefmat user, and one thing you can do since it’s WiFi controlled, is change how much roll it advances when the water level reaches the sensor. I was able to tune mine between flow and advance length to only replace half the fleece a day on average. So I’m getting the same performance as changing the filter socks every other day, without any of the labor. And my first roll lasted about 3 months.

But I don’t have experience with the other rollers, so I don’t have anything to say against them!

I like this information! thank you!!!!

how is the maintenance on that unit? easy enough to take apart and replace anything if needed or just for cleaning.

how do you like changing the roll? is it easy enough to do in a hurry?