Reefmat using 9 feet a day

[sprungson]

very nice setup.


as I learn about roller mats and see their positioning in scale, I have this additional question: if that roller mat isn't preventing attachment of waste in other substrate, is it helping?

if you take out a few pounds of your live rock and set them in a white paint bucket of clean new saltwater and twist them about sharply midwater, sharp fast twisting, for 1 straight minute how much detritus comes off and lines the bottom of the tank

if there is any sand zone in the display, if you reach in and grab a handful and drop it down/does it not make a massive cloud of waste well up in the water?

I'm attempting to discern if the rollermat is preventing alternate waste settlement, and if it's not, how does removing just a fractional portion of detritus accomplish this shocking change in nitrate without chemical adsorption media

To be honest with you it probably has a lot to do with flow. Mine is super high flow so I'm definitely catching more.

 

[brandon429]

what about those alternate surfaces though-is it true any shaken live rocks do case off detritus and sand disturbed would have some kick up cloud

 

[brandon429]

asking because when Taricha and Dan test out common tank detritus from aerobic zones in a tank, ie the water column vs bottom-most sandbed strata, the data comes back nearly completely neutral ash content and only trace trace waste detectable. you have to get thick, oxygen-isolated sludge to get into the meaty stuff, and that type isn't suspended waste in the water column.

Im curious to know if roller mats are removing a form of waste that is highly oxidized and a very very low contribution to nitrate management given alternate places of storage in the system

 

[G’sReef]

Here's a pic. I think there is plenty of room

Thanks for help, I went ahead and got the 1200

 

[gbroadbridge]

@gbroadbridge

in scanning this thread I'm seeing in increased expenditure of roll material based on nitrate readings

I don't own a roller mat/haven't read them other than a cursory read that all they're doing is exposing fresh/non channeled surface area to wastewater to pick up detritus, that's their sole function, a physical catch? and as that section of contact area clogs/gets channeled by particulate aggregates/the roller moves into place a new/clean section

I read that these are not chemical adsorbing pads they're physical catchment of waste is that correct? the rollermats which contact wastewater don't have nitrate-removing abilities is that correct

and then after gaining that clarification, I want to know what nitrate test kit here is in play such that we believe the levels enough to be making this much impactful change to filtration of common detritus in a reef tank. in nitrate test kit comparison threads, the results per kit brandname range often even off the same water sample/different kits ran by the tank owner and posted.

I'm trying to determine if anything bad can actually happen from a roller mat running at excessive speed (can you really have too little particulate organic matter? we see bare bottom, high flow, zero storage sps and live rock antler tanks all the time. carrying a nice fish bioload helps offset too little nitrogen availability from compacted waste stores)

I'm trying to determine what would actually change in a reef tank if we didn't use a rollermat machine, there would be more detritus? heck anyone without a bare bottom is storing massive detritus loads in sand, why wait for it to traverse the water column and wind up in an expensive catchment mat setup...go barebottom, high flow, high intercept rate through one sock or two? these machines are not wasting money/they're beneficial?

A roller mat is simply like a roll of paper towel or toilet paper if you like that advances based on the water level in the filter chamber.

When the water level rises due to blocked filter material, an optical sensor causes the paper to advance to a clean piece.

As such, they tend to filter using a narrow perhaps 1/2 to one inch piece of filter material.

Some models have a venturi input with a bypass under the input pipe which enables rough control of type of material that is captured.

As filtered material is removed from the water column, it has no time to break down and increase nitrates.

I found that it is sometimes too efficient, like changing a filter sock many times a day, and it can cause nitrates to decrease significantly.

Not always a good thing especially when working with carbon dosing,

 

[billyd]

i have a rm 1200 on a 190 gal tank/sump. installed 2 weeks ago to replace 3 filter socks in a trigger 39 sump. i use 9-10" a day and double if i clean sand - i have a varios8 return pump ( 2700 gph) that i run at 75% . i have used 10.53' in 2 weeks . have had no issues . my advance rate is 9.0 - 9.2. my phos is .037 and nit is 6.3
i have a wb4820 with a rm500 and same settings with same results

 

[arafas]

i have a rm 1200 on a 190 gal tank/sump. installed 2 weeks ago to replace 3 filter socks in a trigger 39 sump. i use 9-10" a day and double if i clean sand - i have a varios8 return pump ( 2700 gph) that i run at 75% . i have used 10.53' in 2 weeks . have had no issues . my advance rate is 9.0 - 9.2. my phos is .037 and nit is 6.3
i have a wb4820 with a rm500 and same settings with same results

wow thats really good. i have 200g with 1200 I use between 40-50 inches. I guess it depends on bioload and stuff.

 

[nelsonmiami]

wow thats really good. i have 200g with 1200 I use between 40-50 inches. I guess it depends on bioload and stuff.

I have a 500 in a 220 and use about 30 inches it all depends on bioload