I recently got a Bmagus Roller for my 220...and decided last week to get the Theiling compact rollermat for my 50 cube. These are my first rollermats...I thought if there is interest I would discuss and review their performance so far. I will wait to see if anyone is interested in this topic before i go into it..dont want to bore anyone..lol
I'd like to hear what you have to say about the rollermats. This is something I may ad in the future as I've read the ones that work do a great job. I have to clean my socks 2-3x per week. Not a huge deal but between switching them out, then rinsing ( I used the mesh, no washer for these) takes me a good 15+ minutes each time.
I was interested in the Klir rollers but after reading some reviews will wait.
ok ..funny you said klir..the first one I got was an open box klir from saltwateraquarium..it had controller issues..beeping and not rolling..after trying to contact coralvue(the manufacturer) the response was so lackluster I was like..wow they get a lot of calls about these..it was obvious even if i got it working it was not a well thought out product..I gave up and sent it back to them for a refund. I then decided to roll the dice on a bubble magus that I found at a sale price of 169-( all of these things are grossly overpriced). so we start with the BM. it came already assembled and with the roll installed..the only issue was a missing small black plastic screw (they rectified this sending me one) The quaility seems fine..it has a strange mounting system and its kind of bulky ( depending on your sump and where you can put it..it just so happens I have a icecap xxl sump..but the hanger doesnt fit on a lot of the edges..you can reverse the intake and motor to either side which is good..the motor is large and protudes a good but..however..it has a nice large size fleece width compared to the klir ( twice as wide) I am sure some people will have no size or location issues at all...im just trying to be thorough..it seems bulky compared to the klir ( which is a piece of crap) and more expensive..as long as you know the footrpint and that the motor sticks out a good bit..but its reversible..so you can make lots of changes to make it fit. due to equipment I have and the type of sump edges..I have its hanging a little high over my water on the divider in the center of the sump..you are generally supposed to install it a little lower in the water but for now it works for me..I have to say it has performed very well as far as doing its job. the klir had a sensor (not a good idea) but the BM has a float switch..and seems to work just fine..been a couple of weeks..you can see the filthy roll and see its filtering pretty good. my only complaint about it is that its a little bulky (especially the motor) but mostly the hanging brackets are going to limit certain places..this could be fairly easily modified so not that big of an issue. it seems more well designed than the klir which is a good idea but looks like it was not perefected. the positives about it are the price..it seems well made..it works as designed and it has nice wide fleece. I am happy with it even though i had a rocky start with the missing screw..I will eventually tweak the location ..so the hanging brackets are just odd and large but they have a limited width you can hang on..I would encourage anyone who wants one of these to get the dimensions and realize the motor protrudes a good bit..so measure your sump area and realize the hanger wont work on very wide lipped sump edges..after the Klir debacle..(coralvue cust service on this "SUCKED) I am pretty pleased with the BM over all and it has been working well..has a float switch and not a sensor..works well.. on my next post I will get into the most recent one I got..the theiling compact.
ok ..funny you said klir..the first one I got was an open box klir from saltwateraquarium..it had controller issues..beeping and not rolling..after trying to contact coralvue(the manufacturer) the response was so lackluster I was like..wow they get a lot of calls about these..it was obvious even if i got it working it was not a well thought out product..I gave up and sent it back to them for a refund. I then decided to roll the dice on a bubble magus that I found at a sale price of 169-( all of these things are grossly overpriced). so we start with the BM. it came already assembled and with the roll installed..the only issue was a missing small black plastic screw (they rectified this sending me one) The quaility seems fine..it has a strange mounting system and its kind of bulky ( depending on your sump and where you can put it..it just so happens I have a icecap xxl sump..but the hanger doesnt fit on a lot of the edges..you can reverse the intake and motor to either side which is good..the motor is large and protudes a good but..however..it has a nice large size fleece width compared to the klir ( twice as wide) I am sure some people will have no size or location issues at all...im just trying to be thorough..it seems bulky compared to the klir ( which is a piece of crap) and more expensive..as long as you know the footrpint and that the motor sticks out a good bit..but its reversible..so you can make lots of changes to make it fit. due to equipment I have and the type of sump edges..I have its hanging a little high over my water on the divider in the center of the sump..you are generally supposed to install it a little lower in the water but for now it works for me..I have to say it has performed very well as far as doing its job. the klir had a sensor (not a good idea) but the BM has a float switch..and seems to work just fine..been a couple of weeks..you can see the filthy roll and see its filtering pretty good. my only complaint about it is that its a little bulky (especially the motor) but mostly the hanging brackets are going to limit certain places..this could be fairly easily modified so not that big of an issue. it seems more well designed than the klir which is a good idea but looks like it was not perefected. the positives about it are the price..it seems well made..it works as designed and it has nice wide fleece. I am happy with it even though i had a rocky start with the missing screw..I will eventually tweak the location ..so the hanging brackets are just odd and large but they have a limited width you can hang on..I would encourage anyone who wants one of these to get the dimensions and realize the motor protrudes a good bit..so measure your sump area and realize the hanger wont work on very wide lipped sump edges..after the Klir debacle..(coralvue cust service on this "SUCKED) I am pretty pleased with the BM over all and it has been working well..has a float switch and not a sensor..works well.. on my next post I will get into the most recent one I got..the theiling compact.
Yes, from what I've read it almost seems like the Klir just hadn't worked out the bugs yet. I like the idea of being able to fit the rollermat in an existing sock holder. But I have Red Sea tanks and sumps and understand it wouldn't fit without modification.
I think any of them would require modification, but as the market grows for the rollermats hopefully we will have more options in the near future.
Thanks for the info on the Bubble Magus. Glad it's working for you so far.
I watched a video on youtube featuring a very nice Red Sea 250 that had all the bells and whistles. As well, some very nice coral and marine life. He had installed a rollermat and said it performed so well, his skimmer stopped skimming for quite a period of time. I would think that's a good thing.
ok now for the Theiling compact rollermat. I got this thing almost a week ago. as you know it is more expensive and like all these rollermats its grossly overpriced for what it actually is..nonetheless..im a fool who wanted to try it on my 50 cube. it appears well made with one exception..there is a float switch..that you will often bump when taking the center bar in or out..it is a cheap looking float switch and guess what holds the float on ..a little plastic tab that fits in the groove ( come on theiling.for this much money..really?! shame on you! as soon as i saw it and knocked it off having to look for it I thought..well it will be no time before thats lost..well..guess what..while installing I had to mess with things..lost that part(the tab) within35 minutes..this has got to be the dumbest thing I have ever seen on something so overpriced..the other really ..really dumb thing about it..the button on the back to advance the fleece..its not a push and hold kind of thing..its push on..push again to turn off..its one of those poorly made rubber coated square buttons that is too soft and doesnt click..needless to say while installing it ..apparently when I finally got all the other things worked out ( my tubing connected and so on..and its location settled..(oh and luckily I had a tiny zip tie to put in the groove to hold the float on or I would have been out of business-since the stupid and poorly designed tab will fall off if you barely bump it with the adjustments..apparently while i was getting it in place-a tight spot..I must have hit the button..it moves very slowly and quietly so I did not notice( nor could i really see well under there as I was already ticked about the tab and getting it in the right spot and had a little issue attaching the plumbing...so about 30 45 minutes later it ran through all the fleece..luckily..I was able to wind it back and start over..seriously THEILING..FIX THE FLOAT and FIX THE BUTTON..this is so stupid..it appears to be working well so far so good..its definitely easier to fit in many sumps..nice little stand or hang on..that part is nice..the float switch quality is embarrasing...I can only imagine how many people have lost that dang tiny part in the sump or without noticing it got bumped..the button is also idiotic..so if you where doing something and moved it and it bumped something..it would stay on and ( its silent..slowly roll through your fleece) other than this..lol..it seems to be working fine..are either of the filter rollers worth what they cost..no..they are overpriced by at least a hundred bucks..do they filter the water well..it appears so..I LOATHED socks so much that I often went for periods without them on both my tanks..the filter roller is a fantastic idea..of course I should not complain as they will drop the price if people back off buying them...so its really a mixed bag..I had an almost comical time starting with a crappy klir..then the BMagus ( best for the money but bulky and was missing a screw)..then the theiling which I thought was going to be the easiest..and best..um..no..I would stay away from KLIR..since I got the Bmagus on sale for like 169 ..its been the best value..larger wider fleece..seems to work well so far so good..easy to attach the plumbing..the theiling has the best stand/hanger..a pretty good design -but..the issues I described with the float switch and the silly button..it appears to be doing a nice job now...if I dont have any issues out of them they will be worth it not to mess with socks..sorry i ramble on and on sometimes..hope this was helpful...oh yes and the klir would probably be alright if they replaced the sensor with a simple float switch and make the rollers more smooth..and put a little better motor on it..but their customer service was B_A_D crappy attitude and you can tell they put out a piece of crap that causes them a lot of calls..they seem annoyed that they put out a piece of crap and took your money for it though it may not work..just sayin'
they are doing ok. I will say the bubble magus has one little annoying problem occasionally..doesnt effect performance much..sometimes one little place where the fleece meets the plastic will let more water out than you like..a good trickle...its more annoying to hear but not constant. othwerwise it has worked great with no issues.
the theiling is very interesting..has worked fine the fleece has lasted a very long time but the theilling ison a 50 cube that I try to feed lightly becuase it only has two clowns and a little tailspot blenny. it has its quirks..you can knock the float of its mount if you mess with the stuff around the top too much. it has worked fine and has a better mount and included legs if you wish to use them. I would say they are both worth it if you dont want to shell out 400 for a clarisea. I really havent had any major issues to complain about and the ones I mentioned are minor and sometimes user error. I Would recommend them for the price. I havent figured out why the bubble magus has that little issue sometimes..it doesnt affect the function very much and its not constant. to describe it the fleece edge in one little place will allow water to escape in maybe a 1/8 space..its pretty minor. I would overall have to give them a solid review..recommend for the price.
