Very good to know I am really considering a 3ft light over a 4ft fixture for my 75g build ;)
75g Rimless Crystal Dynamic - Build Thread
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BigJohnny
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I too transfered a 36" 6 bulb ati sunpower (non power module) from my old 40b to my current 90g. Definitely sufficient, however I have 2 Kessil a350ws too:)
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I like the idea of supplementing T5 with LED, verses the other way around which most LED only hobbyists are leaning towards. I have a ReefBrite strip for supplementation, but I haven't yet installed it.
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So, I finally finished organizing the wiring job for the mixing station! This is placed in my loft area (designed for storage) about 12 feet above the aquarium.
Automated valve works perfectly allowing pump to move RO over to Salt tank in less than 2 minutes. I neglected to record the first transfer, I'll post the next as soon as the remaining 20 gallons of saltwater is used up. ;) Pump runs for 5 minutes every hour to keep saltwater mixed.
I was able to find a drip tray on Amazon, it is supposed to be a tray which slides into a large dog crate. Works perfectly for my purposes and should hold about 7 gallons of water before running over. I also placed a leak sensor in the center under the valve to catch leaks early. One day I will reroute the drain line so I can tie it in with the drip pan.
Mounted electronics are close to the system on a support beam. I would love to have mounted these behind the two tanks, but as you can see it's brick. Brick is not the most convenient when needing to mount electronics. I apologize for the poor lighting, there is only two 40W bulbs lighting the loft space.
PM1, PM2, FMM, and VDM modules. VDM to control Varios-4, FMM to control RODI solenoid and leak detection sensor, and PM1/PM2 to allow 12 inputs for buttons and float switches. RODI is a 6-Stage from BRS with two volumizers, booster pump, and auto flush. Currently it's producing water at a 2:1 rate according to the volumizers. Rejection rate for membranes is at 97% at 75 PSI operating pressure. This system can fill the 25g tank in about 3.5 hours. Maybe a little excessive, but this is all designed to be moved to a larger system down the road. :)
DOS is for continuous water changes, plumbed down to display with 1/4" water line. I was lucky in that a support column sits just under the mixing station, so I ran the water lines along the back and across the floor to tank. This is roughly 12 feet vertical and 6 feet horizontal. You'll also notice a valve which connect the lines before and after the right pump on the DOS, this is to allow a quick way of syphoning water down to display incase I need to replace a lot of saltwater removed for acclimation or siphoning of sand. Eventually I'll replace this valve with a solenoid and program the valve to open during specific feed modes (acclimation and water change) to refill sump to low water sensor.
Blue line is saltwater, white line is RO. Since the tanks are above the aquarium, I decided to gravity feed the RO into the tank to eliminate the need for an extra pump. Solenoid opens and closes based on the Avast pressure sensor in the sump (seen below solenoid in picture). There is also an optical sensor to sense if the sump is over filled.
And in case one of the solenoids fails, I installed a second solenoid which will open if water reaches the optical sensor mentioned above. This will let air into lines coming from both the RO and Salt tanks, breaking any siphon that might be draining the tanks. I tested this feature last night and it works great! I don't have it plumbed yet, but I'll likely plumb both tanks to the drain line as well with manual valves in case either tank needs to be drained completely.
If you guys haven't seen these little clips, they are great for organizing 1/4" lines and sold by a member here on R2R.
I also decided to remove the reactor I had saved for GFO, mostly because I've never needed to use GFO in any of my tanks. With continuous water changes running through the DOS, I doubt this tank will be any different. A bit of replumbing and the sump area looks much more open!
Now back to regular maintenance! I haven't placed a door on the front of the stand yet, the result is the sump area gets a little sun in the evening causing excessive growth of stuff. At least the tank is maturing nicely!
And to top off this update, here is a FTS of the display!
Automated valve works perfectly allowing pump to move RO over to Salt tank in less than 2 minutes. I neglected to record the first transfer, I'll post the next as soon as the remaining 20 gallons of saltwater is used up. ;) Pump runs for 5 minutes every hour to keep saltwater mixed.
I was able to find a drip tray on Amazon, it is supposed to be a tray which slides into a large dog crate. Works perfectly for my purposes and should hold about 7 gallons of water before running over. I also placed a leak sensor in the center under the valve to catch leaks early. One day I will reroute the drain line so I can tie it in with the drip pan.
Mounted electronics are close to the system on a support beam. I would love to have mounted these behind the two tanks, but as you can see it's brick. Brick is not the most convenient when needing to mount electronics. I apologize for the poor lighting, there is only two 40W bulbs lighting the loft space.
PM1, PM2, FMM, and VDM modules. VDM to control Varios-4, FMM to control RODI solenoid and leak detection sensor, and PM1/PM2 to allow 12 inputs for buttons and float switches. RODI is a 6-Stage from BRS with two volumizers, booster pump, and auto flush. Currently it's producing water at a 2:1 rate according to the volumizers. Rejection rate for membranes is at 97% at 75 PSI operating pressure. This system can fill the 25g tank in about 3.5 hours. Maybe a little excessive, but this is all designed to be moved to a larger system down the road. :)
DOS is for continuous water changes, plumbed down to display with 1/4" water line. I was lucky in that a support column sits just under the mixing station, so I ran the water lines along the back and across the floor to tank. This is roughly 12 feet vertical and 6 feet horizontal. You'll also notice a valve which connect the lines before and after the right pump on the DOS, this is to allow a quick way of syphoning water down to display incase I need to replace a lot of saltwater removed for acclimation or siphoning of sand. Eventually I'll replace this valve with a solenoid and program the valve to open during specific feed modes (acclimation and water change) to refill sump to low water sensor.
Blue line is saltwater, white line is RO. Since the tanks are above the aquarium, I decided to gravity feed the RO into the tank to eliminate the need for an extra pump. Solenoid opens and closes based on the Avast pressure sensor in the sump (seen below solenoid in picture). There is also an optical sensor to sense if the sump is over filled.
And in case one of the solenoids fails, I installed a second solenoid which will open if water reaches the optical sensor mentioned above. This will let air into lines coming from both the RO and Salt tanks, breaking any siphon that might be draining the tanks. I tested this feature last night and it works great! I don't have it plumbed yet, but I'll likely plumb both tanks to the drain line as well with manual valves in case either tank needs to be drained completely.
If you guys haven't seen these little clips, they are great for organizing 1/4" lines and sold by a member here on R2R.
I also decided to remove the reactor I had saved for GFO, mostly because I've never needed to use GFO in any of my tanks. With continuous water changes running through the DOS, I doubt this tank will be any different. A bit of replumbing and the sump area looks much more open!
Now back to regular maintenance! I haven't placed a door on the front of the stand yet, the result is the sump area gets a little sun in the evening causing excessive growth of stuff. At least the tank is maturing nicely!
And to top off this update, here is a FTS of the display!
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If you haven’t realized it yet, the individual power monitoring on the Apex 2016 has some value. Below is a graph of my skimmers power usage. Everything has been good for months but some reason this week the skimmer started drawing more power triggering an alarm. It turns out, the volute which draws air in was becoming clogged with salt. After a cleaning the power usage is back to normal!
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It has been a long time coming, but I finally took a video of the water transfer to mixing tank! Although I've used the manual "Transfer" button, I have this system setup automatically. When the saltwater tank hits the low float switch, it triggers a refill of the RODI tank. Once the RODI tank hits the top float, the transfer is initiated. At the end of the transfer, I am sent a notification to add salt. After adding the salt, I hit a virtual switch to reset the system and the saltwater tank begins mixing the new saltwater for 2 hours. The system then continues with normal water changes of 4000ml per day.
jsker
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First time here, great build!!
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Thanks @jsker!
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Thank you! Coincidentally, I snapped some picture of the sump area this past weekend with the intention of documenting my likes/dislikes of the Rollermat and Elite Aquatics sump. I'll try and get a post going this evening. ;)
is that poster on your wall 100 different zoanthids?!
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Indeed it is! I ordered it during the Kickstarter, but they are available now through Fauna Marin.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/get-your-100-zoa-paly-poster-here.256916/
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Theiling Rollermat and Elite Aquatics Rollermat Sump UPDATE!
I've been using the Rollermat and Elite Aquatics rollermat sump now for around 9 months. I'm happy with some aspects and disappointed with others. Instead of keep these thoughts in my head, I thought sharing might encourage/discourage other from choosing this combination. Overall, I will say I like the combo more than I dislike it. It could be improved, but as of now it serves it's purpose well!
I'll break down what I like/dislike about each component first, then give an overview of my thoughts with the equipment together.
Theiling Rollermat Review: overall I am pleased with how this filter works. Water enters the rollermat around a circular drum and flows through the filter material which is wrapped around the drum. Once through the filter, the water then exits a hole in the middle of the drum. When the filter material builds up with gunk, the water outside of the drum rises. At a certain level, the water activated a float switch which causes the drum to rotate exposing new filter material, thus dropping the water level back to normal. This happens in very small increments several times per hour/day depending on how much is being filtered out of the water.
Like: this filter does indeed pull gunk out of the water. The difference can be seen when comparing the new filter material with material exiting the filter. Also, the float switch seems appropriately placed to function properly up to 600 gph flow rates (I have a Neptune Systems 1" flow sensor on the full siphon line feeding the rollermat showing 550 gph). At 600 gph, the rollermat does not run excessively. I have yet to test more than 600 gph as I am unable to get more than 550 gph through my 1" drain line. The filter material lasts way longer than I had expected, 9 months in and the filter roll is only slightly more than half used (lightly stocked, feeding frozen twice daily). The float and motor have worked without major issues thus far. Filter roll was easy to install the first time.
Dislike: Though the rollermat does a good job pulling gunk out of the water, it doesn't do a perfect job. As you can see from the pictures below, larger particulates tend to make it's way past the filter or settle in the rollermat chamber itself over time. I have found if the flow rate isn't above 450-500 gph, a lot more settles in the rollermat chamber instead of being forced against the filter material. In my opinion, the flow needs to be ideally between 550-650 gph to properly remove the majority of particulates. The included lid has caused some problem for me due to condensation build up dripping onto the filter rolls and weighing them down. This causes the new filter roll to stick when it dries and increased the load on the motor. I tried drilling a few large holes in the lid to improve airflow, but the issue remained. Since removing the lid, I have not had this problem, nor have I noticed a smell from the used filter material.
Thoughts: The Rollermat has worked well in my system thus far, I am pleased with the lack of attention it needs in comparison to filter socks. Though not perfect, I think this piece of equipment is a good replacement for filter socks on tanks 40-100 gallons and 400-650 gph flow through the sump. On tanks below 400 gph, the filter chamber will likely become a settling chamber and not filter as efficiently as one would like. Over 650, it is likely the float could be modified (raised) to allow more of the filter material around the drum to be exposed to the water. If this modification was accomplished, I think the rollermat could attain up to 800 gph without exposing the new/used filter rolls to the new water level.
Elite Aquatics Rollermat Sump Review: this sump was designed specifically for the Theiling Rollermat and integrates the filter system in a clean way. As this is the first manufactured sump to allow integration with the Rollermat, it does a decent job at fitting everything into a compact space. Water enters into a change and is directed through the rollermat and then out into the skimmer chamber. From here the sump operates as most sumps do, allowing water from skimmer chamber to flow into the return section.
Like: Elite Aquatics is known for high quality sumps. This sump was no exception. It is build well blue and white acrylic. Clear viewing windows in the front allow visilbilty into the skimmer/return sections. The section which accepts water from the overflow is behind the skimmer, keeping the plumbing at the back and out of the way. I am very pleased with how easy it was to plumb due to the location of the inputs. The input section also has a cutout at the top to allow overflow into the skimmer section in the case too much water flows into the sump, bypassing the rollermat. The section for the rollermat fit nearly perfectly and lined up with the holes in the rollermat. Sump came with everything you would want: adjustable water level, probe holders, dosing line holes, and adjustable port to allow flow to bypass the rollermat if desired. For my setup, the overall size of this sump is perfect, though the sections are rather tight due to the inclusion of the rollermat.
Dislike: This sump was designed to fit within the industry standard dimensions for a 36" sump. As you can imagine, this caused some tightness in the chambers to allow room for the entire rollermat to fit within the size of the sump. The return section seems big enough for many of the desired pumps, but the skimmer section is rather tight. My Vertex Omega 150 fits with a fingers thickness remaining. I will say, Elite Aquatics made the skimmer section is as big as it could possible be because of the integration of the rollermat, so this may not be so much a negative as a simple reality of the design.
Thoughts: For my current setup, this sump has been perfect due to it's size and inclusion of the Theiling Rollermat. If I had more room in the stand, I would have had Elite Aquatics design a custom sump larger than this one, but still implementing the rollermat as the filter. This is a good choice for those wanting a 36" sump with a filter other than socks.
Final Thoughts: Overall, I am very pleased with this entire setup. The combination of sump and filter has performed better than I expected on this tank. Noise is very slight when the water level of the skimmer chamber is set to the outlet of the rollermat (8 inches) and return level is adjusted properly. The only change I would make if I could would be to raise the rollermat about two inches in the sump. This is because when the return pump is powered off, the water level in the sump can rise enough to trigger the rollermat float switch and even sometimes get high enough to wet the new filter roll. Now, this is not necessarily a problem with the setup, more a miscalculation on my part of how much water is drained from the tank into the sump upon power outage. This change might also affect the noise level with water exiting the rollermat two inches higher than the water in the skimmer chamber. I have only cleaned the sump once in the past 9 months and have not yet changed the filter roll. Tank is currently stocked with 2 fish, 2 shrimp, 5 anemones, and various zoanthid/acan colonies. Tank is fed frozen food twice a day and anemones/acans are spot fed twice a week with pellets.
Disclamer: I was not encouraged nor compensated for reviewing the Elite Aquatics Rollermat Sump or Theiling Rollermat. In fact, I purchased both the sump and rollermat second hand from the R2R dry goods forum.
I've been using the Rollermat and Elite Aquatics rollermat sump now for around 9 months. I'm happy with some aspects and disappointed with others. Instead of keep these thoughts in my head, I thought sharing might encourage/discourage other from choosing this combination. Overall, I will say I like the combo more than I dislike it. It could be improved, but as of now it serves it's purpose well!
I'll break down what I like/dislike about each component first, then give an overview of my thoughts with the equipment together.
Theiling Rollermat Review: overall I am pleased with how this filter works. Water enters the rollermat around a circular drum and flows through the filter material which is wrapped around the drum. Once through the filter, the water then exits a hole in the middle of the drum. When the filter material builds up with gunk, the water outside of the drum rises. At a certain level, the water activated a float switch which causes the drum to rotate exposing new filter material, thus dropping the water level back to normal. This happens in very small increments several times per hour/day depending on how much is being filtered out of the water.
Like: this filter does indeed pull gunk out of the water. The difference can be seen when comparing the new filter material with material exiting the filter. Also, the float switch seems appropriately placed to function properly up to 600 gph flow rates (I have a Neptune Systems 1" flow sensor on the full siphon line feeding the rollermat showing 550 gph). At 600 gph, the rollermat does not run excessively. I have yet to test more than 600 gph as I am unable to get more than 550 gph through my 1" drain line. The filter material lasts way longer than I had expected, 9 months in and the filter roll is only slightly more than half used (lightly stocked, feeding frozen twice daily). The float and motor have worked without major issues thus far. Filter roll was easy to install the first time.
Dislike: Though the rollermat does a good job pulling gunk out of the water, it doesn't do a perfect job. As you can see from the pictures below, larger particulates tend to make it's way past the filter or settle in the rollermat chamber itself over time. I have found if the flow rate isn't above 450-500 gph, a lot more settles in the rollermat chamber instead of being forced against the filter material. In my opinion, the flow needs to be ideally between 550-650 gph to properly remove the majority of particulates. The included lid has caused some problem for me due to condensation build up dripping onto the filter rolls and weighing them down. This causes the new filter roll to stick when it dries and increased the load on the motor. I tried drilling a few large holes in the lid to improve airflow, but the issue remained. Since removing the lid, I have not had this problem, nor have I noticed a smell from the used filter material.
Thoughts: The Rollermat has worked well in my system thus far, I am pleased with the lack of attention it needs in comparison to filter socks. Though not perfect, I think this piece of equipment is a good replacement for filter socks on tanks 40-100 gallons and 400-650 gph flow through the sump. On tanks below 400 gph, the filter chamber will likely become a settling chamber and not filter as efficiently as one would like. Over 650, it is likely the float could be modified (raised) to allow more of the filter material around the drum to be exposed to the water. If this modification was accomplished, I think the rollermat could attain up to 800 gph without exposing the new/used filter rolls to the new water level.
Elite Aquatics Rollermat Sump Review: this sump was designed specifically for the Theiling Rollermat and integrates the filter system in a clean way. As this is the first manufactured sump to allow integration with the Rollermat, it does a decent job at fitting everything into a compact space. Water enters into a change and is directed through the rollermat and then out into the skimmer chamber. From here the sump operates as most sumps do, allowing water from skimmer chamber to flow into the return section.
Like: Elite Aquatics is known for high quality sumps. This sump was no exception. It is build well blue and white acrylic. Clear viewing windows in the front allow visilbilty into the skimmer/return sections. The section which accepts water from the overflow is behind the skimmer, keeping the plumbing at the back and out of the way. I am very pleased with how easy it was to plumb due to the location of the inputs. The input section also has a cutout at the top to allow overflow into the skimmer section in the case too much water flows into the sump, bypassing the rollermat. The section for the rollermat fit nearly perfectly and lined up with the holes in the rollermat. Sump came with everything you would want: adjustable water level, probe holders, dosing line holes, and adjustable port to allow flow to bypass the rollermat if desired. For my setup, the overall size of this sump is perfect, though the sections are rather tight due to the inclusion of the rollermat.
Dislike: This sump was designed to fit within the industry standard dimensions for a 36" sump. As you can imagine, this caused some tightness in the chambers to allow room for the entire rollermat to fit within the size of the sump. The return section seems big enough for many of the desired pumps, but the skimmer section is rather tight. My Vertex Omega 150 fits with a fingers thickness remaining. I will say, Elite Aquatics made the skimmer section is as big as it could possible be because of the integration of the rollermat, so this may not be so much a negative as a simple reality of the design.
Thoughts: For my current setup, this sump has been perfect due to it's size and inclusion of the Theiling Rollermat. If I had more room in the stand, I would have had Elite Aquatics design a custom sump larger than this one, but still implementing the rollermat as the filter. This is a good choice for those wanting a 36" sump with a filter other than socks.
Final Thoughts: Overall, I am very pleased with this entire setup. The combination of sump and filter has performed better than I expected on this tank. Noise is very slight when the water level of the skimmer chamber is set to the outlet of the rollermat (8 inches) and return level is adjusted properly. The only change I would make if I could would be to raise the rollermat about two inches in the sump. This is because when the return pump is powered off, the water level in the sump can rise enough to trigger the rollermat float switch and even sometimes get high enough to wet the new filter roll. Now, this is not necessarily a problem with the setup, more a miscalculation on my part of how much water is drained from the tank into the sump upon power outage. This change might also affect the noise level with water exiting the rollermat two inches higher than the water in the skimmer chamber. I have only cleaned the sump once in the past 9 months and have not yet changed the filter roll. Tank is currently stocked with 2 fish, 2 shrimp, 5 anemones, and various zoanthid/acan colonies. Tank is fed frozen food twice a day and anemones/acans are spot fed twice a week with pellets.
Disclamer: I was not encouraged nor compensated for reviewing the Elite Aquatics Rollermat Sump or Theiling Rollermat. In fact, I purchased both the sump and rollermat second hand from the R2R dry goods forum.
great objective review! i am working on a build that uses a rollermat in its arsenal. its interesting that you brought up the rollermat going operational when power is cut to the return. i hadn't even though of that! im thinking of hooking it up to a controller and asking it to turn off when return is off as a work around for that scenario. i had looked at both trigger's and elites product during the planning stage of my build. i ended up doing something similar to the trigger design... i figured if it sucked i could always remove it and patch/plug the holes.
great build thread! can tell a lot of thought and planning went into it!
great build thread! can tell a lot of thought and planning went into it!
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Thank you! Have you started a build thread yet? I am also considering a way to wire the float and motor control of the Rollermat into my Apex for better control and monitoring of on/off times. I think it would be valuable data for later programming if we were to know how often the rollermat kicks on.
yea i have one! https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/120cm-journal-my-return-to-the-hobby.343103/
could probably add another float switch right beside the theiling one and run it through a breakout box to determine on off of rollermat. or maybe even the one that comes in it? do you know if it is passive or does it pass dc current through it? if passive could probably just tee off of the wires and send the open/close signal of the float to a break out box?
293482398
Valuable Member
Excellent review!
While researching the Rollermat, I came across some references to V2 (2017). I assume the version that's in the US market is this V2, do you know? While reading the BRS reviews, I think someone used the Apex to not run power to the unit 24/7 to extend lifetime. There were a handful of mods described in the BRS reviews.
Thanks again for the review!!
While researching the Rollermat, I came across some references to V2 (2017). I assume the version that's in the US market is this V2, do you know? While reading the BRS reviews, I think someone used the Apex to not run power to the unit 24/7 to extend lifetime. There were a handful of mods described in the BRS reviews.
Thanks again for the review!!
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Just looking at the curcuit board replacement for the rollermat, I believe the float is passive. I'm considering ordering another curcuit board from BRS to figure out the wiring properly. I believe I can take the existing float and rewire it into my Apex BOB and then permanently close the float connection on the cuicuit board. This would allow me to plug the rollermat into a programmable outlet on the Apex for simple ON/OFF control based on the input from the float. Thoughts?
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Thanks @HolisticBear! I'll look into the reviews on BRS, I haven't heard of a V1 or V2 with the Theiling Rollermats. I'm going to adapt my rollermat for the Apex at some point this year. I'll document it on here when I do. ;)
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