Finally resolved my Klir DI-4 frustration

jfm3

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 16, 2019
Messages
21
Reaction score
17
Location
70435
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I was one of the many who silently suffered through the design flaws of the Klir DI-4. A little history... About 4 years ago, I decided to add a 50G cube aquarium for only RBTAs, rock flower nems, and a couple of clowns. With this build, I purchased an acrylic Fiji-20 Advanced Cube Reef Sump. After a year of trying different sock filters, filter fleece, and filter pads, I decided to upgrade to a Klir DI-4. Almost immediately, I noticed that I was cleaning more detritus in the downstream chambers of the sump than I did when I had the sock filters! On balance though, I stayed the course with the DI-4 because (1) I could find no other off-the-shelf product that wouldn't require a major sump mod and (2) I hated dealing with the mess of socks and on top of that, I was traveling often and needed a solution that wouldn't require my personal attention every 4-5 days.

As time passed, my frustration with the DI-4 grew. Why all of the escaping detritus?!? After a deep clean of the sump, I was able to get a clear picture of what was happening--IMHO, it's a design flaw in the DI-4. I researched forums and only found commiseration from other current and previous DI-4 owners. I tried tech support from CoralVue, but their bottom line response was that I was outside of the warranty period--no recommendation for a fix. So, in summary, here's the issue: there is zero tension holding the unused fleece roll, so only water pressure holds the fleece in place along the sidewalls of the device. The design flaw is that there is way too much space in the sidewalls. Before the water level in the DI-4 chamber rises high enough for the sensor to advance the fleece, water pressure will often push the fleece outward, opening a gap between the edge of the fleece and the sidewall, creating a stream (in many cases, streams) of unfiltered water that bypasses the fleece.

I tried several DIY fixes, the most promising of which was the addition of zip ties after the unused roll dispense point to create some tension in the fleece, but this was only marginally successful. Sometimes it worked and the fleece would advance, but sometimes it didn't, and when a bypass stream started, I was forced to press the fleece advance button on the controller and keep my fingers crossed for the next fleece advance... or not.

The solution finally became apparent after I installed a Red Sea ReefMat 1200 in my 200G aquarium. I needed to have some 3-D printed wedges with smaller holes to insert in the large gap spaces of the DI-4 sidewalls. Voila! It worked like a charm! I'm back in love with the DI-4!!! My son printed these wedges for me. You can see them on his Instagram at
 

BigMac426

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 10, 2022
Messages
44
Reaction score
32
Location
Sidman, PA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Ok, I'll get ahold of him. That would be nice if its the same size. I stopped using the filter due to this reason but if this fixes them that would be awesome. Thanks!
 

BigMac426

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 10, 2022
Messages
44
Reaction score
32
Location
Sidman, PA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Capture.PNG

looks like it could be same size but just more holes... I got ahold of him and am going to provide him measurements to verify it will work with klir 7
 

jrill

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 21, 2018
Messages
1,143
Reaction score
1,203
Location
Crossville, TN
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
For those with 3d printers there is a file in thingaverse to make your own. They work great.
 

TOP 10 Trending Threads

IF YOU HAD A CAREER IN REEF-KEEPING, WHAT WOULD YOU BE DOING? AND WHY?

  • Selling and distributing livestock!

    Votes: 30 44.1%
  • Selling and distributing equipment!

    Votes: 10 14.7%
  • Breeding and Aquaculture!

    Votes: 25 36.8%
  • Livestock Disease and Treatment!

    Votes: 4 5.9%
  • Chemistry!

    Votes: 8 11.8%
  • Designing and Maintenance of tanks!

    Votes: 16 23.5%
  • Research and Education!

    Votes: 15 22.1%
  • Reefing Equipment and Dry Goods Creation and Manufacturing!

    Votes: 8 11.8%
  • Conservation!

    Votes: 19 27.9%
  • Other (please explain)!

    Votes: 5 7.4%
Back
Top