Help with replacement fleece rolls for the ARF-20 Fleece Roller - Did I make a mistake?

[Fish Fan]

Ok, I ordered 6 rolls for $35 after some of the coupons they had listed since you gave them your seal of approval! Still gonna wash and reroll them but at least I will have more than 3 on hand.

Sounds like good, cheap media. Can you tell me more about the washing and re-rolling process?

 

[Derrick0580]

Sounds like good, cheap media. Can you tell me more about the washing and re-rolling process?

Just get you a delicate garmet laundry bag and unroll the dirty fleece into it. Toss it into the washer, I run a cycle on hot with nothing in there to clean any residue out that may be there. I then run it 3 washing cycles to get it clean as there is a lot of material there! Once it’s done I pull it out of the bag and just lightly lay it in the floor of my fish room to dry. Once dry I find one end and use scotch tape to reattach it to the cardboard tube, find something to put on the tv, and roll it back up onto the tube by hand. Doesn’t take as long as it sound, but the fleece won’t be perfectly flat as you are rolling it so if you can find an extra set of hand to help hold it flat and straight it will help.

 

[Fish Fan]

Great! It's good to know you can clean these rolls and get a little more life out of them.

 

[Derrick0580]

Great! It's good to know you can clean these rolls and get a little more life out of them.

I actually feel like the washed rolls pull more junk from the water as they appear to hold darker junk than the brand new ones…could be my imagination though!

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Just get you a delicate garmet laundry bag and unroll the dirty fleece into it. Toss it into the washer, I run a cycle on hot with nothing in there to clean any residue out that may be there. I then run it 3 washing cycles to get it clean as there is a lot of material there! Once it’s done I pull it out of the bag and just lightly lay it in the floor of my fish room to dry. Once dry I find one end and use scotch tape to reattach it to the cardboard tube, find something to put on the tv, and roll it back up onto the tube by hand. Doesn’t take as long as it sound, but the fleece won’t be perfectly flat as you are rolling it so if you can find an extra set of hand to help hold it flat and straight it will help.

To each their own but that's a LOT of work and wasted water for a now 4$+- roll.

 

[Derrick0580]

To each their own but that's a LOT of work and wasted water for a now 4$+- roll.

Well considering I can run 4-6 weeks on a roll, and go through 8 rolls before washing since I have 9 total on hand, it’s still saving water over washing socks once a month. And reusing them means they aren’t going in the trash, and washing them and reusing just 1 time each saves $45+ bucks which IMO is worth the extra effort.

 

[jphilip813]

Well, I purchased this particular model a year ago (arrived Jan 2023). I have had nothing but issues. I have reached out to FijiCube and sent them videos of the numerous issues, from loud cascading water (even with the silencers) to eventually tilting and not catching almost all of the detritus. They told me they would release a newer one and plan on sending me the upgraded one. pulled it down last week.

 

[Derrick0580]

Don’t know what is up with your roller but mine is all but silent….what is your water level at in the sump? Looks to be the 30” fiji sump?

 

[jphilip813]

Don’t know what is up with your roller but mine is all but silent….what is your water level at in the sump? Looks to be the 30” fiji sump?

It's the Fiji 24 Sump... Purchased it with their 108 INT aquarium and stand last summer...all as a package and purchased the AFR 20 later during the year.

 

[Derrick0580]

The water level is similar it seems but I’m wondering if you have less water draining into your roller at once because it appears to be a lower level at the top than mine is. Have you tried increasing the return pump to get more water at once through the roller?

 

[jphilip813]

The water level is similar it seems but I’m wondering if you have less water draining into your roller at once because it appears to be a lower level at the top than mine is. Have you tried increasing the return pump to get more water at once through the roller?

Yeah I did that (increase water level). However, the reefmat itself is starting to warp which then it makes it tilt forward. Also, the teeth on the roller pin have broken and at some point, once the used fleece in dispensed, the roller mat will stop working. I then have to remove the older fleece so that the roller matfleece can continue. Like I had mentioned, I pointed that out to Fiji and they acknowledged there are some issues.

 

[Derrick0580]

Interesting…I’m curious as to what changes they are making to them and if they will upgrade others due to poor design on their part. So far mine is working as it should aside from me having to superglue the clear roller onto the threads because it kept unscrewing itself.

 

[jphilip813]

Interesting…I’m curious as to what changes they are making to them and if they will upgrade others due to poor design on their part. So far mine is working as it should aside from me having to superglue the clear roller onto the threads because it kept unscrewing itself.

I wish I could answer that question, but it appears there are a few others complaining about this particular version of their roller. I will give them until the end of the 3rd week of OCT before I take the next step. I initially started to do a review video which was all positive earlier this year...but that was based on only the first week of use. The proof came about a month into the use of it and thereafter. So I paused the video and never released it.

 

[Derrick0580]

I wish putting a new roll of fleece on was easier than it is. Thankfully I have plenty of room to lift the entire assembly out of my sump. Only have to remove my skimmer cup.

 

[jphilip813]

I wish putting a new roll of fleece on was easier than it is. Thankfully I have plenty of room to lift the entire assembly out of my sump. Only have to remove my skimmer cup.

Yeah...it is a freaking chore...I found an easier way (right before it ends)....I remove the OLD fleece (yes unwhind itall off the roll) staple the new one (Staple HORIZONTAL, not vertically) then advance the new fleece...It may seem complicated, but it sure is better than removing the rollermat. I have their stand and there isn't too much room down there.

 

[Derrick0580]

Yeah...it is a freaking chore...I found an easier way (right before it ends)....I remove the OLD fleece (yes unwhind itall off the roll) staple the new one (Staple HORIZONTAL, not vertically) then advance the new fleece...It may seem complicated, but it sure is better than removing the rollermat. I have their stand and there isn't too much room down there.

Yeah, stapling it together is how they actually recommend loading the new roll and it’s how I do it.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Just put a ultra chinahut roll into service. We will see how long it will last. The last BM packaged roll was just at 4 weeks on my heavy stocked 120g. I was using precision roll previously, the rolls were lasting around 8 weeks. So cost wise it's about a push @ this point.

Last roll install:

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Just put a ultra chinahut roll into service. We will see how long it will last. The last BM packaged roll was just at 4 weeks on my heavy stocked 120g. I was using precision roll previously, the rolls were lasting around 8 weeks. So cost wise it's about a push @ this point.

Last roll install:

For an update to my previous post, the china hut rolls are the same as the Bubble magus rollers. They last the same duration, does the same thing!

Cheers.

 

[Derrick0580]

Update to my own arf roller…working as it has been since the beginning. However, after really paying attention to how long the rolls last, i’m barely making it 2 weeks on both the brand new rolls and rewashed rolls. Considering it takes around 20-30 minutes to change out a roll and only 30 seconds to swap out filter socks and I have enough socks to last over a month at changing them 3x’s a week, I’m going back to socks.