Red Sea - ReefMat 1200 question

[Solo McReefer]

thanks for sharing the pics and suggestions! much appreciated. I reefmat is on a riser in my sump so going to try and adjust to raise it a bit and see if it makes a difference.

On another note; I have been ordering my reef rolls from BRS and quite expensive. I wish I would of done more research before just ordering 4 rolls :) I came across Ali Express - and noticed the rolls selling for $12! I wonder how the quality is as normally I would stick with original stuff but if I can't get it to last at least 3 weeks I may give the ones selling on Ali Express a try.

Any review on the Chinese fleece?

 

[Solo McReefer]

https://preconfilter.com/Please ask for Steve and he will make rolls for you + adapters from @mackdave and you're good to go.
Much cheaper than the oem rolls.

Is the material non toxic or inert?

Would be cool to get the micron level I want

 

[C_AWOL]

Is the material non toxic or inert?

Would be cool to get the micron level I want

They're inert and nontoxic. 50 micron rated unless otherwise requested if he has other varieties. Oem rolls are ~200 micron.

 

[JonoH]

Any review on the Chinese fleece?

It depends where you buy it from.
The last lot i got was literally in Red Sea packaging and no different to normal - so i actually think it was the proper stuff.
I have just ordered another 4 rolls of what looks to be un-branded stuff that was a little cheaper (about 19 AUD a roll), so will let you know how that goes.
But i'm getting close to 2 months out of them at the moment.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I have been on the fence with these things for a while. I will only run part of my sump flow through one but can't decide on brand.

Does the RedSea work without their app? I honestly want NOTHING to do with another app or cloud hosted or tied device. If it can't work locally without internet, I don't want it.

I think that rules out the SmartRoller. Not sure about RS. But those appear to be the only 2 with easy to change fleece.

 

[C_AWOL]

I have been on the fence with these things for a while. I will only run part of my sump flow through one but can't decide on brand.

Does the RedSea work without their app? I honestly want NOTHING to do with another app or cloud hosted or tied device. If it can't work locally without internet, I don't want it.

I think that rules out the SmartRoller. Not sure about RS. But those appear to be the only 2 with easy to change fleece.

I recall the unit working from memory without being set up via app but the advance quantity will be not be adjustable (I don't recall how much it will roll but I'm sure its more than 2") which may cause issues with ato/siphon consistency. I can verify that later by unadding and hard resetting one of my units and seeing what happens if you'd like.

What I can't verify though is what will happen at the end of a roll since I don't know a way to reset it at rolls end without internet/app since it doesn't use bluetooth. Never tried just putting in a new roll without resetting the counter in the app before but for the sake of science I should do that on the earliest roll change I need to do. (I will need ~12-15 day since my closest to end roll is at 50% life)

Hope this helps!

 

[BeanAnimal]

I recall the unit working from memory without being set up via app but the advance quantity will be not be adjustable (I don't recall how much it will roll but I'm sure its more than 2") which may cause issues with ato/siphon consistency. I can verify that later by unadding and hard resetting one of my units and seeing what happens if you'd like.

What I can't verify though is what will happen at the end of a roll since I don't know a way to reset it at rolls end without internet/app since it doesn't use bluetooth. Never tried just putting in a new roll without resetting the counter in the app before but for the sake of science I should do that on the earliest roll change I need to do. (I will need ~12-15 day since my closest to end roll is at 50% life)

Hope this helps!

I suppose I could just call them. I am really trying to avoid DIY or buying $500 unit and DIYing my own controller. I am really set on not having to maintain any more vendor cloud services or being at all depending or tied to them. The GHL account is enough.

 

[Solo McReefer]

I just remembered the other reason I don't like the concept of Hydros

They took essentially open source Reef Pi gadgets

And turned them proprietary

I have seen that Kraken power unit in a Raspberry Pi configuration, before I saw the Kraken. It's literally the same build

 

[Jerry Barnes]

I have three of these units running on my systems for over a year now and really like them. Have you unrolled a used roll to see if they are in fact dirty? Is it possible its advancing clean fleece? One of my units did something similar when it was new. I called RedSea and they sent me a new drive motor. All the intelligence of this roller is in the drive unit. There is no way you could be using that much fleece in that quick of time given the tank size you have. My 300 FOWLR has two units installed and I'm getting over two months out of each roll.

 

[AquAttila]

I think mine drops a similar amount to yours when rolling (my advance is set for less than 1 inch) but being further submerged will cause the fleece to have more back pressure = will roll more often.

A very high bioload on a system fed with 2 vectra l2 at max. That with an oem roll the main roller gets about 32 days or so of use with very heavy feeding multiple times a day

Hi. so raising the reef mat definitely helped and now I am about 60" / daily use. Can you tell me what you use per day is around?

Thanks for the advise on getting fleece rolls from Ali Express. I can live with $12 / roll, especially if I can get about 4 weeks out of a single roll.

 

[C_AWOL]

For the oem rolls on the quoted pictures tank, it's about 40 inches a day. Since switching to precon rolls for a longer period, its averaging ~50 a day (initially was higher but the system has since leveled out in smaller particulates)

 

[AquAttila]

For the oem rolls on the quoted pictures tank, it's about 40 inches a day. Since switching to precon rolls for a longer period, its averaging ~50 a day (initially was higher but the system has since leveled out in smaller particulates)

Thanks... so looks like i may do some other adjustment to it to get it at least to ~50".

 

[C_AWOL]

Thanks... so looks like i may do some other adjustment to it to get it at least to ~50".

Keep in mind that my usage should realistically be higher but I utilize more than 1 filter roller on that particular tank.

 

[AquAttila]

For the oem rolls on the quoted pictures tank, it's about 40 inches a day. Since switching to precon rolls for a longer period, its averaging ~50 a day (initially was higher but the system has since leveled out in smaller particulates)

Hi, so I finally started to use the reef roll that I order from Ali Express. What I immediately noticed is that the mat seems more dense. uses more per hour as I can see and water level only drops like 1/2" below the sensor vs. almost 2" with the Red Sea original reefmat. Anyway you can tell me the company to look for or a link to the reef mat's you purchase from Ali Express. I will see how this works and to be honest, even if I get 2 weeks out of a roll at $12 - it is fine. I will keep the red sea and use if I go away for an extended period of time.

 

[C_AWOL]

Hi, so I finally started to use the reef roll that I order from Ali Express. What I immediately noticed is that the mat seems more dense. uses more per hour as I can see and water level only drops like 1/2" below the sensor vs. almost 2" with the Red Sea original reefmat. Anyway you can tell me the company to look for or a link to the reef mat's you purchase from Ali Express. I will see how this works and to be honest, even if I get 2 weeks out of a roll at $12 - it is fine. I will keep the red sea and use if I go away for an extended period of time.

I don't order from aliexpress, https://preconfilter.com/ is where I get mine.
You will need to email them and ask for rolls intended for the reefmat 1200 and they will know what to make for you.
I get significantly more than 2 weeks out of each of the new rolls and assume you likely will as well.

 

[AquAttila]

I don't order from aliexpress, https://preconfilter.com/ is where I get mine.
You will need to email them and ask for rolls intended for the reefmat 1200 and they will know what to make for you.
I get significantly more than 2 weeks out of each of the new rolls and assume you likely will as well.

Cool. thanks!

 

[AquAttila]

Guys, I just replaced my sump on a frag tank setup where I have 2 x 80 gal tanks plumbed together using a single sump - so do have 2 drain lines into sump. Has anyone used both sides of the input to the ReefMat? this would be ideal for me but when I hooked up this way I did notice the water being quite turbulent on the side of the sensor switch. If this is not advisable then I would have to create a 2 port in from drain and have it come into a single drain line. Let me know your thoughts. thanks!

 

[C_AWOL]

If you can reduce/eliminate any air going in on the sensor side via the drain (what I assume is the issue), that will fix the potential issue of premature advancing (from water splashing on the sensor) as long as the flow rate from both isn't too high going into the unit.

 

[AquAttila]

If you can reduce/eliminate any air going in on the sensor side via the drain (what I assume is the issue), that will fix the potential issue of premature advancing (from water splashing on the sensor) as long as the flow rate from both isn't too high going into the unit.

Thanks! Sorry meant to respond to this one and I now have it setup to use both inlets. Seems to be working, but it is using around 130 inch daily of the roll, which is high. I feel like over a few days it will settle and be lower. I have a RM1200 on my DT and I had to adjust the height a bit and reduce water flow and now it is better - using less of the roller mat. I am probably going to make some tweaks but good to know I can use both of the inlets. I also received this from Red Sea support.

"Good morning Attila,

Thank you for contacting Red Sea.

Using both inlet ports on the ReefMat is fine if your aquarium has two downflow pipes. It should not cause the fleece to be advanced more often unless the turbulence is causing the sensor to be splashed.

Best Regards,
Ashlee
Red Sea Group"

 

[AquAttila]

https://preconfilter.com/Please ask for Steve and he will make rolls for you + adapters from @mackdave and you're good to go.
Much cheaper than the oem rolls.

I buy mine from Ali Express, they are great.

So I ended up ordering rolls from Ali express and seems to be so dense that I am lucky to get 1 week out of a roll vs. 3 weeks from the ones at BRS. Curious what source you use from Ali Express? there are many that sell and I want to try another source if possible. I also tried to contact Precision Converting several times and no answer. used form online and no response either.