Red Sea ReefMat 250 or 500 ?

[Katze]

Hello everyone!
The title says it all, I want to get a ReefMat for my 300l tank to reduce the detritus I'm having, the 250 is rated up to 250l while the 500 up to 500l.
Would the larger filter be neccesseraly better in this case?
Because I'd rather go with the smaller one: it costs less and is physically smaller aswell
I have an RSK 300 skimmer in the sump, so the fleece roller would be the mechanical filter

 

[everpresentnoob]

I have a 75 gallon tank with a reefmat 500 and a reef octo 150 skimmer in the sump. Love the reefmat, but at times it seems to help pull to much out of the water column. I only run my skimmer 1.5 hours or so around midnight and still have to be careful that nitrate and phosphate don't bottom out. Again. For the third time.....

 

[viceversabrd]

Id say go with reef mat 500 unless you're really tight on sump space. I have a 50 gallon system (189 liters) and the reef mat 250 seems to be the perfect size for my system. If you go with the 250 on that large of a tank as you have and the reef mat may end up running all the time (noise) and you'll go through more rolls the motor will burn out quicker etc. Like everpresentnoob mentioned you may have to scale back the skimmer once the reef mat is doing the bulk of your filtration.

 

[slingfox]

I would go with the largest fleece roller you can fit in the sump. The roll will last longer which means less maintenance.

 

[Katze]

Thank you for your replies!
These are all very good points
I think I'll go with the 500, after all it isn't much more expensive

 

[Jaybeastin]

Yeah watch for the nutrients . I stop using a protein skimmer because of it.

 

[Katze]

Yeah watch for the nutrients . I stop using a protein skimmer because of it.

Well nutrients won't be an issue my nitrate is 50 :D

 

[everpresentnoob]

Well nutrients won't be an issue my nitrate is 50 :D

My nitrates were over 100... after a month they came down and now I fight keeping them from bottoming out... The reef mat seems to work Really well for pulling stuff out of the water before it can break down. just keep an eye on it.

 

[Katze]

My nitrates were over 100... after a month they came down and now I fight keeping them from bottoming out... The reef mat seems to work Really well for pulling stuff out of the water before it can break down. just keep an eye on it

How much fleece do you use /year?

 

[exnisstech]

I run a 500 in my Reefer 300 acro tank. No skimmer or other mechanical filtration. Nutrients are low and i dose ammonium. I used to dose N and P separately. A few nights a week I'll stop the auto advance and let it overflow.

 

[Katze]

I run a 500 in my Reefer 300 acro tank. No skimmer or other mechanical filtration. Nutrients are low and i dose ammonium. I used to dose N and P separately. A few nights a week I'll stop the auto advance and let it overflow.

And how much fleece do you go through?

 

[exnisstech]

Current daily average is 31.2"

 

[SaltyTwigs]

You can adjust the setting for the amount of fleece moved forward on the ReefMat so that less fleece is dispensed each time it triggers. This will keep the dirty fleece in the water column for longer and may help manage your nutrients. Love the Fleece Rollers! I think most reefers would benefit from adding a fleece roller to their setups.

 

[Katze]

You can adjust the setting for the amount of fleece moved forward on the ReefMat so that less fleece is dispensed each time it triggers. This will keep the dirty fleece in the water column for longer and may help manage your nutrients. Love the Fleece Rollers! I think most reefers would benefit from adding a fleece roller to their setups.

Ooooh seems handy!

 

[Katze]

So I have been doing a bit of digging for not overpriced media and...
I actually found very affordable fleece on ali express for ReefMats of course.
If you type "ocean wonders fleece" into the search bar multiple options should pop up

 

[everpresentnoob]

I go through a roll every month and a half or so.

 

[viceversabrd]

So I have been doing a bit of digging for not overpriced media and...
I actually found very affordable fleece on ali express for ReefMats of course.
If you type "ocean wonders fleece" into the search bar multiple options should pop up

wow! I think a roll for the 250 is like $20 at my lfs, I wonder if its 200 microns like the Red Sea fleece, couldn't find where it states what micron their fleece is.

 

[Katze]

wow! I think a roll for the 250 is like $20 at my lfs, I wonder if its 200 microns like the Red Sea fleece, couldn't find where it states what micron their fleece is.

I'm quite sure that it must be similar to the original, afterall it is a copycat