ReefMat 1200 Fleece Usage to High

[BigMax]

I have ReefMat 500 on a 70 gallon tank and I'm very happy with it.

I installed a ReefMat 1200 on my 300 gallon an I'm going through way to much fleece. 130cm per day. That would equate to $500 a year with purchase and tax. If I can't solve the problem I'm going back to socks. Below are the specifics:

1) The water level in the sump is only 1/2" above the bottom of the basket.
2) I reduced the flow from 1400gph to 900gph (It's supposedly rated for over 2000gph).
3) The fleece is set for default advance which is 2.1cm.
4) The consumed fleece is barely discolored.
5) It is not advancing randomly e.g. the water is hitting the probes and advancing only based on internal water level.
6) The tank water was pristine when starting so it's not a clean up thing. As matter of fact the socks do a better job of cleaning the water as there is seepage around the fleece which I noticed with my ReefMat 500....the sump was always 'cleaner' with socks.

I'm wondering if anyone changed the advance and achieved better results? If so, what are your settings? I would like to the fleece collect something before advancing. (Light tan fleece detritus and 25-26 days per roll is not acceptable).

Thanks ...... appreciate any help

 

[blaxsun]

On my 200-gallon heavily-stocked system I go through about 60" daily. I'd try dropping the advance to 0.6-1.0 and see if there's any improvement. Also, if you're using the media basket - remove it (this inflates fleece usage).

 

[BigMax]

On my 200-gallon heavily-stocked system I go through about 60" daily. I'd try dropping the advance to 0.6-1.0 and see if there's any improvement. Also, if you're using the media basket - remove it (this inflates fleece usage).

I must be cheap ;) that's well over $500 a year for fleece. I assume your advance is set to cm? If inches, 1 inch is 2.54cm which would be the default...if you're set to cm I'll give it a try, that would be a significant drop in the advance...thx.

I'm not using the media basket.

 

[blaxsun]

I must be cheap ;) that's well over $500 a year for fleece. I assume your advance is set to cm? If inches, 1 inch is 2.54cm which would be the default...if you're set to cm I'll give it a try, that would be a significant drop in the advance...thx.

I'm not using the media basket.

It was $480 a year and then Red Sea hiked the danged price... I'm running the second setting from the top most option in the Mat Advance Length.

 

[Joj]

Been using my Reef mat 1200 on a heavy feed 500g fowlr for about 3 weeks with lots of messy larger fishes. Flow is about 700g incoming to reefmat 1200 (jebao dcp2500). With feeding nori included, goes to avg 35 inches daily. I went on one week vacation with only normal pellets feedings and it dropped to 10inches avg only by the last day of my vacation. Once i came back and fed nori again, levels shot right back up to 35-40inchs use daily. My water level on the reef mat just covers the reefmat red water outlet tubing. Ime, feeding nori affects it. Also I have low flow rates and that might help extend its fleece life? I have default 1 inch advance setting.

I have bought some aftermarket fleece but haven't used them yet. Comes out to $20 per roll vs $32 per roll (preconfilters.com). Hth

 

[Joj]

Been using my Reef mat 1200 on a heavy feed 500g fowlr for about 3 weeks with lots of messy larger fishes. Flow is about 700g incoming to reefmat 1200 (jebao dcp2500). With feeding nori included, goes to avg 35 inches daily. I went on one week vacation with only normal pellets feedings and it dropped to 10inches avg only by the last day of my vacation. Once i came back and fed nori again, levels shot right back up to 35-40inchs use daily. My water level on the reef mat just covers the reefmat red water outlet tubing. Ime, feeding nori affects it. Also I have low flow rates and that might help extend its fleece life? I have default 1 inch advance setting.

I have bought some aftermarket fleece but haven't used them yet. Comes out to $20 per roll vs $32 per roll (preconfilters.com). Hth

 

[BigMax]

Joj thanks for the response. Coincidentally I'm using 2 Jebao DCP-6500's for my return. The Max wattage for the 6500's is 55Watts. I had them set at 29Watts each and the 2 together had less flow then my Iwaki (pumped 1200gph), which they replaced. Using a combination of quick flow measurements and the chart below. (Using 1" pipe for each pump and 4 SWEEP 90deg elbows each with a return at 6' of head pressure). I'm calculating the best I can get is 1200gph for the 2 combined at 29Watts each.

With the 2-DCP-6500's turned down to 21Watts the flow is very low, at best I'm getting 800gph. I believe it's more likely about 650-700gph. Yet I'm still using 110cm of ReefMat per day, and the claim is the ReefMat can handle over 2000gph. The ReeMat may be able to do that, but I would assume I see a roll last about 2 weeks and it would be so pristine it would look no different than an unused roll.

Below is a Jebao output graph for my pump. The 6500 at 55Watts with NO restrictions, but 6 ft of head pressure is 845 gallons an hour.

Just a comment on your pump with any head pressure, plus pipe and fittings flow restrictions I doubt you are getting any more than 400gph. You may know different, but just throwing that out there. Max Flow no restrictions or head pressure is 660gph and at 8.2ft the flow will be zero.

• Jebao DCP-2500 - Power: 23-watt 110-120V 60Hz, Max Flow:660gph, Max head: 8.2ft, Dimension: 5x3x4 inch

Just something to think about.

I looked at the preconfilters site, you'll have to let me know how it works? My only concern was the most porous mat they have is 50 micron and Red Sea is 200 Micron. I assume it would consume it at least 4 times faster? But actually using it will be interesting, to see if that's what happens.

 

[Joj]

Apologize- you are right with the dcp-2500. (I confused it with a dcp3000 I use to have). My flow probably closer to 550gph with my head and 2 90 elbows.

Reefmat doesn’t list their fleece in microns, but g/m2 (which is 50g/m2 shown on the Reefmat box). I ask preconfilters about its equivalent and they said by ‘weight’, it’s closer to 20 micron. I read other thread of people mentioning 200 micron too for Reefmat fleece but not sure how they came to that conclusion? So if this is true, 50 or 80 micron should last longer…

 

[BigMax]

Apologize- you are right with the dcp-2500. (I confused it with a dcp3000 I use to have). My flow probably closer to 550gph with my head and 2 90 elbows.

Reefmat doesn’t list their fleece in microns, but g/m2 (which is 50g/m2 shown on the Reefmat box). I ask preconfilters about its equivalent and they said by ‘weight’, it’s closer to 20 micron. I read other thread of people mentioning 200 micron too for Reefmat fleece but not sure how they came to that conclusion? So if this is true, 50 or 80 micron should last longer…

Got the 200 micron number for the BRS and Saltwater Aquarium websites. In practical application a 200 micron filter will only trap particles greater than 200 microns, all less than 200 will pass through. A 20 micron filter will only allow particulate less than 20 microns to pass so it will clog much faster and be more restrictive to water flow. Again, I'll be curious to see actual numbers, but if both filters are as advertised the preconfilter at 50 microns should be consumed much faster than ReefMat fleece.

Hope the ReefMat is actually and consistently 200?

From Reef Builders
200 Micron Fleece – The decision to use a larger 200 micron porosity in their filtration material was a brilliant move which has a number of far reaching implications. Not only will you get a lot of mileage out of every roll of ReefMat but it does mean that the spent material has a chance to dry out somewhat before getting spooled up.

From Saltwater Aquarium

 

[jayteerq]

Yeah, I’m using way too much fleece per day on my new 250 build.

 

[lesismore]

Hi. I’m experiencing some really heavy fleece usage too and I’m not sure what to make of it. My flow rate was around 650gph and I lowered it to about 575-600gph. I don’t have the media box under the device and I’m not overfeeding. I started to skim more wet to see if it somehow helps, but my usage has gone from about a month to 3 weeks and had slipped down to a week at its worst. The last 3 days were 93”, 100”, and 89”. That’s about 8’ a day and a total of 14 days per roll. I’m using the second smallest advance length so I didn’t mess up my ato and I’ve read from those who have tested all levels that this is a good setting to maximize the roll longevity. The sensor does come into contact with the water level when it advances so I can’t really blame the sensor.

I have read in other discussions that a user received a bad batch of rolls with inconsistent porosity and shortened roll life. I asked Red Sea about this possibility and they said it’s not possible due to their QA process.

I have been dosing live phytoplankton and wonder if it had a role to play. I actually stopped dosing about 8 days ago and the glass in the tank is significantly cleaner, but I’m not seeing a reduction in usage. The tank is 7 months old. I wonder if there’s been some type of bloom that may be clogging the reef at quicker pace.

Who knows. I will keep observing and seeing if there’s anything else I can do to reduce the usage or if it happens all by itself. I used to have such minimal usage at night but now it’s using at least 3” of fleece every hour. There shouldn’t be much of anything causing this nighttime need. My tank is 300 gallons and total system is about 350.

I’m all ears if anyone has come up with resolutions or suggestions.

 

[salwater_sai]

People that had the same problems as you are using 3D printed red sea fleece roller risers

 

[lesismore]

People that had the same problems as you are using 3D printed red sea fleece roller risers

I’m using the legs that came with mine and needed a raiser because the water depth was deep in this section of my sump. It’s sitting about as high as I think I can comfortably place it and it’s where those who raise it suggested I raise it to. The thing that’s confusing is that all conditions were the same and yet my roll consumption has gone way up in the last month or two.