Roller FIlters: Aquamaxx vs. Clarisea?

[rbarr110]

Want to put a roller filter in my system and was leaning towards the Clarisea SK-5000 (6" filter material). However, I just saw that Aquamaxx has a 6" roller filter for about $175 less.

Anyone with opinions or knowledge of the two? At almost half the price adn similair specifications the Aquamaxx is tempting.

AF-1 Automatic Filter Roller

Peace out, filter socks. Enjoy more and do less, the AF-1 Automatic Filter will let you enjoy your aquarium with less maintenance by removing the need to change out your filter socks or sponges every few days. Features High volume filtration capacity Minimal installation footprint Completely...

www.marinedepot.com

ClariSea SK-3000 Automatic Filter System - D-D The Aquarium Solution

ClariSea fleece filters automatically remove particulates from your water that would normally turn into nitrates and phosphates. Perfect for reef aquariums, the SK-3000 Automatic Filter System will leave your tank with brilliantly clean water which will help increase your lighting penetration...

www.marinedepot.com

 

[BBLINKS]

Just bought one, picking it up Friday, will let you know how it compares to the clarisea.

 

[BBLINKS]

Initial quality impressed me, clean machine work and the item look polished. Unit pre-assembled made it easy to put it together, roller attachment for the fleece is a quite straight forward. It took me 45 minutes to assemble the Clarisea with YouTube guidance but only 10 minutes to clean and install this unit. Improvements for the next gen off the bat would be a bypass valve and more mounting options. I would recommend this over the Clarisea right now off the initial impressions, along with the 1.5 inlet so I don’t have to mess around with adaptors. I’ll give a full review once it’s up and running. On a side note, I wish the plug in had a longer cord instead of the 2 footer it came with. I have already contacted aquamaxx to see if an extension cord is available. I know I can always use a plug in extension but it should’ve came with it. Hope this helps

 

[rbarr110]

Thanks for following up on this!

The bypass or omission of a bypass is one of the things I was concerned about, but figured out an easy way to hard plumb my own bypass if needed. Going to order one based on your input, so little information out there on this one. But seems like a no brainier based on price difference.

 

[Francisco Hernandez]

I bought one before black Friday., and installed on the following Monday. From what I heard from other rollers it would go through the first roll really fast, but it took a while to get started. Now it's moving pretty good since the whole surface is dirty and the water rises with in. I really like it especially compared to what I had. My tank looks clean, algae on the glass(acrylic) has literally gone away.I have also stopped adding nopox. And not having to change socks or filter pads all the time in amazing.

There is some seepage coming out the side as it is not completely sealed where the water filters. But I'm ok with that, it equals some bypass. The skimmer seems to be working better as well. It's only been a few weeks but no issues at all with the paper or felt what ever it is.

I add there is No smell at all. At half the price as the clarasea I had to try it so far so good! Here are some pics...hope this helps!

 

[ironman187]

How is the noise level?

 

[BBLINKS]

How is the noise level?

no noise except for the momentary buzz .

Install for me was a bit of pain. My water level is so high I had use only the last 2 screws to hang on the back leave the other 2 on top of the hanging bracket and it’s still a bit low. Issue number one encountered already....wife yelling at me that the roller is stuck on, confused I ran down stairs to the tank and to my amazement, a small trouchus snail was stuck in between the fleece and the back panel causing it to jam. It actually ripped the fleece, that’s how stuck it was. So now, I will have it on my apex and allow it to go only 20 seconds max for power then it will shut off. Protection plan. Improvements for the next gen I guess, my guess is if we didn’t stop the motor it would’ve been burned out for sure and that would’ve sucked. Lol All things considered, I really like it! So far so good. Fingers crossed no other snails will get stuck in there.

you guys drill out acrylic much. I need to drill a couple extra mounting holes to raise the roller higher. Scared I am going to crack the panel. Ugh...

 

[Francisco Hernandez]

when the motor turns? It's not bad. You can barely hear it. It's hard to catch it turning. It turns slow so as soon as some clean roll moves the water level goes down. As for the water i just adjusted tue flow a bit and it was fine no noise.

 

[BBLINKS]

I bought one before black Friday., and installed on the following Monday. From what I heard from other rollers it would go through the first roll really fast, but it took a while to get started. Now it's moving pretty good since the whole surface is dirty and the water rises with in. I really like it especially compared to what I had. My tank looks clean, algae on the glass(acrylic) has literally gone away.I have also stopped adding nopox. And not having to change socks or filter pads all the time in amazing.

There is some seepage coming out the side as it is not completely sealed where the water filters. But I'm ok with that, it equals some bypass. The skimmer seems to be working better as well. It's only been a few weeks but no issues at all with the paper or felt what ever it is.

I add there is No smell at all. At half the price as the clarasea I had to try it so far so good! Here are some pics...hope this helps!

Your roll looks a lot dirtier than mine. I need to raise that to get my moneys worth lol

 

[Francisco Hernandez]

Dam Snell, glad you noticed soon enough.
Your water level is high. If you can get the roller higher i think you will get more contact on the paper.
My sump had a water splash baffle behind the sock hole I used to have and I drilled 5-3inch Holes so the water can circulate through there. No issues no cracks. Just let it cut on its own don't apply presure. How big are you drilling? If you look behind the roller you can see the holes I made no issues.

 

[Francisco Hernandez]

Your roll looks a lot dirtier than mine. I need to raise that to get my moneys worth lol

Yes it will help. It did take a bit to get dirty. I was like is this thing working? But maybe a week and a half later it was going.

 

[BBLINKS]

Well, this sucks.... wish they would’ve used a bit thicker rods but it is what it is. Clean break, didn’t even notice it when I inspected it on arrival. Hopefully marine depot will correct that.

 

[Francisco Hernandez]

Same thing happened to me when I opened it. I was going to contact them, but decided to just glue it.

 

[BBLINKS]

Marine depot took care of it, they are sending me new ones. I was thinking about an upgrade option and use polycarbonate instead of acrylic, might n=be stronger....

 

[Zachary.mccrea]

I bought one before black Friday., and installed on the following Monday. From what I heard from other rollers it would go through the first roll really fast, but it took a while to get started. Now it's moving pretty good since the whole surface is dirty and the water rises with in. I really like it especially compared to what I had. My tank looks clean, algae on the glass(acrylic) has literally gone away.I have also stopped adding nopox. And not having to change socks or filter pads all the time in amazing.

There is some seepage coming out the side as it is not completely sealed where the water filters. But I'm ok with that, it equals some bypass. The skimmer seems to be working better as well. It's only been a few weeks but no issues at all with the paper or felt what ever it is.

I add there is No smell at all. At half the price as the clarasea I had to try it so far so good! Here are some pics...hope this helps!

what is the actual width of the unit. would it fit in a 4in baffle?

 

[#1Fellowreefer]

Hello everyone, I am considering a roller mat as well for my new 180 and have been looking at theilinhg, ClariSea bubble magus and now Aquamaxx. I use a Aquamaxx ConeS Q3 skimmer and absolutely love it and now thinking to keep in the same eco system and get this filter roller from th as well and seeing all your pictures and comments about the product I think I will roll the dice and order it but just had a few questions.

1. What’s the actual width and length (side to side basically side wher the roll fits)?
2. What is the water depth it need to sit in?

I ask as I am still in the planning stage of my sump so this info will be greatly appreciated.

 

[CyberGuy]

I need to install the Aquamaxx. I also have the Clarisea in another tank. Need to compare the two.

 

[BBLINKS]

Here you guys go, hope it helps

 

[BBLINKS]

Hello everyone, I am considering a roller mat as well for my new 180 and have been looking at theilinhg, ClariSea bubble magus and now Aquamaxx. I use a Aquamaxx ConeS Q3 skimmer and absolutely love it and now thinking to keep in the same eco system and get this filter roller from th as well and seeing all your pictures and comments about the product I think I will roll the dice and order it but just had a few questions.

1. What’s the actual width and length (side to side basically side wher the roll fits)?
2. What is the water depth it need to sit in?

I ask as I am still in the planning stage of my sump so this info will be greatly appreciated.

1-I am using Clarisea new 40 meter roll which I had to re-roll onto the aquamaxx inner tube and it’s 9 inches, using the actual aquamaxx supplies rolls it should be 8.5 inches.

2-height should be from the top of the 90 inlet to no more than 1.5 inches above to create head pressure and make the rolls last longer. You can have it higher but just be prepared to go through a roll every 5-10 days.

 

[Erick Armanii]

Seems like an old thread but still going to follow along.. I have a trigger system triton 44 sump and before cutting and modifying the acrylic I want to see how these preform