Seatorch ARF - Auto Roller Filter

[Danno86]

Has anyone used a sea torch fleece roller yet? I'm looking for feedback and reviews. I would like to better understand how the water flows through the fleece. Most fleece rollers I've seen push the water from the inside of the mat, outwards. This one appears to push the water from the outside towards the center. I'm wondering from those who have used one if this is accurate, and if its been decent, or has been problematic

 

[cdemoss01]

Never ever heard of it
Bumping!

 

[Danno86]

Never ever heard of it
Bumping!

They seem to be more polular in Australia and China. I can't say I've seen one in any Canadian or American photos yet

 

[keagan]

@mmorrison55

 

[mmorrison55]

Yeah, I have one.


It’s to the right of the avast ozone reactor that is front and center of this pic.

Ive actually just had them build me a pvc sump to house their fleece roller, skimmer, and chaeto reactor. I think I have some pics of the sump or a link to the video they provided of it. I received the sump a week or so back, but have installed it yet.

Here is a link to their page on the Seatorch.au website. I bought mine in Australia and had it shipped over.

https://www.seatorch.com.au/products/automatic-roller-filter?_pos=2&_sid=f7e673c11&_ss=r&variant=41927390527563

Price with shipping wasn’t too bad.the shipping took about 4 weeks Before I received it.
PRices are in AUD. Ask for Joey, and tell him Mike from Tampa, fl sent you. He will help you out.

 

[Danno86]

Yeah, I have one.


It’s to the right of the avast ozone reactor that is front and center of this pic.

Ive actually just had them build me a pvc sump to house their fleece roller, skimmer, and chaeto reactor. I think I have some pics of the sump or a link to the video they provided of it. I received the sump a week or so back, but have installed it yet.

Here is a link to their page on the Seatorch.au website. I bought mine in Australia and had it shipped over.

https://www.seatorch.com.au/products/automatic-roller-filter?_pos=2&_sid=f7e673c11&_ss=r&variant=41927390527563

Price with shipping wasn’t too bad.the shipping took about 4 weeks Before I received it.

Im super curious as to how the water flows through the fleece. Most of the common fleece rollers dump their water between the two rolls. It looks like the sea torch has a solid connection into almost an overflow box, but i can't make sense of how the water is pushed through the fleece without leaving a bunch of detritus in the unit itself. If there any chance you could post a short video or a photo of how the water mooves through the fleece?

 

[Danno86]

Yeah, I have one.


It’s to the right of the avast ozone reactor that is front and center of this pic.

Ive actually just had them build me a pvc sump to house their fleece roller, skimmer, and chaeto reactor. I think I have some pics of the sump or a link to the video they provided of it. I received the sump a week or so back, but have installed it yet.

Here is a link to their page on the Seatorch.au website. I bought mine in Australia and had it shipped over.

https://www.seatorch.com.au/products/automatic-roller-filter?_pos=2&_sid=f7e673c11&_ss=r&variant=41927390527563

Price with shipping wasn’t too bad.the shipping took about 4 weeks Before I received it.
PRices are in AUD. Ask for Joey, and tell him Mike from Tampa, fl sent you. He will help you out.

Does the water overflow that sealed chamber into this side port, then through the fleece?

If thats the case, is there any way to clean that overflow chamber? Id imagine over time it would gunk up

 

[mmorrison55]

Correct. The waters comes in #1 which is open on the side yiu have the red arrow, and the fleece surrounds that opening where the water flows out the bottom of the unit @ #4 and out the side #5.

There are titanium screws on the inlet chamber #1. So it can be removed and easily accessed to clean it out. I have not noticed a need yet to clean it, but I do imagine I would want to remove the unit and clean it once or twice a year.

One thing I should point out is that while I think it’s slick lookingnunit since there is no clunky motor hanging off the side of the unit. It does require you to order their fleece rolls, or yiu will need to cut off the used roll once it’s dried so that yiu can reuse the roll tube as it has a proprietary fitting inside that the motor slots into in order to turn the dirty roll. Kind of hard to explain. But if you notice in your photo #8 the new roll… just below that, you may notice the red pvc pipe and a cutout line? Thats the actual motor with a rod that inserts into the red pvc pipe that has a fitting inside of it that the motor slots in to.

Each branded roll you buy includes a new pvc pipe for this purpose. I bought a few extra rolls with the unit, but then used a fleece roll manufacturer in the states who makes rolls that fit, but I have to cut the used roll off so I can reuse that proprietary piece of pvc pipe. Not that hard to do once it’s dried for a day or two. Takes me about 30 seconds

 

[Danno86]

Correct. The waters comes in #1 which is open on the side yiu have the red arrow, and the fleece surrounds that opening where the water flows out the bottom of the unit @ #4 and out the side #5.

There are titanium screws on the inlet chamber #1. So it can be removed and easily accessed to clean it out. I have not noticed a need yet to clean it, but I do imagine I would want to remove the unit and clean it once or twice a year.

One thing I should point out is that while I think it’s slick lookingnunit since there is no clunky motor hanging off the side of the unit. It does require you to order their fleece rolls, or yiu will need to cut off the used roll once it’s dried so that yiu can reuse the roll tube as it has a proprietary fitting inside that the motor slots into in order to turn the dirty roll. Kind of hard to explain. But if you notice in your photo #8 the new roll… just below that, you may notice the red pvc pipe and a cutout line? Thats the actual motor with a rod that inserts into the red pvc pipe that has a fitting inside of it that the motor slots in to.

Each branded roll you buy includes a new pvc pipe for this purpose. I bought a few extra rolls with the unit, but then used a fleece roll manufacturer in the states who makes rolls that fit, but I have to cut the used roll off so I can reuse that proprietary piece of pvc pipe. Not that hard to do once it’s dried for a day or two. Takes me about 30 seconds

Super good to know about the drive rod. I was assuming it would be like all other new fleece rolls and just sit on a pvc rod. Ill definitely order a few spares if i end up getting it. Im in Calgary Alberta and was also hoping to utilize a company in the states who sells custom rolls.

Have you had any issues with the motor or any of the functionality? It seems super basic, as it should be IMO

How long have you had yours, and do you notice any spots for improvement, or anything that you might improve? Is it noisy with the water trickling over?

 

[mmorrison55]

It’s dead silent as far as the water noise. The motor is not loud at all but it does go off every so often for 1-2 seconds.

I wish the documentation would have been better, but as you said, it’s pretty basic so not hard to figure out.

I do wish I had bought one or two sizes bigger just to future proof, but really it seems to be doing the job. At the time, the arf150 was the size that would fit my sump. If I had waited to order the fleece roller at the time I was building my sump, I’d have gone bigger. I did have them build that chamber to fit the arf200 if I ever did decide to go bigger, but I have a lot of fleece to use up before I even think about that.

It was after I received my skimmer and fleece roller, and I saw how well they were built that I decided to have them build my sump, and went all in on Seatorch and added the chaeto reactor and 3 of their return pumps to fill it out.

 

[Danno86]

It’s dead silent as far as the water noise. The motor is not loud at all but it does go off every so often for 1-2 seconds.

I wish the documentation would have been better, but as you said, it’s pretty basic so not hard to figure out.

I do wish I had bought one or two sizes bigger just to future proof, but really it seems to be doing the job. At the time, the arf150 was the size that would fit my sump. If I had waited to order the fleece roller at the time I was building my sump, I’d have gone bigger. I did have them build that chamber to fit the arf200 if I ever did decide to go bigger, but I have a lot of fleece to use up before I even think about that.

It was after I received my skimmer and fleece roller, and I saw how well they were built that I decided to have them build my sump, and went all in on Seatorch and added the chaeto reactor and 3 of their return pumps to fill it out.

Can I ask how big your current tank is. Im planning a 450 gallon build and was hoping the arf 300 would be enough. The documentation says its rated for it, and if its anything like my current clarisea sk5000, id always have the bypass flapper slightly open to prevent stripping all nutrients, and to take some of the burden off the fleece itself

I should add that i will have a bean animal overflow, with two 1-1/2" drains and a 1-1/2" emergency overflow. The two main drains will dump into the fleece roller, and the overflow will just splash into the sump

 

[mmorrison55]

I have a 200 gallon (display + sump). again… another thing I wish I had gone a little bigger on.

I did end up using a hand held router and round template to make the drain hole,bigger to fit my 1 1/4 inch drain pipe.

You may be able to request that yourself since they do custom work. It was not something that I thought about until I received the fleece roller.

 

[Danno86]

I have a 200 gallon (display + sump). again… another thing I wish I had gone a little bigger on.

I did end up using a hand held router and round template to make the drain hole,bigger to fit my 1 1/4 inch drain pipe.

You may be able to request that yourself since they do custom work. It was not something that I thought about until I received the fleece roller.

I appreciate all of your feedback, I'll likely end up ordering one and giving it the old college try.