Theiling Roller Mat - Install and ongoing updates.

[Crued]

I ordered this months ago, and I'm lazy as all hell so just now getting around to putting it in. Normally my plumbing is average at best, but my work on this unit is a little shoddy because I wanted to get it in and running, and the location it had to go isn't conducive to "easy". Anyway, here are the first pictures of it up and running.

The left lower pipe is the inlet. It is 1.25" and you need a metric adapter to get it in the unit. I am feeding this from my drain which is 2" and located approximately 10' above this location on my main floor. I have a 2" to 1.5" Y adapter with a gate valve on the Y adapter, then that is coupled down to the 1.25" you see here. Like a lazy bum, I didn't take pics of the line above to show this, I will update later.

The pipe in the middle of the unit is the outlet. Water passes through the paper on the drum and then out this pipe. Same 1.25" with a metric adapter.

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Left side showing felt getting dirty already. The bubbles are from my durso up on the display. My drain sucks a TON of air because of how far it travels. You can see the float valve which controls the paper on the drum. Once the level makes that float go high enough, the drum starts to rotate (very very slowly). When enough clean paper is exposed to allow the water to flow properly, the level drops and the rotation stops.

I took these pictures today at 7am. The unit was installed yesterday at 4pm. At 4pm yesterday the water level inside the unit was basically even with the outlet. You can see how much crap has been collected and how much that has made the water level rise. No paper has advanced yet.

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This is .75" again with metric adapter, for the overflow. If the paper clogs up or the float fails and the level rises too high, the water will then exit out this overflow.

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Right side of unit.

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[MMreef]

Nice toy for "lazy" or busy reefers, I saw this gadget before , works good. Keep us updated how it does long term

 

[#theMatrix]

Nice. Glad its finally up and running.

 

[madjoe]

Now that can be worth the money we use similar on r grinders at work

 

[Crued]

Now that can be worth the money we use similar on r grinders at work

They say 3 months for each roll of fleece. Each roll is $19.95. I could easily be doing felt filter socks every 3-4 days on my system. That's a ton of washing, drying, adding to sump skimmer going crazy, etc.. I will tickled pink if the unit removes the need for filter socks and uses a roll a month; anything more efficient than that is a bonus as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Paulip]

If I understand correctly, the roll advances when the section is "spent". If you find it getting used up faster than your liking, you could always start using a very rough grade sock/sponge as pre-filter.

Nonetheless, much time saved. Congratulations.

 

[madjoe]

They say 3 months for each roll of fleece. Each roll is $19.95. I could easily be doing felt filter socks every 3-4 days on my system. That's a ton of washing, drying, adding to sump skimmer going crazy, etc.. I will tickled pink if the unit removes the need for filter socks and uses a roll a month; anything more efficient than that is a bonus as far as I'm concerned.

Yea sounds like a awsome gadget im very intrigued i hate changing my filter socks its a pia

 

[Crued]

Been running for about 40 hours or so. I have seen a 30 point increase in ORP readings. This afternoon I will take out the spent roll and measure how much has been used in 48 hours.

 

[Paulip]

That's interesting information. Also, note:

How much is in a roll?
Has there been a noticeable decline in skimmer activity/production?

Thanks.

 

[Crued]

50 days.

Good\Neutral

Skimmer is more efficient. I would describe it as going wet to dry, without changing anything else.
Original roll is still on.
No stink from spent paper, maybe due to lid. Lid traps moisture in, so spent roll remains wet.
Other socks (my drain is split) have noticeably longevity. I have been able to switch to mesh, which are super easy to clean on the fly at water change.
Aforementioned ORP increase.

Bad

Collects detritus at bottom, have to remove lid and rolls to vacuum out.

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[jrpark22000]

Thanks for the update. What about drilling the bottom and adding a bulkhead and valve (of course depending on what you have it sitting on)? Just something to be able to open to allow for a quick flush of the water after stiring up the detritus, dumping it all into a bucket vs having to remove everything and vacuum.

 

[Crued]

Thanks for the update. What about drilling the bottom and adding a bulkhead and valve (of course depending on what you have it sitting on)? Just something to be able to open to allow for a quick flush of the water after stiring up the detritus, dumping it all into a bucket vs having to remove everything and vacuum.

The plastic this is made of is the hard, rigid, and I'm assuming brittle under drill, kind. I'm certain the existing bulkhead holes are done in the injection molding process. It is also very thin.... very very thin. Someone with patience and the right kind of drill bit maybe could get it done, but I wouldn't' even try.

 

[jrpark22000]

The plastic this is made of is the hard, rigid, and I'm assuming brittle under drill, kind. I'm certain the existing bulkhead holes are done in the injection molding process. It is also very thin.... very very thin. Someone with patience and the right kind of drill bit maybe could get it done, but I wouldn't' even try.

Wow, that sucks. Wonder it it'll yellow or get very brittle with age then. Sounds like you'll be vacuuming out detritus as long as you keep it online.

 

[Crued]

Wow, that sucks. Wonder it it'll yellow or get very brittle with age then. Sounds like you'll be vacuuming out detritus as long as you keep it online.

I love this thing. In fact, I'm thinking about adding a second for my drain split. I need to do some testing to see if 2 can handle my choked 2" drain, but I'm considering it. It's staying online!

 

[Crued]

One week shy of two months since my last update and the roll is still going, about 1/2 what it was in my last picture. The detritus buildup continues so definitely when a roll is changed, the thing needs to be cleaned out. I'm simply amazed at how long the filter paper lasts on this thing. Again, this device is totally a winner. Seriously considering adding a second so my entire drain empties into the rollermats.

 

[goatous]

Thanks for sharing your experience!
Re: picking up the detritus that is settling out.
What about suction cupping a small powerhead inside the base and running the cord out top, put it on a timer and stir things up a couple times a day. Probably wouldn’t be a perfect fix, but maybe reduce the need to vacuum.
I’m curious if you’ve seen any changes in nitrate or phosphate levels.

 

[Crued]

Thanks for sharing your experience!
Re: picking up the detritus that is settling out.
What about suction cupping a small powerhead inside the base and running the cord out top, put it on a timer and stir things up a couple times a day. Probably wouldn’t be a perfect fix, but maybe reduce the need to vacuum.
I’m curious if you’ve seen any changes in nitrate or phosphate levels.

That's a pretty good idea. I do not test nitrates or phosphates (or anything really).

 

[Crued]

Roll ran out today! That makes it 4 months and 16 days, way beyond what they're technically supposed to last. I believe the reason for my longevity with it is I am probably not pushing the flow high enough. My unit is on a drain that is split between the Theiling and my sump. It's very difficult to tune because it's roughly 15' and there needs to be some back pressure in the drain to prevent massive flush cycling in the durso upstairs.

For detritus, I loosened up my gate valve to jack up the flow and really make a mess of the insides of the unit. The filter material was off the drum so all this crap then flowed into my sump. I use some mesh socks in so the material was all trapped in there and easy to dump out/rinse.

The spent roll does not stink. It's very wet all the way through, so I'm sure that helps. I'm gonna let it dry out in sink and see what happens.

Changing the paper was super easy, even with my unit not being in a great spot it was simple and quick.

I love the Theiling, stay tuned for when I add a second to my drain!