DIY Roller

[BAYMAC]

I think the key point to keep in mind is the rolling process is extremely slow. You're not rolling inches at a time, you're probably rolling millimeters / centimeter(s). Because of that it's not wrapping a bunch of sopping wet filter material around the cylinder. The part that just got pulled out will slowly move towards the cylinder, draining and somewhat drying as it goes.

I expected that water was going to whick up the floss, but it doesn't appear to. Exemplified by the unused side staying dry.

I just gave mine a sniff and touch. It doesn't smell bad. It smells a bit oceany, but I couldn't tell if that was just my sump smell. When I touched it, it feels cool, like it might be ever so slightly damp, but my fingers came away completely dry. My fingers did have a bit of that ocean smell, but we're talking pick up a log at the beach smell not skimmate.

Overall not something so far I'd be concerned about, particularly in comparison to a skimmer.

Do you feed heavy? That's where I think I'd have an issue. I feed a ton, and a lot would end up on the mat. I guess I'd have to kill the return pump when feeding. With skimmers, they simply collapse and stop working while I feed.

 

[rygh]

Do you feed heavy? That's where I think I'd have an issue. I feed a ton, and a lot would end up on the mat. I guess I'd have to kill the return pump when feeding. With skimmers, they simply collapse and stop working while I feed.

I had a bit of the same problem.

But personally, I think it taught me I was feeding wrong. Even without the roller, a lot of food ended up on the bottom of the sump.
I still feed heavy, but by spreading feeding out over the day more, fish/coral would eat it all right away, with much less waste.
Although I could not do it too much, or slower fish would get hungry.

 

[BAYMAC]

I had a bit of the same problem.

But personally, I think it taught me I was feeding wrong. Even without the roller, a lot of food ended up on the bottom of the sump.
I still feed heavy, but by spreading feeding out over the day more, fish/coral would eat it all right away, with much less waste.
Although I could not do it too much, or slower fish would get hungry.

I fed mainly corals, that food (rotifers) stays in the water column rather well, especially in a higher flow tank. Fish got TDO (or just non top dressed Otohime) a few times a day.

The amount of rotifers I fed at once is insane. Prior to the introduction of Roti-Feast, much of the rotifer cull would go home with me daily, then I'd sieve and feed the live rotifers to my tank. A daily feeding would be between 10,000,000 - 20,000,000 rotifers. A bottle of Roti-Feast has like 5,000,000. When I could, I'd split the rotifer feeding into to batches, one when I got home, and another before I went to sleep.

That being said, roller really interest me. I'd just have to change how I do things.

 

[grizfyrfyter]

I think the key point to keep in mind is the rolling process is extremely slow. You're not rolling inches at a time, you're probably rolling millimeters / centimeter(s). Because of that it's not wrapping a bunch of sopping wet filter material around the cylinder. The part that just got pulled out will slowly move towards the cylinder, draining and somewhat drying as it goes.

I expected that water was going to whick up the floss, but it doesn't appear to. Exemplified by the unused side staying dry.

I just gave mine a sniff and touch. It doesn't smell bad. It smells a bit oceany, but I couldn't tell if that was just my sump smell. When I touched it, it feels cool, like it might be ever so slightly damp, but my fingers came away completely dry. My fingers did have a bit of that ocean smell, but we're talking pick up a log at the beach smell not skimmate.

Overall not something so far I'd be concerned about, particularly in comparison to a skimmer.

I think you're right. I manually advance mine the full length of the output but that's still only about 2 inches. Lots of room for the mat to dry before it's actually collected on the waste roll the next time I advance the roll.