pecan2phat

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Klir fleece filter, just preordered it last night, can't wait to try it out.
I've always been a multiple 7" filter sock person but after I tore down all my tanks in 2016, I realized that the basement sump in a fish room was not such a great idea in my situation. I could not keep humidity under control even with commercial inline exhaust fans, portable AC & dehumidifiers.
Fast forward to 2018 and I restarted one of my tanks but utilized an IceCap sump under the tank vs plumbing back into the basement. The IC sump has two 4" sock openings. I went from their proprietary 4" socks to better 200 micron stitched socks to Red Sea filter cups and it's still a chore to keep these guys flowing.
Hopefully the Klir filter will last a bit, they advertised "months" before changing and $10 replacement fleece but the reality is $14 replacement rolls and hopefully 30 days of use.
I like this since it seems like a plug and play for sumps that have an overflow design.
Will update once I get this in.
 

ClosetFishGeek

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Klir fleece filter, just preordered it last night, can't wait to try it out.
I've always been a multiple 7" filter sock person but after I tore down all my tanks in 2016, I realized that the basement sump in a fish room was not such a great idea in my situation. I could not keep humidity under control even with commercial inline exhaust fans, portable AC & dehumidifiers.
Fast forward to 2018 and I restarted one of my tanks but utilized an IceCap sump under the tank vs plumbing back into the basement. The IC sump has two 4" sock openings. I went from their proprietary 4" socks to better 200 micron stitched socks to Red Sea filter cups and it's still a chore to keep these guys flowing.
Hopefully the Klir filter will last a bit, they advertised "months" before changing and $10 replacement fleece but the reality is $14 replacement rolls and hopefully 30 days of use.
I like this since it seems like a plug and play for sumps that have an overflow design.
Will update once I get this in.


Hey buddy hope you are doing well. I am very curious to see how these work out for you. Cant wait to here your feedback with a non-bias review.


Thane
 

pecan2phat

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Klir Fleece filter along with their diverter cap and some extra fleece rolls was delivered this past Friday, I just got a chance to open it up and install it today.

dpJSo7L.jpg


First up was to unpack it and check that nothing was damaged or missing.

TGRUjbD.jpg


There are no instructions so I suggest that you go to coralvue's website and view the instructional video. It was pretty simple, took 15 minutes or so.

https://youtu.be/0j8meTPf8h4

First problem I ran into was a defective receiving roller. Bad QC, they put a hollow tube in the box when it should have had an insert where the armature from the motor head fits into in order to advance the spindle. Luckily I bought extra replacement rolls so I just pulled the roller from the new pack but I submitted a ticket to coralvue about it. Would have sucked if I didn't have the extra replacement rolls!

Fny9EuQ.jpg


Onto installation!
Basically I bought this because every now and then, there is something in the hobby that gives you a wow factor. I hate pulling filter socks and then rinsing, pulling them inside out and rinsing again, then collecting them in a closed bucket until there are a bunch ready for a bleach washing machine cycle. Then I have to pull them right side again and run another full wash without bleach to ensure the bleach is gone. Then hang and air dry them for at least 2 days. So after buying 10 IceCap specific socks for rotation (cause they suck and run their sump filter sock tray slightly smaller then a standard 4" sock), I went to filter media cups. I tried one and found it too constricting with just holes on the bottom so when Red Sea came out with theirs, I bought 2 and they were that much better for flow. Due to their design, I used foam sponges and a circle cut bonded pad, I'll show a better picture at the end but if your sick of felt filter socks and have no intention of investing in a rolling device, then I highly recommend the media cups. My setup was very simple and it took 5 seconds to lift the cup, pull the top piece of bonded pad, replace with a new one and drop the media cup back into place.
This was the current filter setup.

qIgMqvG.jpg


This is how the Klir fits into my IceCap 30 sump. I used a diverter cap because I don't think that I have a ton of flow going through. I was never a believer in high flow sumps, just high flow within the tank using wave makers, powerheads etc.
If this single Klir filter fleece roll clogs fast (earlier then 30 days), then I'll look into a slave unit for the other sock opening.
The unit comes with 3 different sized sock opening adapters. The one already on the unit is sized for the slightly smaller opening of the IceCap sump. There is a larger and smaller adapter that is included. I tend to think that the inventor Behar, designed this roller unit specifically for the IceCap sumps but has the pieces so you can get it into most sumps that has a sock tray but you have to be careful of the opening and make sure that there is clearance for the unit. Some custom acrylic sumps just don't have the clearance due to the opening.

Q9EMcQS.jpg
rCMSGS2.jpg


I'll update this thread to see how long the fleece roll lasted but here is what I was using for the filter cups.
These Red Sea filter cups are larger then some on the market and they have what I would consider a high flow design. If you use media bags for carbon or GFO, then you can get away with just 2 sponges and the piece of bonded pad. Because I didn't use the filter cups for this purpose, I needed 3 sponges from keeping the bonded pad from falling into the slit section of the cup which would render the process useless.
These are sponges for the Fluval 103 which has been redesigned but you can still find the sponges if you look hard enough. 2 in a pack if that helps.
Then I just cut circles from a cardboard template out of Lifeguard or Marineland bonded filter pads.

8nXbo1P.jpg
 

lnevo

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I just got mine installed. I bought the bracket/stand and replaced a sock overflow box that CustomKing had built me. That box had it's issues how it was designed. This one is working much better in my sump than what I had and I was able to fix a part of my plumbing that I always hated. How's it going for you so far?
 

pecan2phat

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You know what, it's one of those innovations that come out ever so often in this hobby that hits the mark. I love it compared to the filter socks and filter media cups.
I'm at exactly 2 weeks since install and have not had to mess with pulling socks or bonded pads out. I would estimate about 25% of the fleece has turned so this is a good thing for me because my goal was to get at least 1 month out of a 25 yard fleece roll. Compared to the 200 micron felt socks or the sponge/bonded pad that I was using, the fleece method has made my water clearer. I used to be a 100 micron felt sock person for finer filtration but clogging was quick with 4" socks, then I went to 200 micron but 4 days is on average what I would get before having to change them. While the bonded pad and sponge in the media cup was only 2 days, it was much easier to pull the bonded pad and replace with a precut one on hand. Now all I do is take a peak at the sump every few days just to make sure the Klir is working properly, so far so good and the best part is that the food particles and detritus is not decaying in the sock or media cup.
One caveat is that it was truly a drop in, plug and play situation for me since I had an Ice Cap sump. From what I understand, the company is probably not going to come out with the adapters for the Red Sea sumps, too many variables. This is disappointing since the Red Sea tanks are quite popular. FWIW, they do fit nicely into the Waterbox sumps.
 

lnevo

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So after a night with it, I think I'm in love....

First, as far as the Red Sea, there's a lot of chatter. I think the way they designed it, it will be simple for people to build adapters and sounds like that's already happening. Hopefully there will be a way for people to share what they've done to make it accessible.

I stopped using socks a long time ago as it was just too much work for me to keep up with. They'd last a day or two on my tank and I'd always make a mess getting water out, etc. Oh and then losing foam in my skimmer (or sometimes overflowing) after switching.

This has been unbelievable easy. My tank is pretty tight and I made things tighter when I added an algae scrubber, but this fit and was great. The bracket they made and the way I replumbed really make it a much more efficient setup than what I had. I have an original gen Eshopps RS-100 and there is ample room to use the Klir bracket/stand.

So I did have an issue, when I woke up this morning the roll was a lot more used up than I thought, maybe 10-15%. Klir suggested I keep the sensor on the opposite end of the water feed which looks like it's behaving now. The used up filter at least looks dirty now. One thing to keep in mind is that the sensor will get triggered when my returns and system were shut off. I tried adjusting my return nozzle, but was still going past the sensor. I fixed it by putting a splitter on the skimmer outlet on my controller so now when I feed, it'll shut off with the skimmer and wait till the water level settles before starting back up.

The water is CLEAR. I blew off all my rocks (probably first time in 6-8 months) and after an hour, the tank looks immaculate. I don't have to worry now about a clogged sock and switching it out causing more disruption. I ordered 3 more rolls :)
 

lnevo

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I only keep my sump level at 6.5" running so if I do shut down, my sump gets only to the 9" mark. I don't normally shut my return for feeding.



My sump level is 10? and it goes up to probably 12-13? when shutdown. I haven?t been shutting down for a while but mainly cause I?m just tossing pellets in. When I fed frozen I did. Will probably go back eventually. Right now I?m dealing with a leak somewhere... :(
 

lnevo

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The unit hinges in the middle so as you pull it out you can fold it and can get it out with minimal clearance. It's not much different really than pulling a sock out.

Good news is that the leak seems to be from the air conditioner. Bad news is that the air conditioner cost me quite a bit to replace. I think the tank would have cost me more :) I think I may still have some issue down in my tank but I think at least it's a resolved one.
 

reefiness

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O man this unit is awesome just got it installed earlier today! For anyone considering it, I would say go for it!

As to the question about does it need to be removed from the sump in order to replace the filter sock.... I know pecan said yes, but I am thinking there will be a way to tape the beginning of the new roll to the end of the old roll and thread the new roll in that way. I wont be able to confirm if that works for a few months though. haha. Hopefully it does, because I dont want to take it out of the sump if I dont have to. But, if not what ever, it is not too difficult to take out.
 

lnevo

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O man this unit is awesome just got it installed earlier today! For anyone considering it, I would say go for it!

As to the question about does it need to be removed from the sump in order to replace the filter sock.... I know pecan said yes, but I am thinking there will be a way to tape the beginning of the new roll to the end of the old roll and thread the new roll in that way. I wont be able to confirm if that works for a few months though. haha. Hopefully it does, because I dont want to take it out of the sump if I dont have to. But, if not what ever, it is not too difficult to take out.

You could probably do that but you'd have to catch it early enough to unroll what's left and attach to the next sheet. Then you'd have to trust the tape to one, be in the tank for a day, and two, hold up to being pulled through while wet. It's a good idea, but I don't think that will work in practice. You might be better with a few stitches of thread, but at the end of the day pulling it out even in my cramped space isn't too bad.
 

reefiness

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You could probably do that but you'd have to catch it early enough to unroll what's left and attach to the next sheet. Then you'd have to trust the tape to one, be in the tank for a day, and two, hold up to being pulled through while wet. It's a good idea, but I don't think that will work in practice. You might be better with a few stitches of thread, but at the end of the day pulling it out even in my cramped space isn't too bad.

the few stitches wouldnt be a bad idea either. Also i wasnt talking about taping the filters together and letting it continue operation, I meant taping it together and pulling the whole thing through at once and reset the next roll. Like even the tape that comes on the new roll.
 

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