Reef aquarium parts designer ISeaLive has invented a nano roller filter to fit the Fluval Evo 13.5. The YouTuber/3D printer has previously designed and made everything from light diffusers to pump guards and media boxes, but this latest innovation, a nano roller filter, is easily their best work to date.
In the video Mark, the man behind the channel sets himself the task of making a better mechanical filter for the popular Fluval Evo 13.5 nano tank. He first makes a media basket before going the whole hog and designing a roller filter from the ground up to fit inside the diminutive first filter chamber of Fluval’s AIO. Starting with a pencil and a sketch pad, Mark documents the whole idea process from sketches to CAD drawings, 3D printed prototypes to the finished working model, and we found ourselves compelled to watch the whole project from Mark’s first thought processes to his early failures, modifications and the final success.
The result is a manual roller which he rolls on himself by hand, but we were struck by the looks, application, and completion of the product and Mark’s design, engineering, and problem-solving along the way. Its product design and engineering at their best and it has reignited our passion for aquatic innovation just as we thought it was in danger of mass degradation.
Mark’s next project is to design a mini roller filter for his Waterbox Peninsula Mini 15, but what we’d like to see is for him to get his hands on a sensor, controller, and motor to create the world’s first truly automated nano roller filter. His honesty and modesty are refreshing to see as he shows every part of the design as well as makes it available to buy readymade or to print yourself. We’ve seen many patent pending products with less inventive steps than this one and its simplicity and marketability will have many aquatic companies kicking themselves that they didn’t come up with this themselves. To those companies reading this, somebody should give this guy a job, and to budding 3D printers it just goes to show how much, much more can be done to benefit our aquariums than 3D printed frag racks, shroom boxes, and random flow generators.
The nano reef roller mat is so cool we want to set up a Fluval Evo 13.5 just so we can use one. We predict this DIY 3D printing project may just change the way AIO saltwater nano tanks look and filter mechanically in the future.
