ClariSea SK-5000 Automatic Fleece Filter
D-D The Aquarium Solution
A fleece roller filter for sumps: water passes through a roll of fine filter fleece, and when the fleece clogs, a float switch triggers a motor to wind on a fresh section — mechanical filtration that cleans itself.
Why it mattered
Filter socks were the hobby's most-hated chore: swap them every few days or they became nitrate sources, and everyone let them go too long. The fleece roller automated the chore entirely.
D-D's ClariSea line brought the concept to a compact sump footprint. The Gen 2 design, shown in October 2017, stood the unit vertically to double the fleece area in the same space, with the SK-5000 handling about 5,000 L/h (roughly 1,300 gph) and fleece filtering down to about 20 microns.
Because waste leaves the water column on the roll instead of soaking in it, keepers saw nitrate and skimmer loads drop together. The Gen 3 models with smart controllers and alarms show the category still moving — the sock drawer has not recovered.
Key specs
- SK-5000 rated ~5,000 L/h (~1,300 gph)
- Fleece filters to about 20 microns; finer as a filter cake forms
- Float switch triggers motorized advance to fresh fleece
- Compact vertical design (Gen 2, 2017) doubles fleece area
- Each fleece advance changes sump level by only ~120 mL
Keeper notes
- Keepers report the clearest water they have had, and skimmers producing less as the roller takes the fine load first.
- Early users debated motor reliability and fleece consumption at high flow; D-D's position is that properly set-up units pull rolls start to finish.
- The small water-level swing at each advance can confuse auto top-off sensors in small sumps — sensor placement matters.