Drain Plug in Vertex

[IrishStock]

I have run my tank without any skimmer for over 10 years. I just had live rock and sand and I'm of the theory the less equipment the better. I decided I'd probably pushed my luck but everything still was doing great.

I decided to get a Vertex 100 and installed it last week. I've very pleased with how easy it was (although first time instruction could have been better). I didn't even have a picture with the instructions they sent but came on here and searched thru pages and pages of threads till I found what I needed to know..lol

I have a question about the drain plug and if anyone uses a drain tube to a larger container and if so, what did you use and did you clamp it to the skimmer drain outlet or just put it on? I've also thought about using that pesky little stopper on the end of a drain tube.

I'm getting the adjustment set pretty well but it's a bit difficult to get to the drain in my sump if I want to drain a little off occasionally rather than take the top off and empty it.

I've dropped that little stopper a few times and it's difficult to get to it in the sump sometimes. :mad2: I thought about tying a piece of fishing line so it won't fall into the sump.

Any thoughts?

 

[sedor]

I don't own a vertex so I don't know a lot about how they are put together, but I do have a suggestion as far as the drain line goes. I would use it only when needed, say for instance you are going on vacation or something. My crappy skimmer does not have the ability to close the drain line off and there has been a few times when my skimmer randomly decided to start overflowing. Luckily both times I was at home to catch it, but if I had left the drain line on and had it going into say a 2 gallon bucket, it would have taken maybe an hour or so to fill up the bucket before it started dumping water all over the floor.

IMO the best practice is to let the cup fill up and remember to clean it every couple of days.

 

[IrishStock]

I definately thought about that too. Since it's still new only the slightest adjustment can make it go crazy.

I was thinking runing the drain line to a larger container and plugging the end of it with the stopper from the sump. That way I could just remove the stopper in the drain line and drain it off then put the stopper back. My thought is not to leave it constantly draining thru the tube. I'm a little afraid that it might build up in the drain line and push the stopper off...dunno how much pressure, if any, it could have.

I definately don't want to take a chance of it over filling the larger container. I know how things can be working well then they aren't in an instant... lol Like the time I thought it would be a great idea to put snails in my hang on back refugium...only thing I didn't think about is they were the size of the drain pipe and stopped it up, water started pouring over the sides and thank GOD I was home.

 

[jpc763]

I have a Vertex In-250 and only use the drain when I go on vacation. I do not clamp the line, just press it on and put the other end in a 5g salt bucket.

 

[ksc]

Wouldn't it be better if you didn't use the drain when on vacation? Bad things always happen when you are away...

 

[spoofer]

i run a drain off line on my vertex 100, it's helpful if you ever want to run a wetter skim and don't want to be concerned about overflow. It's also nice for vacation. Sometimes i'll run a wetter skim for a weekend to do a mini water change to try and cleanse the tank... my theroy is the nasty of water is coming out and i usually will run a 5 gallon bucket for discharge, but it's only when i have extra time to monitor otherwise i just use a oversized water bottel next to the sump, to minimize cleaning intervals

 

[JohnM99]

I use a drain line in my skimmer setup - it goes to a 2 litre container, which itself sits in a 17 gal empty plastic tub. Sometimes I forget to empty the first container and it starts to flow into the big tub. But if you don't have room for this, you could have a flood.
Some of the newer models (I think Vertex) have an auto-shut off to avoid this.

 

[IrishStock]

Alright...Gut tells me to only do a drain tube/wetter skim when I'm able to monitor it. I'm home all day so that's no problem.

I would be very nervous about leaving it with a wetter skim while being gone for a day or more.

Boy o boy is that skimmer sensitive. Only turning it a TEENY (and I mean teeny) TINY bit can turn can make it dryer skim to overflow.

I really love this skimmer as it is pulling out a lot but I don't have experiece with any other types to compare. Since I detest dinking with equipment, this is a great skimmer that you can easily get adjusted to minimal maintence but also doing it's job.