Royal-Exclusiv / Vertex Cone Skimmer Club

[clowndude]

So.. i have a alpha 170. I have a pump surging problem. Mine is a newer one with the adjustable venturi. How do i fix it?

Honestly if it is brand new send it back. You don't want to go through what I just went through with Proline Aquatics which is the US distributor for Vertex. Three months later and I still don't have my vertex fixed. I finally got the okay that they are going to replace the pump, only I gotta send my old one in first and then they will send it out next week. Apparently they told me that they are having a lot with pump issues. Their customer service is totally unacceptable in my book and where I work people would be fired over. Yes I know Proline isn't Vertex, but when they are the only people in the US you have to deal with for Vertex products that puts them together because you can't call Vertex direct.

 

[davesolo29]

I have had it almost a year now. I have hardly used it because i was doing a new tank build and ended up going with a 250 instead.
I just plugged it in a couple days ago for my new qt tank and its not working right.

 

[clowndude]

Ouch, hopefully u can get it fixed without needing a new pump block. How far our are u twisted the Venturi? Also make sure your silencer is clogged or centuries is clogged. Is the impeller good and clean? What I understand is the pump has an electronic circuit board in it to protect the pump and this is what causes the surging issues.

 

[davesolo29]

so.... nobody on here has an answer?
for a thread with 1400 posts i figured someone would give some suggestions.

 

[Jeremy B.]

@Dave, post some photos of the skimmer in the sump, as well as give us some more details. The info you've provided so far is too vague for any of us to help you out....

- Sump depth skimmer is in?
- How many turns out is the venturi?
- Where is the water level set at inside the skimmer body?
- How long as it been running total?

Also, pictures are worth a thousand words, that's really the best place to start in troubelshooting for you.

 

[kuyatwo]

Jeremy do you know if you can put a red dragon 3 speedy dc pump on a vertex cone 200?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[d2mini]

I have a new to me Alpha 250 and I am skimmer challenged, LOL. If i leave off the hose that goes between the pump and silencer it runs/skims fine. But water pours out of the silencer connector on the side of the wedge pipe. It's in my fish room so this doesn't really bother me. Now, if I connect the hose to this connector on the wedge pipe, of course the water cuts off the air supply, the skimmer fills with water and overflows. But if seems like if I open the wedge pipe up enough to drop the water level inside the skimmer, the bubbles aren't getting up into the neck of the collection cup, therefor no skimmate. There's is a point in turning the wedge pipe where it starts off ok, then the bubbles start to rise high enough that water then starts to flow out of that connector and into the pump, then causing it to fill with water again. So apparently I'm having trouble finding the sweet spot. Any tips?

Skimmer is in 9.5" of water, constant level.
The adjustable nozzle in the red dragon pump is backed out about 2.5 turns.

 

[d2mini]

Hmmm... looks like I may be answering my own question... seems as though I might not have been waiting long enough? After letting it run overnight the foam now seem to be climbing higher up the neck...

 

[d2mini]

Well, it's been 24 hrs. I've got the wedge pipe closed down as far as it will go before water starts pouring down the tube to the pump. The foam barely makes it to the top of the collection cup and I've probably got about 1/8" to 1/4" of skimmate at the most sitting in the cup. It was skimming much better when I didn't have the silencer hooked up and let the water pour out of the nozzle. Any ideas on what I might be doing wrong?

 

[clowndude]

Sounds like your water table might be to low? I had to run mine in 10" inches to get it to run correctly meaning now have the issues u are describing.

 

[d2mini]

hmmm... so raise the sump level to 10" you think? I'll try that and report back...

 

[clowndude]

Yup also how many turn out is your venture? I was running mine about 3.5 turn out.

 

[d2mini]

I've tried 2-4 turns out. I've tried raising the water level. Hasn't skimmed anything in a couple days now with this tube connected.

 

[Jeremy B.]

I've tried 2-4 turns out. I've tried raising the water level. Hasn't skimmed anything in a couple days now with this tube connected.

Post a few photos of the skimmer installed in your system and I'll get it set up for you.

 

[d2mini]

Cool, here's a few pics. The last one shows the height of the foam in the neck of the cup. That's the highest I can get it, with the wedge pipe closed down as far as possible before water starts pouring through the tube and into the pump. The cup shows about 1/4" of skimmate over the course of a few days. I think the venturi on the pump is turned back out about 3 turns right now.

 

[d2mini]

If you need additional pics, let me know.

 

[Jeremy B.]

That actually looks really good in my opinion! Dark, thick, and just semi-dry, which is how I would prefer to skim. Having said that, if you're wanting to raise the internal water level just a little make about a 1/16th to 1/32nd turn on the wedge pipe towards the closed position from where you have it right now. In other words, about the smallest turn you can possibly make.

BTW, you only have a 180g display that is really your bioload, regardless of the extra water volume you have added in the system. Do not expect this skimmer cup to fill half way up every 3-4 days on that size display tank.

 

[d2mini]

Oh so it's just dependant on the display volume? Didn't realize that.

Sometime after taking the pics i ended up with water down the tube again (after a few days of it being ok) so I actually had to open it up just slightly. I guess what I'm curious about it why I was able to get a full cup of medium to dark tea colored skim in a week without the tube connected, and now I can barely get an inch in that time, although darker/drier. Also, I don't seem to be able to get it any wetter if I wanted to. As I was saying earlier, this current position of the wedge pipe seems to be the absolute max I can close it.

I've been fighting nitrates of at least 6-12 range so I was trying to maximize my skimming. I was skimming wetter with the tube disconnected and this seemed to be helping. Now I'm worried that with the tube connected and getting hardly any skim that the nitrates may rise again. Then again, I may not fully understand what's happening, as I admitted being skimmer challenged in my OP.

Thanks!

 

[d2mini]

So any idea why I can't skim any wetter?

 

[Jeremy B.]

Before I resopond can you please clarify this statement for me, I'm not sure what you're saying?

"Sometime after taking the pics i ended up with water down the tube again (after a few days of it being ok) so I actually had to open it up just slightly."