Royal-Exclusiv / Vertex Cone Skimmer Club
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
ScallopKing
New member
Quick question, What is the optimal sump depth for a 170? I don't get much in the collection cup but the skimmer cone all the way to the top is caked with gunk. I also have the riser turned mostly to the end or closed. Leading me to believe the water is not high enough. It is at 8 and 5/8 height. Thanks.
Rizup
New member
Is it possible you don't have enough of a bio-load in your system for this skimmer? That would be my thought. Are you seeing a foam head of only an inch or so? If the problem is a small bio-load Jeremy's suggestion of raising the depth may help.
ScallopKing
New member
Thanks for the quick reply. So I was able to quickly raise the height by adjusting my ato float switch position but this raised it up to 10 1/4. Is this too much you think? I opened the the riser to halfway and the venturi is two turns out. Until i hear back i am going to run this way and see what happens.
ScallopKing
New member
I'm think your right. My bio load is small. I wonder now if my new height will actually be okay given the light load.
rogerwilco357
Active member
Question
Question
I have A 120 gallon tank with 30 gallon sump . Will the 170 be enough to handle a tank that size with fish and sps corals? Since I might be getting into vodka dosing or the Zeo program ? what is your advise?
Roger
Question
I have A 120 gallon tank with 30 gallon sump . Will the 170 be enough to handle a tank that size with fish and sps corals? Since I might be getting into vodka dosing or the Zeo program ? what is your advise?
Roger
ReefMonkey13
New member
I just soak my pump in vinegar overnight and re-installed it this morning. Now I'm getting a ton of microbubbles. This has not happened the previous times I cleaned the pump. Can anyone suggest how I can fix this? or do I just have to wait until it slimes back up.
Thanks in advance for the help
Thanks in advance for the help
bayoupr
New member
An update to the pulsing that my 170 is doing with the adjustable nozzle. I received a new pinwheel, shaft and rotor setup because the other one I could turn the shaft in the rotor (took a lot of pressure but still turned) Pro L thought that was the answer, NOT. Same thing runs great with nozzle turned almost all the way out to completely out. Talk to a PL rep who told me that he didn't see a problem because you want to run more more air in the skimmer without excessive micro bubbles. Then went off into scientific reasons off high different altitudes and pressure affect skimmers in different areas. First off the pump ran fine for almost three months. Give it a freshwater bath and whamo, pulsation. Now they say if is perfectly normal to run this without the nozzle, then why put the nozzle on it? Here I am trying to sell it which is now a problem( try telling the buyer, oh you don't need the nozzle that was put on as a preference because our customers wanted to have another adjustment on the skimmer) yea right. Does anyone else have this problem? If not I must be living in the wrong scientific region for this to work. Guess someone doesn't want to honor there warranty and swap this out for one that works properly. Very dissatisfied owner of a Royal Exclusive product. Sure hope I don't have any problems with the Mini 180 I purchased recently. Does it sound like I'm pis#@d, you betcha. And I didn't buy this from PA so don't think I am in no way downing them, quite the opposite since they have helped me in the past, just thought I vent here in this forum. Anyway I am not through with this yet and Pro L.
ReefMonkey13
New member
thanks again, I have noticed that the amount of micro bubbles have lessen since the last post.
bayoupr
New member
When I get in from offshore I will take some photos and try to post a video. First I am goint to try another laguna block which is identical to that one with the volutte, pinwheel and the screw in nozzle and see if maybe the field inside the laguna is weak when I try to push more water with it screwed in to 2 turns out. May be a weak electrical field in the block.
actually J mine did it its from having the nozzle in the closed position and not open to the proper 2 turns or more..
Eel-byte
Premium Member
Out of curiosity sake, what size hose comes off the collection cup for the drain, I have the Alpha 170. Also is the hose silicon? I want to make 1 long piece instead of two smaller pieces and put a shutoff valve on it to control my draining. I guess also where to buy this tubing?
Yes, with the nozzle closed all the way the 170 will pulse, just from there not being enough air being injected. Once opened up to the correct spot there should be no pulsing.
I agree on the weak block, I have seen that before with various pumps, including Askoll = Laguna.
I agree on the weak block, I have seen that before with various pumps, including Askoll = Laguna.
Eel-byte
Premium Member
Ok, I have an alpha 170, i posted probably 4 or 5 months ago when i first got this skimmer. I had the surging issues that i really never i got rid of. No matter where I had the nozzle is still had the surging. In fact I've gotten so frustrated I'm on the verge of selling it. I could never really get it fine tuned becuase of the small sump it was in, no room to get the hand in. I ran this skimmer in 8.5" of water. Now onto the move, I'm upgrading from my 58g to a 120g in a few weeks (i know the skimmer is way to much for the 58g but I got a deal on it). I pulled the skimmer from the 58g because is was nothing more then a sludge maker in the neck. I cleaned it and put it in its new home, nice large extreme octopus sump. I started my leak testing today, of course with the skimmer in the sump 
I fired it up to keep the water moving, tons of bubble in the sump. I'm assuming that will go away once it is slimmed up again. But I started playing with the volute. I closed it completely, made a mark at the 12 o' clock position. I then backed it out 2 1/2 turns (seems to be the common consensus that 2 turns out would get me in the ball park). I could hear the surging, it wasn't a lot, but enough to notice, plus the water in the body was moving up and down a little. I moved that volute from totally screwed in to almost completely out, still got surging. It would slow down so you could barely notice to it was so rapid it was a surge a second. So completely frustrated I pulled the volute all the way out, the surging went away and the amount of bubbles were insane. The water level in the skimmer body is about 2" below where the collection cup screws in. I must still have some vinegar left on the skimmer body. The volute has a number on it, #74 written in marker. I'm at a complete loss on what to do.
I fired it up to keep the water moving, tons of bubble in the sump. I'm assuming that will go away once it is slimmed up again. But I started playing with the volute. I closed it completely, made a mark at the 12 o' clock position. I then backed it out 2 1/2 turns (seems to be the common consensus that 2 turns out would get me in the ball park). I could hear the surging, it wasn't a lot, but enough to notice, plus the water in the body was moving up and down a little. I moved that volute from totally screwed in to almost completely out, still got surging. It would slow down so you could barely notice to it was so rapid it was a surge a second. So completely frustrated I pulled the volute all the way out, the surging went away and the amount of bubbles were insane. The water level in the skimmer body is about 2" below where the collection cup screws in. I must still have some vinegar left on the skimmer body. The volute has a number on it, #74 written in marker. I'm at a complete loss on what to do.
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