Vertex Alpha 170 Over flowing help plz!!!

[xclusive252]

Ok I just got the skimmer and it keeps over flowing out of the skim cup. I have it almost dialed down in the pvc so the opening is almost closed and I also tried playing with the white screw type piece in front of the pump. the water lvl it is in is about 10 inches plz plz plz plz help me I want it to skim and clean my tank and make a nice dark skim

 

[bayoupr]

Turn the white nozzle on the pump all the way in then turn it counterclockwise 2 turns. Open the wedge pipe so that it is wide open not closed.

 

[xclusive252]

its still overflowing and there is bubbles coming out of the wedge

 

[mojo~]

run the skimmer at about 8 inches. adjust the nozzle like stated above. Is this a new tank ? just pull the drain on the cup and let the skimmer run for a while and break in. it will flow back into the sump but it will alow the skimmer to slime up on the inside and break in. The water level should drop some as well. raising it to 8 or 9 inches will help too 10 inches is really too deep for the 170 IMO.

You can play with the nozzle too. turn it all the way in and slowly back it out. The above is just a good starting point really. Good luck

Mojo~

 

[Jeremy B.]

First off, have you put any chemicals, epoxy, or other additives that could cause the skimmer to react? If not, you most likely have a clogged silencer or debris stuck in the pins of the impeller. Pull the silencer apart and completely clean it out, remove the foam and throw it away. Then pull the cover off the pump and remove any debris from the pinwheels. This should solve the issue!

 

[SoLiD]

Did you ever get it fixed. My 170 was doing the same thing for quite some time. I tried everything I could think of; until I just drained about 3 gallons of the overflowing bubbles in to a bucket and replaced with fresh slatwater. After that it just started skimming like normal. During my tests of moving it up and down I found that it runs ok at 7.5" so that's where I'll run it until I see otherwise. I hope you got it figured out by now.