Vertex In-80

[MaxRock26]

so i got this skimmer on weds and haven't been able to get it to stop overflowing and shooting micro bubbles everywhere.

my question is there's 2 pipes ( A and B) but no instructions as to witch goes where

could this be the issue?

and help would be great ASAP!!

thanks everyone!

 

[mojo~]

take a pic and post it I am sure this can be figured easily

 

[MaxRock26]

here's good pic and you can clearly see pipe A and pipe B and where i've placed them....please lemme know if i'm doing something wrong here guys!! i want this thing to work properly!!

thanks

 

[mojo~]

ok take off pipe b as you really dont need it at that water level. if it keeps up yo will have to raise the skimmer. adjust the wedgepipe so it is fully open. in the second pic it shows that it is slightly closed.

 

[MaxRock26]

the skimmer is sitting in like 8 and half inches of water! i put the pipes on correctly though??

 

[mojo~]

align the open with the arrow

 

[MaxRock26]

ok!!

it was settling in fine.....did a WC and added some frags on saturday and after that the thing's gone crazy!!

 

[MaxRock26]

so i raised the skimmer up about an inch and a half so it is now sitting in about 7.5 inches of water


it's still freaking out



is this normal or should i worry??


HELP!!

 

[Triple_B]

I have a pretty new IN-100 that I've only been running for about 2 months...

The "break-in" period for mine seemed to take about a week before I could let it run for a full day without having to adjust it. Just make sure you start with the label that says "open" directly over the Arrow. Every 30 minutes or so, slowly turn the top pipe towards the "closed" label, rinse and repeat until your bubbles are close to the lip of the skimmate cup. Once you get here you can really fine tune how "wet" or "dry" your skimmate is by just barely turning the pipe one way or the other. Just remember: turning your pipe closer to closed causes the bubbles to rise higher in the colomn. So if it is filling up too fast, you have to turn it down some.

I've also learned that any time I change a filter sock or do a water change, just to unplug the whole thing, it seems to go crazy like you've said after ANYTHING in the tank changes just a tiny bit.

After it was all said and done, I'm very happy with mine: it skimm's the crap out of my tank and is very quiet. Just be slow and patient with the "fine tunning" and I'm sure it will run great for you, too.

-brandon

 

[JeF4y]

Okay, there are 2 basic things that will cause this skimmer to overflow.

1 - BACKPRESSURE. With tube "B" under the water the way it is, it creates a lot of backpressure and forces the water level much higher in the skimmer which can/will create overflow. You can either tip tube "B" until it's almost sideways (parallel with water level) or simply remove tube B all together. I removed tube B...

2. Airflow to the venturi. If you restrict airflow it will push more water through the pump and raise the bubble level in the skimmer which can overflow it. As mentioned, the top standpipe should be opened fully at the moment until you sort things out. Align the arrow with the word "OPEN". Another thing that can affect this airflow is having the air tube pinched or having a piece of salt-creep build up in it (which happens to all of us over time). You will need to take the venturi off and run hot water through the airhose and venturi to clean it every month or two.

 

[MaxRock26]

cool thanks guys!! I'll be patient with it and hopefully ill enjoy it a bit more than I am right now!!

 

[E.intheC]

Those last couple of answers are great. I'd also like to add that if you used any epoxy putty when you added the frags or if you use a water conditioner, these will cause the skimmer to overflow.

If you did either one of the above, yoy should add some carbon.

 

[mojo~]

The epoxy in the water will cause it to overflow all day long. That would be my guess.

 

[MaxRock26]

well, 12:30 AM i've tried raising it more.....i put it back where I had it......and it's still overflowing and not doing anything that even resembles a skimmer

am i missing something here??? :furious:

 

[MaxRock26]

anyone else have any ideas here?? still overflowing today.....3rd day straight and i can't get the thing to settle down at all and start working

should I return it??

 

[username in use]

Is the airline in any way blocked? Is the venturi inlet on the volute blocked? Sounds like there just isnt enough air getting in there. Take the airline off of the fitting on the pipe, and pour some really hot ro water down there and see what happens, or take the volute off and clean it good.

 

[MaxRock26]

hmmm i thought I installed that properly but i'll try it out!!

 

[MaxRock26]

Is the airline in any way blocked? Is the venturi inlet on the volute blocked? Sounds like there just isnt enough air getting in there. Take the airline off of the fitting on the pipe, and pour some really hot ro water down there and see what happens, or take the volute off and clean it good.

tried and failed!!! anything else??? i'm getting desperate now!!:worried:

 

[MaxRock26]

anyone??

 

[E.intheC]

You gotta have patience

I would add a whole bunch of carbon. This was the only thing that helped me when I had similar problems to what you're facing.