Vertex Skimmer club
- Thread starter JohnL
- Start date
NyReefNoob
skimmer freak
well i finally got my in 180 gen 2, and must say this thing is huge, personally i dont do vinegar bath's i run really hot water and let it run through it, day one i ran it wide open to let it slime a little on the body since i am in the first 24 hr's still cant say much on it other then very well built, dead silent, really appears to be a souped up ER, but less expensive, wish ER would have went this route along time ago, had a cs 8-2 and the pump that came with it did nothing for the body size. A+ so far.
2dawghouse
New member
Well after a long vinegar bath and extensive cleaning, it is working like a champ. I cant say exactly what was causing all the micro-bubbles although I do have some theories. 1) Salt creep in air tube, 2) clogged bubbleplate holes, 3) Clogged venturi or gummed up pinwheel. But whatever it was it is history, skimmer is running like a champ again.
Mish1
New member
So I have had my IN 100 for a couple days now and it is performing great however it is a little noisier than I would like. Is there any way to quiet these Vertex skimmers down? I am getting a loud hum from the pump. It seems to keep getting louder the longer it runs.
The skimmer appears to be working just fine other than the noise.
The skimmer appears to be working just fine other than the noise.
gildorph
New member
I just joined the club with an IN-180. Have had it about a week. Unfortunately, it was the biggest I could fit in my sump.
Had a question about tuning the skimmer level to be adjusted right. I've noticed the posts in this thread about overflowing and the loss of the foam head when feeding. I'm finding this skimmer very easy to adjust but hard to get tuned in just right. I have the exit pipe out of water and very close to the closed position. It seems like I barely twist it closer to the "closed" position it and can go from dry skimming to overflowing the cup. Anyone else find it to be that touchy or find their window of being tuned in to be that precise?
Had a question about tuning the skimmer level to be adjusted right. I've noticed the posts in this thread about overflowing and the loss of the foam head when feeding. I'm finding this skimmer very easy to adjust but hard to get tuned in just right. I have the exit pipe out of water and very close to the closed position. It seems like I barely twist it closer to the "closed" position it and can go from dry skimming to overflowing the cup. Anyone else find it to be that touchy or find their window of being tuned in to be that precise?
drdoolittle
Active member
taggin along..
Vinniejt76
New member
In-180 keeps overflowing about once a week
In-180 keeps overflowing about once a week
....once I take air hose off top of tube and clean it, it seems to go back to normal. Is it possible to just leave that air tube off on top?
In-180 keeps overflowing about once a week
....once I take air hose off top of tube and clean it, it seems to go back to normal. Is it possible to just leave that air tube off on top?
Rickyrooz1
Acropora Nut
Vertex IN-180
Kenfuzed
New member
Power consumption
Power consumption
I have a question regarding power consumption, perhaps someone here can shed so light on.
I was checking the wattage used by all the different components of my tank with a Kill-A-Watt meter. When I got to the skimmer pump of my IN-250 the readings don't make sense. It shows 65 watts but 1.53 amps. My Eheim 1262 return shows 62w and .79 amps. Maybe I'm reading too much into this but should the amps be fairly similar between these two pumps given the similarity in wattage? Here is a list of everything I tested to see if the meter was working. All were tested on the same circuit with all running simultaneously.
Eheim 1262 62w .79a
Skimmer 65w 1.53a
Dart 142w 1.24a
Warner Marine reactor 16w
I trust the reading I'm getting off the Dart as that is in line with what the motor spec states (Baldor). If the skimmer pump is actually pulling 1.53 amps then wouldn't that equate to 176 watts? If so then this pump is a pig!
Power consumption
I have a question regarding power consumption, perhaps someone here can shed so light on.
I was checking the wattage used by all the different components of my tank with a Kill-A-Watt meter. When I got to the skimmer pump of my IN-250 the readings don't make sense. It shows 65 watts but 1.53 amps. My Eheim 1262 return shows 62w and .79 amps. Maybe I'm reading too much into this but should the amps be fairly similar between these two pumps given the similarity in wattage? Here is a list of everything I tested to see if the meter was working. All were tested on the same circuit with all running simultaneously.
Eheim 1262 62w .79a
Skimmer 65w 1.53a
Dart 142w 1.24a
Warner Marine reactor 16w
I trust the reading I'm getting off the Dart as that is in line with what the motor spec states (Baldor). If the skimmer pump is actually pulling 1.53 amps then wouldn't that equate to 176 watts? If so then this pump is a pig!
PF is expressed in a decimal number. A pump that draws 1 amp @ 117V uses 117VA. If if has a PF of 1, it uses 117W. If it has a PF of .5, it uses 58.5W, but it still draws 1 amp. Fractionating skimmer pumps have a low PF compared to a water pump. Your skimmer pump looks to have ~ 1/2 the PF number that your Eheim does. You can measure VA and PF with the Kill-a-watt.
motopsycho
Member
I've only had time to read through about 15 of the pages so far. I've read a lot of reviews that say the pumps are brutal. If that is the case is there a list of recommended pump upgrades for each model. And with having to upgrade the pump does that not put this skimmer in around the price of a ER?
