Vertex Skimmer club

I'm having the same problem as jdrabek. I bought this skimmer 2 1/2 weeks ago and I've yet to get a good skim. Now, my tank has only been up for 4 weeks but there is 120 lbs of live rock, two clowns, full cuc, etc. My skim is very wet and yellow, no brown gunk pulled out yet. I just cant get this thing to work. I've checked and rechecked everything. It sits in about 9" of water and the level is constant.

I've also found this skimmer to be very touchy. One small 1/4" adjustment to left or rt and all he!! breaks loose.

Any recommendations? Has anyone else had this problem? I've getting impatient when I go to friends houses that have three inches of brown gunk produced in two days and it would take me a month to produce this amount.
 
I got a replacement pump late last week and while it is better than it was it still not great. The pump is just not good enough. I agree with jformani about the adjustments too. I find when dialing back to get dry skimmate that it takes forever to get any skimmate in the cup and when I try and adjust it for a little wet than I wake up in the morming to a cup that is just about ready to overflow. In the end I am going to get the bubble blaster pump and hope for the best becuase I still think that the body is very good for this skimmer.
 
My IN-180 has been running like a champ for 9 months. No issues whatsoever. Adjusting it properly is tricky, and I overflowed the cup early on, but now i have it dialed and never touch the standpipe. If skimmate production slows, it is because the neck is dirty so I simply wipe out the neck with a paper towel and its back to pumping out icky yucky in 1/2 hour or so.

I haven't had any problems with the pump. the only thing is that when you turn it off and back on the impeller rattles. I'm not sure why but its really easy to fix. You momentarily put your finger over the hole that sucks water in while its running and it will stop rattling immediately.
 
what happens with vertex don't have more skimmer. I am looking for a vertex in all the site and say the skimmer 180 is descontinued.
 
My IN 250 Is actually pulling darker Skimate than My XP 5000 Super Octo, And It's on a much smaller and less stocked tank! Go Figure. To me It was no different than any Wedge pipe design to dial In and once It's set forget It, To clean just pull the plug clean and plug It back In It easy as can be, Great Skimmer IMHO.
Bill
 
hey guys I just purchase a new vertex in-180 but the pump is making so much noise
this is normal ???

I already check the impeller and there is nothing in there

please help
 
Much to my surprise I had my first negative experience with my IN 250. After a normal water change I came home to a flooded room where my tank Is! The Vertex was going crazy overflowing the cup and waste container and all over my wood floors, No matter what I did even with the wedge pipe opened all the way It still overflowed. After removing the pump and checking If there was an obstruction or some reason for the problem I found nothing! Put It all back together and tried It again, Same thing, Took the whole skimmer out and checked everything and found no Issues. Put It back and It seemed to calm down, An hour or so later the same thing flooding again and again even though I left the wedge pipe wide open!
I just heard some water dripping at 4:30AM and woke up to another flood this Is very frustrating and for some reason unknown to me the pump has gone haywire (It's only a month old) New Version and this Ain't gonna work...
I just got off the Phone with the vendor that I bought the skimmer from and have bought a Bubble Blaster 30000S Pump to replace this stock pump with and get this Skimmer working reliably as It should have out of the box.
Pretty sad that a Co that has ties to high end Skimmers puts a model on the market that has all these Issues, and all because they use a cheap Chinese pump that just Isn't reliable, This was the second pump on a month old skimmer, Buyer Beware Is all I have to say at this point.
Bill
PS Pump for sale If anyone wants to buy It, It's the Big one for the 250 & 280 models. One month old runs fine except for the Issues stated above 100.00 OBO
 
Poolkeeper1 - Sorry to hear about the flood. How high was the water level the skimmer was in? I had the same thing happen but it was due to my sump being overfilled by my ATO unit and the skimmer was then sitting in about 14" of water causing it to run mad and overflow the collection cup.

Chris_SG - I had the same issue with my IN-180 and had to get a new impeller from my LFS. He had me try all kinds of things and nothing worked until i got the new impeller. The original did not look damaged at all but i guess it was.
 
Water level

Water level

SnelgroveReefer said:
Poolkeeper1 - Sorry to hear about the flood. How high was the water level the skimmer was in? I had the same thing happen but it was due to my sump being overfilled by my ATO unit and the skimmer was then sitting in about 14" of water causing it to run mad and overflow the collection cup.

Chris_SG - I had the same issue with my IN-180 and had to get a new impeller from my LFS. He had me try all kinds of things and nothing worked until i got the new impeller. The original did not look damaged at all but i guess it was.
Click to expand...

My sump Is designed to keep a steady level In the skimmer section and the Skimmer Is on a stand keeping It at 7.5" and has been running this way since day one. I have noticed In the past that the Bubbles are very Turbulent at times and don't just rise calmly like they should, That Is what Is happening with the pump now all the time It's like a tornado In the neck and no matter how you try and adjust It, It will overflow! It did this In the beginning but I was told after It broke In that would stop. It did not stop and actually It has gotten worse to the point I have already ordered another pump. My problem Is not Isolated Or I would say I just got 2 bad pumps, They are Inferior and not able to run at a constant speed IMO That's why you get the overflowing because the pump Is fluctuating In It's speed and I also started to hear some rattleing In the pump.
Thanks for the Input and I'll LYK how It works with the BB pump, It should be here by Friday.
Bill
 
Yes It Is the 3000 I was copying the # from the website and just assumed It was the same as the bigger one I have, But It's not.
While I have your attention was It the right choice verses the 2000 and was It very hard to mate It up to the vertex body? Any Info would be great!
Bill
 
~reefchik~ said:
Just stay VERY vigilant. I went through two pumps before getting it up and running reliably. Well...actually the first pump burned out totally and was replaced. The second one seized up (impeller issue) but PA sent a new impeller and it has worked wonderfully since then.

As for break-in, I did the vinegar thing but only for about 6 hrs. Mine began skimming junk out within 24 hrs.

I'm still a happy member of the club.
Click to expand...

I've been lucky, or you guys have been unlucky. Whatever the case, after passing a shirt IQ test, I hooked up the skimmer. I have never hooked one up before. It fired off, and began skimming good gunk in a day or two. Adjusted the tube once or twice. Now it's pulling nasty stuff, about a month in. Never need to touch it. Highly recommended. Good luck people!
 
Chris_SG said:
hey guys I just purchase a new vertex in-180 but the pump is making so much noise
this is normal ???

I already check the impeller and there is nothing in there

please help
Click to expand...

while the pump is running, put your hand over the intake and it will stop making noise and start foaming
 
Bill,

Let me know how the new pump goes. I am waiting on my new impellar before i can fire my 180 up again. I have no idea what I am going to replace this resun with, so any suggestions are appreciated. Trying not to break the bank, but get a reliable pump at the same time. BTW, the frags look good thanks again.
 
I have an IN180, and I'm having issues dialing it in. It has overflowed several times. But when it does I will dial it back all the way to open and the water level wont drop. I have it in 7 in of water. i stated to mess with the air line and something seemed to happen and then the level dropped. I noticed that whether or not the airline is attached to the silencer makes a big difference in water level. Any suggestions? I have has severl skimmers and am baffled as to what I am missing?
 
Hi Prodman,
Mine did the same thing; the grayish 90 degree fitting at the top of the standpipe is clogged with salt or something. Disconnect the airline from that fitting and just use a zip tie to loosely hold it up the tube on the tube. That should correct the issue and only cause a slight sucking sound.
 
SnelgroveReefer said:
Hi Prodman,
Mine did the same thing; the grayish 90 degree fitting at the top of the standpipe is clogged with salt or something. Disconnect the airline from that fitting and just use a zip tie to loosely hold it up the tube on the tube. That should correct the issue and only cause a slight sucking sound.
Click to expand...

Thanks I will give that a try
 
BB 3000 Vertex

BB 3000 Vertex

ameares8 said:
Bill,

Let me know how the new pump goes. I am waiting on my new impellar before i can fire my 180 up again. I have no idea what I am going to replace this resun with, so any suggestions are appreciated. Trying not to break the bank, but get a reliable pump at the same time. BTW, the frags look good thanks again.
Click to expand...

Let the games begin, I just finished Installing the Bubble Blaster 3000 pump on my IN 250 Vertex! This Is the easiest swap I ever did on a Skimmer as they are the same height and the Volute on the BB can be rotated from the stock position (Side Return) to the top with 3 screws and then you need to sand down the piece of 1" PVC pipe to fit the SCH 80 Elbow from the Vertex and they match right up!!! Plug It In and Woot much denser foam and all that turbulance from the Resun pump Is GONE...
Now I'll just wait for the new Pinwheel to break In and I'll bet money this will be a great Skimmer now!
I'll get some Photos when It's broke In
Bill:dance::dance::dance:
 
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