Vertex Skimmer club

[poolkeeper1]

BB Pump

BB Pump

what bubble blaster pump are u guys using on on the in100?

I would think the BB 3000 Is too much for the 100 You may look Into the 1000 or the 2000 for your needs. You really don't want to over power the body and just have too much turbulance that won't produce good results. Mojo may be able to LYK which one may work best for you In that body.
Bill:beer:

 

[Antonais1391]

I just bought a IN80 2nd gen i think from a local hobbies got a great deal (125$) im so exited to use this thing on my new 75g tank! gunna be way better then the ramora 1200maxi on my current 55 lol

 

[funkoptimus]

I got a Vertex IN80 from SWE (cool local store) a month ago today and it died. It has been running for 12-15 days and has been a pain to deal with. Pump was loud, but I read that after the purchase (good reviews otherwise). Louder than I would like but if it does the job fine. But getting the skimmer set was tough. Very wet and would overflow the cup with in a hour. Finally got it dialed and working for 2 days. Skimate wasnt that dark but better than it was.

I go to DFS up in Rhinelander, WI get back with a cooler full of coral and the skimmer pump is dead. No spin, nothing. Pump is really hot. The way my sump is setup the skimmer section can never run out of water. So it never ran dry.

I know it has a year warranty but this thing is a turd!! Wonder if the store can do anything with it....like take it back If not it would make a good pot for a plant.

So the pump dead or just impeller? I dont have another skimmer so I am a bit in trouble.

I will call the contact for warranty stuff, I hope they have a fast turn around.

 

[poolkeeper1]

Turn around

Turn around

I got a Vertex IN80 from SWE (cool local store) a month ago today and it died. It has been running for 12-15 days and has been a pain to deal with. Pump was loud, but I read that after the purchase (good reviews otherwise). Louder than I would like but if it does the job fine. But getting the skimmer set was tough. Very wet and would overflow the cup with in a hour. Finally got it dialed and working for 2 days. Skimate wasnt that dark but better than it was.

I go to DFS up in Rhinelander, WI get back with a cooler full of coral and the skimmer pump is dead. No spin, nothing. Pump is really hot. The way my sump is setup the skimmer section can never run out of water. So it never ran dry.

I know it has a year warranty but this thing is a turd!! Wonder if the store can do anything with it....like take it back If not it would make a good pot for a plant.

So the pump dead or just impeller? I dont have another skimmer so I am a bit in trouble.

I will call the contact for warranty stuff, I hope they have a fast turn around.

It took several weeks to get my pump replaced, As I was told It comes from Canada!. Do yourself a favor and put a different pump on It and It will be a better skimmer In the long run.... The body design Isn't bad It's just their pumps are Chinese Junk:thumbdown
Bill:wavehand:

 

[D.J.'s reef]

i ahd that issue with mine jamie.....my issue was the factory rubber washers on the shaft went to crap and binded up the shaft and it got really loud and seized...not sure how long mine was down...but i took it apart and the pump still ran....they sent me a new shaft and heavier washers and rubber ends and my pump has worked good ever since....BUT ever since then i havent been able to get it to collect much in the cup....im debating on a new pump but with the cost of pumps almost better to just replace the skimmer imo


it doesnt matter what water level i put the sump at i still get the same results outa the skimmer.....right now the skimmer is running in about 10in of water and making crazy bubbles and a nice foam head but nothing in the cup.

i lost the lil rubber stopper and just put a piece of hose on it that runs into a 2liter coke bottle.....would that effect anything?

 

[funkoptimus]

what is the easiest pump to replace the stock?

 

[poolkeeper1]

Replacement Pump

Replacement Pump

what is the easiest pump to replace the stock?

On the Larger models 180,250,280 the Bubble Blaster pumps are very easy to swap as they are the same size. The only Mod you have to do Is a piece of Pipe to fit the skimmer/Pump connection where the pump attaches to the body, They are a slightly different size. I just sanded mine down until It fit, Took all of ten minutes.
Bill:dance:

 

[funkoptimus]

Mine is the IN80.....

 

[poolkeeper1]

Pump

Pump

Mine is the IN80.....

The smallest BB pump Is the BB 1000 that may be enough for a good Improvement over the stock pump. The Sicce 1500 may be another option and I would suggest a little comparing of specs on these pumps verses the stock one, In other words do some homework!
Bill:hmm3::wavehand:

 

[E.intheC]

Has anyone done a gate valve mod on the Vertex skimmers?

 

[joey_1023]

Has anyone done a gate valve mod on the Vertex skimmers?

I just picked up a 3 week old a Gen 2 vertex In-100 for $140 off of someone from my local club, pump is silent. To give you a little insight i have total water volume about 80 gallons and have always ran oversized skimmers on my setup, always resulting have to skimming wet. my tank has been up for 3+ years. I ran atim bm-200, msx 200 (w/ all pinwheels), super-reef xp-2000I. I just think the necks are to large for my system so I just pulled off the super reef and threw in this vertex because it is gauged for my volume of water. I have over 150lbs of rock in DT. Sps dominate with a heavy load, just to give you a little history.
I used the super-reef xp-2000 gate-valve as it fit perfectly, i also drilled a hole in the 90' elbow of the gate-valve so i can have it submerged with elevating backpressure. now that the old wedgepipe is off: i needed a silencer so i took the xp-2000 silencer and holder off and tapped the colar of vertex body and added the silencer holder. I modded my spare sicce to fit on the vertex but it is too much air with lg ppw, msx wheel, small mesh, maybe a small ppw might be good but i am not chasing air numbers just performace of this skimmer tunned for my setup. the bb-2000 will not work on my gen2 stock. im sure you could go and get some pvc and make a custom attachment with hose to mount it to body but i haven't gotten around to it yet so here are the final pics of my super-vertex in100. I realize that you all may not have these parts but i just wanted to show you all, my little project's upcoming.

 

[tangtang clown]

Looks good Joey! I need to get a silencer for my bb3000, if anyone knows where to get one, please let me know. Also Joey, If you really want to eleviate backpressure, you can put a tee in place of the 90. Keep us posted on how that skimmer works out for ya.

Cheers.

 

[E.intheC]

that's awesome Joey! I'll have to see if I can DIY a gate valve.. I think you bought it from someone off Manhattan Reefs, right?

 

[Ward1]

I have question about my IN280, it seems about mid-day (3pm ish) the foam drops down to the seam where the cup and body meet, than it will start to rise back up around 7 ish, and by 9pm it's foaming thick brown foam that slowly fall's into the cup.I have a ATO so the water level is consistent at around 7 1/2 inches ,,,anyone have this going on too? Thanks

I was. It seems not to be happening anymore since i put it in shallower water and made the drain pipe so it flows out above the sump level.

 

[joey_1023]

that's awesome Joey! I'll have to see if I can DIY a gate valve.. I think you bought it from someone off Manhattan Reefs, right?

yes i did buy it off of EVO from MR. nice guy skimmer was brand new. i had the parts to make it all work so it came out good.

 

[E.intheC]

Joey, If you really want to eleviate backpressure, you can put a tee in place of the 90. Keep us posted on how that skimmer works out for ya.

Cheers.

That's a great idea as well. I'll have to look into that as well.

Do the above mods simply make it easier to adjust? I feel like the skimmate is either a bit too wet or it's almost too dry so it's just sticking in the neck and not overflowing into the cup. There's not much leeway in between.

 

[poolkeeper1]

Silencer

Silencer

Looks good Joey! I need to get a silencer for my bb3000, if anyone knows where to get one, please let me know. Also Joey, If you really want to eleviate backpressure, you can put a tee in place of the 90. Keep us posted on how that skimmer works out for ya.

Cheers.

I would contact David at Vue Tecnologies (Coralvue) I'm sure he can send you one as he has alway's been very helpful with any Issues with his products or getting replacement parts.
Bill:hammer:

 

[geno7]

My take on the vertex IN100.....

I am a skeptic of the pump and I do have to say it is a little noisey. Just a loud hum. I know when it is unplugged, the room gets silent. So far this skimmer has produced more skimmate than any other skimmer I have owned. It did take it a little while to break in. I didn't do the vinegar bath thing.

My only complaint is the low humm of the pump and the worry that it is going to get louder. I'm trying to decide if I want to get a new pump or just keep this thing going for now. The pump and impeller does have a one year warranty. If they would just work on the impeller they would have it. The problem is not the pump, but the impeller and I have to say compared to the other skimmers I have owned the vertex impeller is very poorly designed.

Overall you can't beat the value and performance...... The body just works..... as proven in the past.

 

[illsquaddotcom]

Hey guys,
I bought an IN-180 about 6 months ago and am having problems with air water mix. The pump runs fine for several weeks then will all of a sudden start overflowing like mad. It seems to be an issue with the impeller and I heard that vertex is replacing impellers if you experience the issue. Who/where do I go to get this resolved. It sucks having to pull the motor every week or two to clean/ vineger dip the impeller.

Thanks

RW

 

[reeftivo]

FWIW, I purchased a tunze hydrofoamer 9410.040 for my IN80 and used the existing 90 degree elbow into the bubble box by just cutting a 1/2 inch off one of my aquastik putty tubes and used the thin plastic as a shim for the pump collar into the elbow. Worked perfectly! The piece needs to be split like a "C" and I just wrapped it over the pump collar and the 90 pressed right over it very snugly. The pump still sat a little bit higher than the bottom of the skimmer so I stuck an adhesive rubber grommet to the bottom of the pump and it was flush. The hydrofoamer runs fully open without need for tuning down the air, and my wedge pipe only needs to be closed 1/4 now leaving room for finer tuning.

I tried mounting it directly off the side but the added weight off the side made the skimmer want to tip.