Vertex Skimmer club

Just put my IN 100 in my sump last night. Man, this thing is a beast! It's in a standard 20 gal tank and it is a tight fit. I have it in about 6-7ish inches of water and have it wide open till it breaks in. It has been quiet so far, much more than my Octo 110.
 
tangtang, do you know if that SICCE will fit an IN-100? Seems like one person on this list has replaced the resun with a sicce but he didn't mention which model.
 
I know that the octox 200 came with a 3/4" union and the male end thread onto the skimmer body with the female part of the union. The opposite end of the male union was thread into the output of the sicce, which I believe to be 1/2". What size union does the 100 have?
 
LOL spso12psc! He was asking which model skimmer, not sicce. There is only one type of sicce, but you can get different/custom volutes, such as the mini airstar by ATB.
 
So i been running my IN-250 for about a week now, and this thing is a beast. I had it full open for a few days, and now turned it to about half and this thing is pulling out some nasty stuff. A great skimmer for a great price.
 
My vertex was making some noise, I got a replacement impeller and it is totally silent...

Not a peep, zero vibration, zip...

ask you supplier for a new impeller, vertex support was excellent and replaced mine...
 
i've had my IN-100 for about a year, but i'm starting to have problems with motor - when i turn it off to dump the skim-mate - 4 out 5 times it won't restart with messing with it?? no coraline build up - or unusal amounts i clean it reguarly every 2 months... any thoughts?

i guess i could give it a vinegar bath....
when you empty your skimmate don't turn the pump off, just dial it back.

I mark the pipe at its optimum performance, then I simply dial it back, empty the collection cup, then dial it back it using the mark.

Easy peasy and less strain on the pump
 
It has been over a month since I posted an update. At the beginning of the month I finally received the proper union fitting for the Bubble Blaster pump. I still had to shave a piece of 1" thin-wall pvc but eventually got it to fit between the pump and skimmer. Now that it has been running I am glad to have the 3000 rather than the 5000. While the slant pipe is only open 1/3 I think a larger pump would only use more energy and be noisier. The HY3000 is fairly quiet and super cool compared to the original Resun pump.

I would consider my tank bioload moderate, plenty of fish and several sps frags/mini colonies. Tank is a 180 with a 100g sump. I've been carbon dosing and feeding heavy for 2 months and this big skimmer has been pulling a ton of gunk while the tank looks spotless. I only have to clean the front glass with the magnet once every 3 days and there are no signs of HA or cyano.

Below is a picture of 2 days worth of skimmate. I need to clean the cup neck every 3-4 days, and as you can tell by the picture it's time to clean it again. For reference and for those not familiar with the IN-250, the collection cup is 8" wide.
 

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wow,
i have a in-180 and have been following this board from the beiginning. That's is alot of skimmate! Did you get that much on the stock pump also, or since you've aded the bubble blaster? I like the production of my 180, but if could get a bump like in your pics, i'd have to consider a pump change.
 
I was getting almost that much with the original pump, it is hard to say for certain that the old pump wouldn't have done as well. However I like that the BB pump is so much more energy efficient. Not that I'm trying to be Mr. Green but the efficiency means less heat transfered to the tank. Charlie who posted here a while back is also using the same pump on a IN-180 with excellent results. I HIGHLY recommend this upgrade. The pump is actually designed as an upgrade for the Octo skimmers so you will need to modify a piece of pvc pipe by sanding/shaving the outside diameter to fit into the skimmer hole which is a metric size, but I think its worth it.
 
Thanks Ken, Just went over the instructions from charlie.
Was very lucky with my in180.
Just dropped it in the sump and was super quiet from day 1 and pulling skimmate within 24 hours. been running for about 4 months now and no porblems.
It does a great job and a little scared to mess with something that works.

Charlie,
I don't know you would quantify it, but if you get a chance, how would you describe the performance boost on the 180 with the BB upgrade?
 
Float switch in IN 100 collection cup

Float switch in IN 100 collection cup

I am in the process of setting up my IN-100 and would like to fit a float switch in the collection cup, so that I don't overflow skimmate into the sump if I do something silly/lazy (bound to happen sooner than later!). Have you done this, and if so, could you describe or show a picture?
 
Whats the difference in watts vertex pump vs BB.

Would the BB work with all the vertex skimmers?

I would like to upgrade my in-100 with the BB.

I have a noisy skimmer.
 
I have had a IN-180 since the end of November. Several weeks ago it started overflowing on me. Prior to this it seemed to be working fine, then suddenly it will not run for more than a week without overflowing. I've had it happen to me 3 times now, and this last time I didn't catch it till it made a real mess under my stand. When I try to turn it back on after it overflows sometimes it will not start up correctly. I can hear the impeller trying to spin but it doesn't seem like it can get going, it sounds like it's trying to though. I've read that the air line can get clogged and this last time I was real careful to check that without disturbing anything that may have clogged it but I didn't find anything. Do you think I need a new impeller? Do you think PA will replace it at no charge almost 3 months after purchase?
 
Have you been able to get the Tunze Hydrofoamer set up yet ?
I'm thinking of trying this pump also .

So after some more digging around I think I am going with a different pump. Yesterday I ran across the Tunze Hydrofoamer 9410.040 on a skimmer and I could not believe it. It was absolutely SILENT. Right now my stock vortex pump is about as noisy as a vacuum cleaner, so replacing is a must. Looking at the Tunze compared with the BB, it seems that the Tunze with the vertical outlet will be an easier adaptation to the IN-80.

Should be ordering one this week and will post up the results.
 
I am in the process of setting up my IN-100 and would like to fit a float switch in the collection cup, so that I don't overflow skimmate into the sump if I do something silly/lazy (bound to happen sooner than later!). Have you done this, and if so, could you describe or show a picture?

anyone?
 
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