Vertex Skimmer club

[reefguard]

Got the skimmer running right now. I know it is still early to say but I am not impressed with the pump so far. It is pretty quieter than what I expected but that's not the problem I see. The problem is, bubbles don't escape from all the holes on the bubble plate. I'd say only 80% of the holes have bubbles escaping from them the rest is very intermittent. Is this right? Or the pump is just weaker that advertised.

I know i just turned the pump on and still going thru break in process but i have my doubts already. Hopefully it improves.

Noel

 

[poolkeeper1]

Got the skimmer running right now. I know it is still early to say but I am not impressed with the pump so far. It is pretty quieter than what I expected but that's not the problem I see. The problem is, bubbles don't escape from all the holes on the bubble plate. I'd say only 80% of the holes have bubbles escaping from them the rest is very intermittent. Is this right? Or the pump is just weaker that advertised.

I know i just turned the pump on and still going thru break in process but i have my doubts already. Hopefully it improves.

Noel

I would check your front cover and make sure your Impellar is seated correctly and the O-Ring is in place correctly. I have never heard of a complaint such as yours, If you look through this thread you will see no such problems as you describe. So i would say there is something amiss with you particular pump. I have both the 3000 and the 5000 and they are the most powerful skimmer pumps i have ever used, Including the Baldor Dart Reeflo and Red Dragon pumps.
Bill:dance:

 

[reefguard]

I'll check it out

 

[reefguard]

I would check your front cover and make sure your Impellar is seated correctly and the O-Ring is in place correctly. I have never heard of a complaint such as yours, If you look through this thread you will see no such problems as you describe. So i would say there is something amiss with you particular pump. I have both the 3000 and the 5000 and they are the most powerful skimmer pumps i have ever used, Including the Baldor Dart Reeflo and Red Dragon pumps.
Bill:dance:

Everything was in order. I just restarted and its the same.

Noel

 

[FishGuy5]

Would a Tunze 9420 Hydrofomer work well w/ a Vertex 180 Gen2. or should I stick w/ getting a BB3000? Not getting very good results w/ stock pump. Thanks for help.

 

[reefguard]

I e-mailed Reef Specialty and I requested to exchange the pump with a 5000. Hopefully they let me.

Noel

 

[crazy banana]

Hi, im looking to get a vertex IN-100 for my 70 gallon tank. It will only be able to sit in 6" of water, will the skimmer be able to perform well in that shallow depth? Are they good skimmers? Thanks

 

[tangtang clown]

Reef guard, can you take pics of the prob you are having? I would like to help you figure this out. You have the IN-280, and the pump for that body is rated at
Air Draw: 1140lph @ 56w
Aquarium Size: Up to 280 Gallons

The bb3000 is rated at 800gph and 55scfh( yeah right, mine get mid 30s using the small union on my OCTOX 200, 45ish with mesh) @ 35watts.

What brand of pump came with the skimmer? Does anyone know how many gph for that pump?
Size wise, how does the IN-280 match up to the OCTOX 200? I have the OCTOX 200 and bb3000 almost maxes it out. Definitely no shortage of bubbles coming from the bubble plate.

How does the bb3000 mate up to the vertex skimmer body? Union or "Custom PVC" LOL?
What size is the plumbing going into the skimmer?

If the IN-280 is a lot bigger than the OCTOX 200, maybe the bb5000 would be a better match.

 

[tangtang clown]

I e-mailed Reef Specialty and I requested to exchange the pump with a 5000. Hopefully they let me.

Noel

I guess you already thought about a bb5000. They should swap it out for ya. Did you talk to them before you ordered the bb3000? Did they think the 3000 was going to be enough for the IN-280? Sorry, I am unfamiliar with the size of the IN-280.

 

[dastratt]

Hi Guys,

I was looking through this thread for support info and I didn't find anything recent.

Do any of you have a contact for Warranty support for Vertex products?

I tried http://www.vertexaquaristik.com/contact-en.php but no response.

I need a replacement part because the reactor arrived broken. I tried the retailer
but they sent me to the above site. I am going back to them but was wondering
if anybody on this thread had some ideas about who to contact.

Thanks for any help you can provide

 

[reefguard]

Reef guard, can you take pics of the prob you are having? I would like to help you figure this out. You have the IN-280, and the pump for that body is rated at
Air Draw: 1140lph @ 56w
Aquarium Size: Up to 280 Gallons

The bb3000 is rated at 800gph and 55scfh( yeah right, mine get mid 30s using the small union on my OCTOX 200, 45ish with mesh) @ 35watts.

What brand of pump came with the skimmer? Does anyone know how many gph for that pump?
Size wise, how does the IN-280 match up to the OCTOX 200? I have the OCTOX 200 and bb3000 almost maxes it out. Definitely no shortage of bubbles coming from the bubble plate.

How does the bb3000 mate up to the vertex skimmer body? Union or "Custom PVC" LOL?
What size is the plumbing going into the skimmer?

If the IN-280 is a lot bigger than the OCTOX 200, maybe the bb5000 would be a better match.

I believe the pump that came with the 280 is Resun, not really sure. it only says the air draw not the gph on the pump.

The 280 has a 10" body with 5" neck roughly 25" tall and its mate up to the skimmer using the union with shaved 1" pvc. I will try to take a picture of it later. I hooked up my air meter and it bounces between 20 to 23 lpm which is what it is advertised I think.

Reef speicalty (Mike) says it should work and just give it a few days running and see what happens ythen call him back. I really doubt they will let me swap it with the 5000 since there wasn't any deals with that. Maybe I should have listened to Premium Aquatics who recommended the 5000. Oh well.

 

[Ward1]

I don't understand the problem. The pump is not even broken yet..My BB3000 is really rocking my in280...What about the air line? how do you have that set up?

 

[reefguard]

Ward,
Airline is not connected to any silencer if that is what you are asking. I don't know it just seems like it is a little weaker than expected. Does your bubble plate chamber gets filled with bubbles and do the bubbles escape from all the holes contineously? Mine just gets the top part filled and bubbled only escape from 80% of the holes from the plate, the rest is intermittent.. did you experience that during the initial start? Maybe I am asking too much too soon or i just got a weak pump.

 

[Ward1]

Ward,
Airline is not connected to any silencer if that is what you are asking. I don't know it just seems like it is a little weaker than expected. Does your bubble plate chamber gets filled with bubbles and do the bubbles escape from all the holes contineously? Mine just gets the top part filled and bubbled only escape from 80% of the holes from the plate, the rest is intermittent.. did you experience that during the initial start? Maybe I am asking too much too soon or i just got a weak pump.

Hey Jessie, I have no patiance and was checking my skimmer a lot when first started it up. I would say that the majority of the bubble plate holes are always filled not some of the holes on the outside of the ring, they are probably intermitantly. I think bubble production increased after a week and a half. When I plugged mine in I set the foam so that it was bubbling right up to the bottom of the collection cup. Not up and over in to the cup just inside the neck of the cup right where it reaches the bottom of the collection cup if that makes sense. I waited untill the next morning and it had already foamed some good dark stuff in to the cup. I am guilty of meessing with mine too much. I had a beuatiful foam head that was flowing from the top of the neck down in to the cup. I will find that adjustment again! It seems the more I turn my wedge pipe back and lower the level the better bubbles I get, problem with me is I hate waiting a day or two to see how my adjustments work out! I tried emailing a couple pics via my BB email with no luck,,still happy with my pump choice as this things is really producing and I think I could have not adjusted the 5000 down enough to stop too much foaming..I could be wrong though..keep us posted wardculver@gmail.com

 

[reefguard]

I just replaced the air line and checked the pump again. It is still the same. I'll just used this pump for now and see what happens. When I get some money then maybe i'll just get the Askoll 1500. But who knows, I may be just too hard to please. and complaint about it too.

Noel

 

[poolkeeper1]

Satisfied

Satisfied

I just replaced the air line and checked the pump again. It is still the same. I'll just used this pump for now and see what happens. When I get some money then maybe i'll just get the Askoll 1500. But who knows, I may be just too hard to please. and complaint about it too.

Noel

Give It 2-4 weeks and I doubt you will want to replace it! Mine took every bit of that much time to really get the Nose gagging Axel grease that mine produces on a regular basis. I have to clean it 2 X a week now that I am runninmg the Eco-Bak as It Increased my Skimate even more. Plus the smell will Gag a Magot!!!:bigeyes:
Bill:thumbsup:

 

[reefguard]

Give It 2-4 weeks and I doubt you will want to replace it! Mine took every bit of that much time to really get the Nose gagging Axel grease that mine produces on a regular basis. I have to clean it 2 X a week now that I am runninmg the Eco-Bak as It Increased my Skimate even more. Plus the smell will Gag a Magot!!!:bigeyes:
Bill:thumbsup:

I hope so If not then It will go for sale really quick.

 

[Rickyrooz1]

Here are the wattage and air ratings on the BB pumps.

 

[WTyson]

Im looking at an IN 100 for my 40 breeder, do you think this would be good? the other skimmer i am considering is a Bubble Magus NAC6A.

Which should i go with (the bubble magus is slightly more expensive)

 

[lost4ever]

Hey guys, i have a Vertex IN80 skimmer and it has been working great for a little over a month now. But after i took it out and cleaned it today it is dumping billions of micro bubbles out of the overflow tube. It never did this before, and my bubble trap baffels just cant keep them out of my tank. Has anyone had this happen of know how to fix this?

Thanks guys