Vertex Skimmer club

[maddog2002]

for in-180, which one is better BB3000 or BB2000?

[Mr. Right]

Anyone w/ info on a sicce and a IN-100?

[reefguard]

Woke up this morning and stepped on a wet hard wood floor. Skimmer (IN-280) overflowed for some unknown reason and almost emptied the sump. It must have happened an hour or so before waking up.

With that said, I am ready to pull the trigger on a Bubble Blaster. Still on the fence though between the 3000 and the 5000. I know people have been using the 3000 but I don't know why I still keep looking at the 5000. I am afraid to order the 5000 and turn out to be a bust on this skimmer but want to max out the skimmer efficiency as well. So all you IN-280 user out there, what do you think, 3000 or 5000? Should I say screw it and order the 5000 or should I play it safe and get the 3000.

Noel

[poolkeeper1]

[QUOTE=reefguard;17317055]Woke up this morning and stepped on a wet hard wood floor. Skimmer (IN-280) overflowed for some unknown reason and almost emptied the sump. It must have happened an hour or so before waking up.

With that said, I am ready to pull the trigger on a Bubble Blaster. Still on the fence though between the 3000 and the 5000. I know people have been using the 3000 but I don't know why I still keep looking at the 5000. I am afraid to order the 5000 and turn out to be a bust on this skimmer but want to max out the skimmer efficiency as well. So all you IN-280 user out there, what do you think, 3000 or 5000? Should I say screw it and order the 5000 or should I play it safe and get the 3000.

Noel[/QUOTE

It's not a matter of being safe, The BB 5000 is just too much pump (IMO) for the size body the Vertex has.
I have Both the 3000 and the Super Octo XP 5000 external and the Cone is huge 12" diameter at the base with an 8" neck that is almost a foot high!
The amount of turbulence you will get in the much smaller 280 body will give you a overflowing skimmer all the time IMHO.
The 3000 will work just fine as they are much better pumps than the stock vertex pump. There are quite a few people that have been happy with the 3000 swap.
Bill

[Ward1]

Originally Posted by reefguard

Woke up this morning and stepped on a wet hard wood floor. Skimmer (IN-280) overflowed for some unknown reason and almost emptied the sump. It must have happened an hour or so before waking up.

With that said, I am ready to pull the trigger on a Bubble Blaster. Still on the fence though between the 3000 and the 5000. I know people have been using the 3000 but I don't know why I still keep looking at the 5000. I am afraid to order the 5000 and turn out to be a bust on this skimmer but want to max out the skimmer efficiency as well. So all you IN-280 user out there, what do you think, 3000 or 5000? Should I say screw it and order the 5000 or should I play it safe and get the 3000.

Noel

As you know I just put the 300 on my 280. It's more than enough. You will need a larger fitting for your wedge pipe ( Lowes 98 cents ) and don't forget to enlarge the hole on top of your wedge pipe cap ( that makes a huge differance). Glad I went with the 3000 and this thing is now skimming like one three times it's cost. By the way have you seen how large the 5000 is?

[reefguard]

Thanks Bill for the input. I really value your opinion, and you have experience with both pumps. Like I said I am not even sure why I can't get the 5000 out of my head. .

Ward, no, I haven't seen the 5000, in fact I haven't seen any of the bubble blasters. Oh and I dont even use the air fitting on the wedge pipe because of the restriction it creats but thanks for the tip. I will order the 3000 on line tonight. Anybody running a special on it that youknow of?

Noel

[poolkeeper1]

Originally Posted by reefguard

Thanks Bill for the input. I really value your opinion, and you have experience with both pumps. Like I said I am not even sure why I can't get the 5000 out of my head. .

Ward, no, I haven't seen the 5000, in fact I haven't seen any of the bubble blasters. Oh and I dont even use the air fitting on the wedge pipe because of the restriction it creats but thanks for the tip. I will order the 3000 on line tonight. Anybody running a special on it that youknow of?

Noel

Not sure but, Premium Aquatics or Reef Specialty had them for right around 200.00 or so shipped. And they come with a 3 year warranty (Pretty Good)
And like ward said get the parts you need and your done, Sit back and enjoy a Bubble King Quality for much less $$$
Bill
PS, You may also try TB Aquatics, Not sure they have them but they are very good on pricing.

[maddog2002]

PM has 10% off now

[reefguard]

What's PM? I already placed the order from Reef Specialty. $205, hopefully I get the tracking number tomorrow.

[Ward1]

Originally Posted by reefguard

What's PM? I already placed the order from Reef Specialty. $205, hopefully I get the tracking number tomorrow.

Which one did you order?

[maddog2002]

Premium Aquatics

[Rickyrooz1]

I am debating purchasing either the Bubble Blaster 3000 pump or the Bubble Blaster 2000 pump. I have a Vertex IN-180 but I don’t want too much turbulence inside the reaction chamber. The Super Reef Octopus uses the BB 3000 and has the same body dimensions as the IN-180. Is anyone running a BB 3000 on their IN-180? Reef Specialty lists the BB 3000 as a good replacement pump for the Sicce on the Octopus Extreme 200 which was comparable in size to the Vertex IN-180. The BB 3000 pump is rated at 800 GPH at 35 watts and the stock Vertex pump is rated at 190 GPH (720 LPH) at 32 watts.

As for the BB 5000 on the IN-280, both skimmers have a 10” body and are 24.5” tall.

[reefguard]

Originally Posted by Ward1

Which one did you order?

BB HY3000. Placed the order Thursday night but haven't received any tracking number yet.

[reefguard]

Reef Specialty is out of HY3000 so it had to come straight from coralvue. Finally received tracking number today with a delivery date of 10 July. Perfect timing since i am doing a water change that day, I can just take the skimmer out, clean it then wait for the new pump to show up. I can't wait.

Noel

[reefguard]

Received the BB 3000 this afternoon. I am just finishing up my water change then I'll fire this thing up to see what the fuzz is all about. Will keep you posted.

Noel

[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]

Originally Posted by 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

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

[reefguard]

I'll check it out

[reefguard]

Originally Posted by poolkeeper1

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

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]

Originally Posted by reefguard

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