Vertex Omega 130 skimmer

[MedRed]

Originally Posted by M88A2

So whats everyone's honest opinion of this skimmer?...is this skimmer worth the money? I mean for $320 I would expect the thing to work with out having to purchase additional parts. I was pretty much sold on this skimmer until I saw this thread

I swapped it for an AquaMaxx ConeS Co-1. It fits better in my sump and skims considerably better. it's also easier to assemble/disassemble. My Omega 130 did an Ok job, but was inconsistent. My CO-1 outperforms it and is virtually silent.

[chercm]

I plan to get the omega 130 , is there some setting that I need to take note of?

[Dashylock]

Originally Posted by MedRed

I swapped it for an AquaMaxx ConeS Co-1. It fits better in my sump and skims considerably better. it's also easier to assemble/disassemble. My Omega 130 did an Ok job, but was inconsistent. My CO-1 outperforms it and is virtually silent.

I was pretty disappointed with the 130 on my 40breeder, but I just set up a 150g (same amount of livestock) and the 130 is performing very well. I think that the pump is really overpowered and requires a high volume of flow to skim as designed. I am currently pushing about 2500 gph and the 130 is producing a nice thick and stinky skimmate.

[ECFENCING]

Originally Posted by Joel_155

Exactly. It's not a bad skimmer but just needs some tweaking. Water height has a huge impact on this skimmer where as it didn't seem to matter all that much on my previous skimmer. Also I bought a small skimmer air valve from aqua medic for like $20 and it serves the purpose that the adjustable volume is supposed to do.

Joel155 Could you post where you purchased this air valve from? Tried to do a quick google search but didn't come up with anything.

EDIT: I Just found this:

http://www.aqua-medic.com/product/regulation-valve-5mm/

I'm having the same issue with the Vertex Omega 130. It's on a 50 cube with 25 gallon sump in about 6" of water.


What is your water level ? Thinking of purchasing a dwyer air meter so I can see the adjustment

Thanks in advance.

My sump is designed for the skimmer to sit in 8" of water.

[ECFENCING]

I'm also having re-start issues but that's probably because I need to give it a nice vinegar bath.

[isareef]

Hi ECFENCING
You may be looking for this
http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquar...p17713368.html

[isareef]

Air medic flow valve
http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquar...p17713368.html

[ECFENCING]

Isareef: Thanks for the link! Appreciate it.

I talked to Vertex customer support on Friday and the rep mentioned that I try out the skimmer in 8" of water depth again since it is broken in but the air valve will allow fine tuning.

[iamarchitecture]

I have it running on a 50 gallon cube with about a 15 gallon sump and in the beginning it skimmed very well. I added a mesh bag with GFO and it threw the skimmer off for a while until I gave it a full vinegar bath for about a day or so. As soon as I put the skimmer back in it performed great once again. The water level sits just below the top rim of the output pipe, the volute is all the way in, and the air adjustment pipe is about half-way open. I do agree that the skimmer is very finicky but it really does the job well when it performs. I do believe it is a bit overpriced and I think if I had the choice again I would go a different route.

[isareef]

I do agree the pump is oversized. I also got problems with my vertex 130 overflowing.
By opening the volute you increase the water intake and the bubble size(it becomes bigger) which decreases the skimmer efficiency. This should make it less prone to overflowing. However last week I installed the aquamedic air flow valve and I am able to keep fine bubbles at constant level(without the cycling bouncing that causes the overflow). The installation of the valve is not straightforward as you need an adapter for then tube dimension

[ECFENCING]

Isareef: could you post the adapter size ? Hoping I can go to the hardware store to find one but it is metric so it may need to be ordered online

[isareef]

Originally Posted by ECFENCING

Isareef: could you post the adapter size ? Hoping I can go to the hardware store to find one but it is metric so it may need to be ordered online

It comes with 2 fittings. 6 and 8 mm. But as you will see the silicon air tube from the skimmer. Maybe 10 mm.

[ECFENCING]

Isareef: thanks again

Is there another adapter or fitting that will bridge the 2mm gap?

How did you connect the larger tubing to the smaller adapter?

[sotomx]

Originally Posted by Steve_Mac

I've had this skimmer for 7 weeks - I think it's fantastic, no modifications wanted or needed in my case. 75 gallon tank and the skimmer sits in about 7.5" of water. Took about 10 days of break in and now produces black skimmate very consistantly. Very, very quiet too - not silent, but can't hear it unless I have my head inside the cabinet.

Totally worth the $$$, to me, anyway!

Same here

[moondoggy4]

For a cheap fix you could put some tubing in the air line to restrict the flow, that's what they used to do on the Sicce 2500 pumps.

[isareef]

I used and old quick connect fitting from an eheim classic filter. I put it between the silicon and a 8 mm tubing, a little of brute force will fill the gap

Regarding the efficiency with the air restricted. I am also on test mode. I don't see the dark skimmate it used to be (when it was not overflowing), in the other hand I recently did a massive water change due an incident with vinegar dosing. Thus, maybe the dissolved nutrients are not really high now. The airflow as per the air meter is around 500l/hr with the rise pipe wide open, bubbles break at half the neck. I'm getting wet skimmate.

[ECFENCING]

Originally Posted by isareef

I used and old quick connect fitting from an eheim classic filter. I put it between the silicon and a 8 mm tubing, a little of brute force will fill the gap

Regarding the efficiency with the air restricted. I am also on test mode. I don't see the dark skimmate it used to be (when it was not overflowing), in the other hand I recently did a massive water change due an incident with vinegar dosing. Thus, maybe the dissolved nutrients are not really high now. The airflow as per the air meter is around 500l/hr with the rise pipe wide open, bubbles break at half the neck. I'm getting wet skimmate.

Thanks for the feedback. I am running it back at 8" per Vertex suggestion. However I needed to restrict the air. Right now I have a piece of electrical tape partially covering the air outlet and it is producing wet skimmate with the stand pipe wide open.

It's too bad I threw out an old eheim 2213 cannister filter with the fittings so I'm stuck unless I can buy one of the fittings at my LFS or online.

[Whiterabbitrage]

Do people have these same issues with the 180?

[ECFENCING]

Originally Posted by Whiterabbitrage

Do people have these same issues with the 180?

Not sure about that one. Maybe there is a thread for the 180 somewhere.

I did fine tune the air adjustment on my 130 and kept it in 8" of water.

I'll post pics. I basically rigged a tlf reactor fitting, and valve to restrict the air somewhat. Not the most elegant solution but the skimmer is producing a lot more skimmate. If I didn't restrict the air at 8" sump depth it would overflow. I could also keep it at 7" sump depth and it would perform somewhat the same but the bubbles would break in the neck and I would accumulate a lot of dry skimmate there.

[DaveRaz]

Hello all. Great forum. I have learned a lot. New 90 gallon tank owner. 32 gallon sump. I just bought the 150 and this tread has me somewhat concerned. Should I return it for something more reliable?

I am brand new at this hobby and want to start off on the right foot. Thanks in advance.

[Joeb1983]

I truly hate my 130... If it didnt look so good or cost so much Id probably burn it!.. It is such a temperamental PITA.

[morty]

Originally Posted by DaveRaz

Hello all. Great forum. I have learned a lot. New 90 gallon tank owner. 32 gallon sump. I just bought the 150 and this tread has me somewhat concerned. Should I return it for something more reliable?

I am brand new at this hobby and want to start off on the right foot. Thanks in advance.

I think the 150 has a good reputation and is a lot more stable than the 130. IMO the 130 just didn't go through enough R&D.

[jonwright]

So I had done some research on the 130 prior to purchase, but at $200 buck shipped at BRS I had to pull the trigger.

So basically I see that height makes a differnce for sure, and adjusting the air intake is important as well. On a BRS video with Vertex the guy was saying that you could turn down the air intake if you have a smaller tank and then open it once you get up to the max range of the skimmer.

Sooooo...given that I have a 50 gallon tank (that's gonna have a a couple fish and a nem) I mean really - are these skimmer so awful? The other skimmer choice I have in my posession is a Life reef v24 I'm saving for my 175 or a Reef octopus HOB 100 that's adequate for my 40 (the 50 is replacing) and that's it.

The box came in but I haven't opened the skimmer yet...Vertex's web site acts like the 130 was never made.

[greaps]

Originally Posted by jonwright

So I had done some research on the 130 prior to purchase, but at $200 buck shipped at BRS I had to pull the trigger.

So basically I see that height makes a differnce for sure, and adjusting the air intake is important as well. On a BRS video with Vertex the guy was saying that you could turn down the air intake if you have a smaller tank and then open it once you get up to the max range of the skimmer.

Sooooo...given that I have a 50 gallon tank (that's gonna have a a couple fish and a nem) I mean really - are these skimmer so awful? The other skimmer choice I have in my posession is a Life reef v24 I'm saving for my 175 or a Reef octopus HOB 100 that's adequate for my 40 (the 50 is replacing) and that's it.

The box came in but I haven't opened the skimmer yet...Vertex's web site acts like the 130 was never made.

Curious how well it works if you do set it up. I cam very close to buying one as well this last week.

[YoungREEFA]

Mines been sitting unused in its box for a months . Oops