Royal-Exclusiv / Vertex Cone Skimmer Club - Page 61

Green_Lionfish · 05/03/2013, 04:47 PM

Hello everyone,

I am joining the club. I have Vertex 170 and is sitting about 9 inches of water. After a few months, I finally realized that "turning the wedge pipe" is somewhat critical. It is pulling stuff much better now. However, I am still trying to get the best position of the wedge pipe.

I have a question regarding the water/foam/bubble inside of the skimmer. I have read the Manual, and it says: "It is recommended to set the foam head so that it crests at the midpoint of the neck within the collection cup."

From what I see in my skimmer, the very fine tiny bubbles are at the bottom, up to 4" from the top. Then it's all foam. Is this too far? It's been a few days, but not much pulling. My tank is 180g.

Thank you

Jeremy B. · 05/06/2013, 07:41 AM

I'd probably close the wedge pipe just a little more to raise the foam head just a bit higher up into the neck.

d2mini · 05/22/2013, 08:42 AM

I've got my Alpha 250 in a new skimmer box with adjustable water level.
The water level is now at max height of 11.2"!!!
The standpipe is closed down to around 75% and the volute on the red dragon pump is at 2 turns out if I remember correctly... if not it's at 2.5 turns. But i think I had turned it down to 2. Anyway, with these settings, my skim is REAL dark.

Thoughts? I'm surprised I had to go over 11" to get the foam head to break halfway up the neck of the cup. At 10" it was breaking in the middle of the neck below the cup and i got zero skim in the cup, although the neck cleaner was getting some thick paste on it.
The skimmer is a little big for my system which is a 200g display with another 100+ gallons in sump/fuge/frag tank.

elder luis · 05/30/2013, 02:35 PM

Hey people

I need a Red Dragon BK Vertex 1500 impeller!!! Where Can I buy it for a good price? It´s urgent!

Sazerac81 · 06/04/2013, 08:30 PM

Holy smoke, my post count got reset to 21! I had I think close to 4000. I don't want to be a newbie again.

Jeremy B. · 06/06/2013, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elder luis

Hey people

I need a Red Dragon BK Vertex 1500 impeller!!! Where Can I buy it for a good price? It´s urgent!

We will hopefully have some back in stock in the very near future.

afernandez · 06/07/2013, 09:51 AM

Im also Having some issues .. With my vertex 170 I just pluged it In to try it it seem like there's water coming up the air intake?? Making it "pulse"

It's sitting in about 8.5" water.

Note: The system is brand new its cycling now I just wanted to try it out.

Jeremy B. · 06/07/2013, 10:53 AM

I'm assuming the system does have saltwater in it already, correct? If so, no worries, just turn the venturi in all the way to the right (closed), then back it out 3 turns and just let the skimmer go. It will break in and be just fine. Having said that, it's probably not going to produce anything and have a hard time making a foam head since the system is brand new and there's really no bioload (nothing for the skimmer to pull out).

Lubecky · 06/20/2013, 09:33 PM

I just plugged in a brand new alpha 170 2 days ago on a brand new setup. It's not producing any foam yet. I have the Venturi set a 3 turns I think. As far as the wedge pipe where should that be? Water level inside is right below the collection cup bottom. I know the system is new but there is a lot of crud from the live sand that I'm surprised that the skimmer hasn't done anything. I hope that its just breaking in.

Also another concern is I don't think it's getting enough air. I have no idea how to pull the air tube from the silencer??? I have pulled on it really hard and it doesn't move and now I'm afraid I may have damaged it? How do you take the wedge apart or at least the air tube from the wedge ?? I have blown in the silencer from the top and no that it is still getting air but was just curious. I've read that some ppl take out the styrofoam to help get more air and wondering if I should or maybe mine hasn't broken in yet???? Water level outside the skimmer is 9.5"

I can tell you I was very frustrated that it wasn't doing anything and its the most expensive piece of equipment I have right now and it's not performing! Hopefully it will

Jeremy B. · 06/21/2013, 08:30 AM

It's getting enough air and is just breaking in, just leave it be and don't make any changes with it yet. How old is this system that you have it on?

thelostrican · 06/21/2013, 08:32 AM

You need to give it time, it needs to break in...be patient...it's a good skimmer, back in the day when I had one, I had it in about 9 inches of water...

Lubecky · 06/21/2013, 09:32 AM

The system is only 3 days old. How do you remove the air tube from the wedge?

Lubecky · 06/21/2013, 10:23 AM

Also there are still a lot of micro bubbles coming out of the stand pipe. Any remedy for that now or do I still just wait?

Jeremy B. · 06/21/2013, 01:21 PM

Just wait it out, it will be fine. This is a brand new system, so it's not really going to do much until you start stockig it, don't expect it to really pull anything out at all now.

Pull the silencer off of the top of the wedge pipe. Then once it's off you can detach the tube from the bottom of the silencer, then pull the tube out if needed.

Lubecky · 06/21/2013, 10:33 PM

Thank you

DigitalWeight · 06/22/2013, 10:44 AM

I have just set up my new Alpha 170 and have some shots of how it looks so far. I know there is a break-in period which is barely just getting going. However, here are some details:

Sitting in 9 inches of water
Wedgepipe open all the way
Intake (white twisty thing on pump) is open about 3 turns

Thoughts?

Lubecky · 06/24/2013, 10:14 AM

Great news. I woke up this morning and found my skimmer producing lots of foam. It looks like it has officially broken in. Can anyone see how I can fine tune it for maximum use? The water inside is about 2" below the bottom of the collection cup. As you can see the foam is just barely cresting the top. Perhaps this is optimal? Doubt it but we will see.

This made my day.

Tethered_Limbs · 06/24/2013, 03:46 PM

love this thing, no complaints at all. i took my mini red dragon 1000 apart last night to clean it and noticed the gasket around the impeller has a pretty good nick in it. is this normal? if not where can i get a new one? still performs fine, good nog on a 75 gallon with the alpha 170

Jeremy B. · 07/26/2013, 12:52 PM

For those needing a maintenance guide on pump cleaning:

http://royalexclusiv.net/images/cont...enance_eng.pdf

Note that the model numbers do not match up, but it's essentially the exact same pump.

jellygeee · 07/28/2013, 10:15 PM

Hi Jeremy,

Sorry if this question has been asked. I noticed some Vertex Alpha 200 had the gray colored nozzle on the red dragon pump while some had the white color but slightly smaller tip. Does the pump come with the interchangeable tip? Or is this the difference between older and newer skimmer? Is there a difference?

Thanks,
Rudy

Jeremy B. · 07/29/2013, 07:35 AM

The adjustable nozzles were put on these skimmers after the first batch or two of them arrived. Either nozzle is fine, but if you're using the non-adjustable (the gray fitting) then make sure you are using the red pipe insert in it, do not use the smaller diameter gray pipe insert that was also available for this.

jellygeee · 07/29/2013, 05:59 PM

Thanks, Jeremy. After posting my question, I recalled reading something about this in a thread by someone who is testing the vertex alpha as well (couldn't remember the person or the thread article though).

rc1626 · 07/31/2013, 11:12 PM

Hi Jeremy,
I've had my Alpha 200 for some time now. I was probably one of the first to get one when they were just introduced a few years back. The issue I'm having is that bubble production is down and inconsistent. I recently cleaned the pump as I normally would and when put back together has not performed. All parameters are the same from amount the wedge pipe is closed to the number of turns out on the nozzle to height of water in skimmer chamber.

I took a look at the link you recently provided on how to clean the pump. I noticed that the impeller assembly in the link is slightly different from mine. The impeller assembly in the link shows what looks to be a ceramic shaft that detaches from the end bushing (bushing and o-ring are left in the pump body). My impeller assembly uses a full steel shaft with the end bushing firmly attached to the end of the impeller shaft. New design I guess. The problem I am noticing and it may be why my skimmer is not performing is that the small o-ring at the base of the impeller shaft is not staying pushed against the bushing. As the impeller shaft is pushed into the motor block the o-ring is being pushed forward into the base of the impeller magnet. I think this is not allowing the impeller shaft to seat properly in the motor block and is causing an issue with the impeller and thus bubble production.

I'm hoping there is a way to find a solution to this problem. Right now I am skimmerless. If need be I can certainly call you tomorrow to discuss what your thoughts might be. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Is there any way to remove the rear bearing bushing and o-ring from the end of the metal impeller shaft to insert into the motor block prior to the installation of the impeller shaft? This would allow me to seat the bearing bushing and o-ring prior to installing the impeller like shown in the link. I don't want to try to remove it for fear of damaging it.

Thanks in advance.
Rob

rc1626 · 08/01/2013, 07:41 PM

Got it! I was carefully able to remove the rear bearing bushing and o-ring. From here I was able to fully seat it into the block and reinstall the impeller assembly. I gave the entire skimmer a little vinegar bath while working on the pump. Now it's pumping the way it should except for a lot of microbubbles. I'm thinking being it was cleaned it might need a short break in time again. Otherwise it seems to be running like before......fingers crossed.

Jeremy,
As far as you know when the impeller assembly is pulled is the bushing supposed to come out or was mine just calcified on? In the cleaning link it seems as if the bearing bushing should stay in the pump body whether with the old steel impeller shaft or the newer ceramic shaft? Is this correct? My new Laguna 1500 pump has the ceramic shaft and the bearing stays in the pump when the impeller assembly is pulled.

Are new impellers available? Can the needle wheel be removed from the impeller assembly?

One last thing..........is Premium Aquatics selling these skimmers anymore? I didn't see them on your site.

I know.....a lot of questions.
Appreciate any feedback you can give.
Thanks.

bernie lyons · 08/09/2013, 07:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robthorn

King of skimmers? A bubble magus 100 just ran next to my 200 for 4 days straight with no adjustment to either. The bubble magus has 1 inch of fairly light skimmate. The vertex 200? absolutely nothing. Maybe a couple drops but thats it. Glad all of your 200's are working. Must just be my luck. I figured the neck would be full of gunk at least but it has surpringly little on it. Glad when tuesday comes so I can ship it back.

"king" or "best" are very loose terms when someone "claims" to have or presumes it to be the best !
Point is , the "best" skimmers on the market are the ones that remove toc's at an very efficient rate on a per hourly basis ...these are the beckett/downdraft design's.So technically these are the best skimmers.
However, other critaria comes into play when choosing a skimmer and the one that meets what you want will be the best for your patrticular budget ,space and convenience .

05/22/2013, 08:42 AM	#1503
d2mini Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 10,344	I've got my Alpha 250 in a new skimmer box with adjustable water level. The water level is now at max height of 11.2"!!! The standpipe is closed down to around 75% and the volute on the red dragon pump is at 2 turns out if I remember correctly... if not it's at 2.5 turns. But i think I had turned it down to 2. Anyway, with these settings, my skim is REAL dark. Thoughts? I'm surprised I had to go over 11" to get the foam head to break halfway up the neck of the cup. At 10" it was breaking in the middle of the neck below the cup and i got zero skim in the cup, although the neck cleaner was getting some thick paste on it. The skimmer is a little big for my system which is a 200g display with another 100+ gallons in sump/fuge/frag tank. __________________ -dennis Elos Diamond 120xl \| Elos Stand \| Radion G4 Pros \| GHL Profilux Controller \| LifeReef Skimmer \| LifeReef Sump Photos taken with a Nikon D750 or Leica M.

05/30/2013, 02:35 PM	#1504
elder luis Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: São Paulo - Brazil Posts: 138	Hey people I need a Red Dragon BK Vertex 1500 impeller!!! Where Can I buy it for a good price? It´s urgent! __________________ Global Moderator of www.BrasilReef.com forum

06/07/2013, 09:51 AM	#1507
afernandez Never Quit!! Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: new york city! Posts: 1,505	Im also Having some issues .. With my vertex 170 I just pluged it In to try it it seem like there's water coming up the air intake?? Making it "pulse" It's sitting in about 8.5" water. Note: The system is brand new its cycling now I just wanted to try it out. __________________ Arlin- Take your time and do it right. Current Tank Info: 120g Apex controller, (2) mp40w Es ,(3) Mp10W Es, Alfa vertex 170, 8 bulb ATI Dimable Sunpower,REEFOCTOPUS-BB-10000, Tunze Ato . 21G MINI-Reef, 250w MH, Mp10Wes

06/21/2013, 08:32 AM	#1511
thelostrican I hate to post Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Borinquen Posts: 222	You need to give it time, it needs to break in...be patient...it's a good skimmer, back in the day when I had one, I had it in about 9 inches of water... __________________ Upgrading!!! 120 to 180.... Current Tank Info: 120 long tank...that looks like an investment bank....

06/22/2013, 10:44 AM	#1516
DigitalWeight Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 20	New Alpha 170 - Looking for Advice I have just set up my new Alpha 170 and have some shots of how it looks so far. I know there is a break-in period which is barely just getting going. However, here are some details: Sitting in 9 inches of water Wedgepipe open all the way Intake (white twisty thing on pump) is open about 3 turns Thoughts? Last edited by DigitalWeight; 06/22/2013 at 11:11 AM. Reason: Forgot to add pics!

05/03/2013, 04:47 PM	#1501
Green_Lionfish Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: So Cal Posts: 233	Hello everyone, I am joining the club. I have Vertex 170 and is sitting about 9 inches of water. After a few months, I finally realized that "turning the wedge pipe" is somewhat critical. It is pulling stuff much better now. However, I am still trying to get the best position of the wedge pipe. I have a question regarding the water/foam/bubble inside of the skimmer. I have read the Manual, and it says: "It is recommended to set the foam head so that it crests at the midpoint of the neck within the collection cup." From what I see in my skimmer, the very fine tiny bubbles are at the bottom, up to 4" from the top. Then it's all foam. Is this too far? It's been a few days, but not much pulling. My tank is 180g. Thank you

05/06/2013, 07:41 AM	#1502
Jeremy B. Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Indianapolis, IN / Muncie, IN Posts: 8,219	I'd probably close the wedge pipe just a little more to raise the foam head just a bit higher up into the neck.

06/04/2013, 08:30 PM	#1505
Sazerac81 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Durham, NC Posts: 23	Holy smoke, my post count got reset to 21! I had I think close to 4000. I don't want to be a newbie again.

06/07/2013, 10:53 AM	#1508
Jeremy B. Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Indianapolis, IN / Muncie, IN Posts: 8,219	I'm assuming the system does have saltwater in it already, correct? If so, no worries, just turn the venturi in all the way to the right (closed), then back it out 3 turns and just let the skimmer go. It will break in and be just fine. Having said that, it's probably not going to produce anything and have a hard time making a foam head since the system is brand new and there's really no bioload (nothing for the skimmer to pull out).

06/20/2013, 09:33 PM	#1509
Lubecky Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 81	I just plugged in a brand new alpha 170 2 days ago on a brand new setup. It's not producing any foam yet. I have the Venturi set a 3 turns I think. As far as the wedge pipe where should that be? Water level inside is right below the collection cup bottom. I know the system is new but there is a lot of crud from the live sand that I'm surprised that the skimmer hasn't done anything. I hope that its just breaking in. Also another concern is I don't think it's getting enough air. I have no idea how to pull the air tube from the silencer??? I have pulled on it really hard and it doesn't move and now I'm afraid I may have damaged it? How do you take the wedge apart or at least the air tube from the wedge ?? I have blown in the silencer from the top and no that it is still getting air but was just curious. I've read that some ppl take out the styrofoam to help get more air and wondering if I should or maybe mine hasn't broken in yet???? Water level outside the skimmer is 9.5" I can tell you I was very frustrated that it wasn't doing anything and its the most expensive piece of equipment I have right now and it's not performing! Hopefully it will

06/21/2013, 08:30 AM	#1510
Jeremy B. Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Indianapolis, IN / Muncie, IN Posts: 8,219	It's getting enough air and is just breaking in, just leave it be and don't make any changes with it yet. How old is this system that you have it on?

06/21/2013, 09:32 AM	#1512
Lubecky Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 81	The system is only 3 days old. How do you remove the air tube from the wedge?

06/21/2013, 10:23 AM	#1513
Lubecky Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 81	Also there are still a lot of micro bubbles coming out of the stand pipe. Any remedy for that now or do I still just wait?

06/21/2013, 01:21 PM	#1514
Jeremy B. Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Indianapolis, IN / Muncie, IN Posts: 8,219	Just wait it out, it will be fine. This is a brand new system, so it's not really going to do much until you start stockig it, don't expect it to really pull anything out at all now. Pull the silencer off of the top of the wedge pipe. Then once it's off you can detach the tube from the bottom of the silencer, then pull the tube out if needed.

06/21/2013, 10:33 PM	#1515
Lubecky Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 81	Thank you

06/24/2013, 10:14 AM	#1517
Lubecky Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 81	Great news. I woke up this morning and found my skimmer producing lots of foam. It looks like it has officially broken in. Can anyone see how I can fine tune it for maximum use? The water inside is about 2" below the bottom of the collection cup. As you can see the foam is just barely cresting the top. Perhaps this is optimal? Doubt it but we will see. This made my day.

06/24/2013, 03:46 PM	#1518
Tethered_Limbs Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 257	love this thing, no complaints at all. i took my mini red dragon 1000 apart last night to clean it and noticed the gasket around the impeller has a pretty good nick in it. is this normal? if not where can i get a new one? still performs fine, good nog on a 75 gallon with the alpha 170

07/26/2013, 12:52 PM	#1519
Jeremy B. Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Indianapolis, IN / Muncie, IN Posts: 8,219	For those needing a maintenance guide on pump cleaning: http://royalexclusiv.net/images/cont...enance_eng.pdf Note that the model numbers do not match up, but it's essentially the exact same pump.

07/28/2013, 10:15 PM	#1520
jellygeee Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South San Francisco Posts: 296 Blog Entries: 1	Hi Jeremy, Sorry if this question has been asked. I noticed some Vertex Alpha 200 had the gray colored nozzle on the red dragon pump while some had the white color but slightly smaller tip. Does the pump come with the interchangeable tip? Or is this the difference between older and newer skimmer? Is there a difference? Thanks, Rudy

07/29/2013, 07:35 AM	#1521
Jeremy B. Registered Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: Indianapolis, IN / Muncie, IN Posts: 8,219	The adjustable nozzles were put on these skimmers after the first batch or two of them arrived. Either nozzle is fine, but if you're using the non-adjustable (the gray fitting) then make sure you are using the red pipe insert in it, do not use the smaller diameter gray pipe insert that was also available for this.

07/29/2013, 05:59 PM	#1522
jellygeee Premium Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: South San Francisco Posts: 296 Blog Entries: 1	Thanks, Jeremy. After posting my question, I recalled reading something about this in a thread by someone who is testing the vertex alpha as well (couldn't remember the person or the thread article though).

07/31/2013, 11:12 PM	#1523
rc1626 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Long Island Posts: 451	Issue with Alpha 200 Hi Jeremy, I've had my Alpha 200 for some time now. I was probably one of the first to get one when they were just introduced a few years back. The issue I'm having is that bubble production is down and inconsistent. I recently cleaned the pump as I normally would and when put back together has not performed. All parameters are the same from amount the wedge pipe is closed to the number of turns out on the nozzle to height of water in skimmer chamber. I took a look at the link you recently provided on how to clean the pump. I noticed that the impeller assembly in the link is slightly different from mine. The impeller assembly in the link shows what looks to be a ceramic shaft that detaches from the end bushing (bushing and o-ring are left in the pump body). My impeller assembly uses a full steel shaft with the end bushing firmly attached to the end of the impeller shaft. New design I guess. The problem I am noticing and it may be why my skimmer is not performing is that the small o-ring at the base of the impeller shaft is not staying pushed against the bushing. As the impeller shaft is pushed into the motor block the o-ring is being pushed forward into the base of the impeller magnet. I think this is not allowing the impeller shaft to seat properly in the motor block and is causing an issue with the impeller and thus bubble production. I'm hoping there is a way to find a solution to this problem. Right now I am skimmerless. If need be I can certainly call you tomorrow to discuss what your thoughts might be. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Is there any way to remove the rear bearing bushing and o-ring from the end of the metal impeller shaft to insert into the motor block prior to the installation of the impeller shaft? This would allow me to seat the bearing bushing and o-ring prior to installing the impeller like shown in the link. I don't want to try to remove it for fear of damaging it. Thanks in advance. Rob Last edited by rc1626; 07/31/2013 at 11:19 PM.

08/01/2013, 07:41 PM	#1524
rc1626 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Long Island Posts: 451	Got it! I was carefully able to remove the rear bearing bushing and o-ring. From here I was able to fully seat it into the block and reinstall the impeller assembly. I gave the entire skimmer a little vinegar bath while working on the pump. Now it's pumping the way it should except for a lot of microbubbles. I'm thinking being it was cleaned it might need a short break in time again. Otherwise it seems to be running like before......fingers crossed. Jeremy, As far as you know when the impeller assembly is pulled is the bushing supposed to come out or was mine just calcified on? In the cleaning link it seems as if the bearing bushing should stay in the pump body whether with the old steel impeller shaft or the newer ceramic shaft? Is this correct? My new Laguna 1500 pump has the ceramic shaft and the bearing stays in the pump when the impeller assembly is pulled. Are new impellers available? Can the needle wheel be removed from the impeller assembly? One last thing..........is Premium Aquatics selling these skimmers anymore? I didn't see them on your site. I know.....a lot of questions. Appreciate any feedback you can give. Thanks.