Vertex Omega 130 skimmer

[grandp10]

Originally Posted by Terefel

Guys, thank you all for your feedback. Helpful to know it might still not be broken in and my low bioload may be to blame.

It's through your help in times like these that I also realize I might be missing a critical piece of information. I have been adjusting the skimmer solely by (1) raising the skimmer on a stand and (2) turning the red pipe on the left of my picture (the standpipe?). Now I am hearing people talk about a volute and a venturi... What are these and do I adjust them independent of the stand pipe?

Thanks so much again!

The volute is the white round piece the water enters on the pump. You can turn the volute counter clockwise for more air, closed for less air. I would suggest you run yours closed until the skimmer acts normal.

[grandp10]

Originally Posted by raybyrne67

Mine took a couple of weeks to break in. I also tried it at 8in and 7in of water. IMO the skimmer works better at 7in of water. I'm running it with the standpipe 80% closed and the volute fully closed and It's pulling good skimmate. I can't run my foam head that high in the neck it will always overflow. Although, with that light of a bio-load it might take longer to break in and start pulling skimmate.

Ok sorry if this is a stupid question. But how does the skimmer operate better in less water depth if you have to close the standpipe more to get the foam head higher? What aspect is functioning better at the lower water level? Thank you very much.

[raybyrne67]

At 7in of water and the pipe at 80% closed there was minimal turbulence and a nice laminar flow of bubbles from the body of the skimmer up through the neck.

[Terefel]

Originally Posted by grandp10

The volute is the white round piece the water enters on the pump. You can turn the volute counter clockwise for more air, closed for less air. I would suggest you run yours closed until the skimmer acts normal.

WOW! Thanks! That's very helpful, if for nothing else than to know that I should make sure I know where it presently is set. Thanks!

[grandp10]

Originally Posted by Terefel

WOW! Thanks! That's very helpful, if for nothing else than to know that I should make sure I know where it presently is set. Thanks!

It was said on another thread about the 150 volute (surely same applies on the 130) that you should only turn the volute 4-5 times counter clockwise out. Anymore than that was said to not make any real difference in air pull.

[grandp10]

Meaning 4-5 turns max or anywhere between that and turned all the way in. I may try 2 turns, was at the 4.

[chad7531]

I need some help 130 owners. I see the skimmer is listed with an 8.5"x11" footprint. The inside footprint of my skimmer compartment is 9"x11.25", will it fit?

[Terefel]

I think you'd be cutting it really close. Mine is in a 20L and that dimension from glass to glass is just barely enough to avoid accidental contact and vibrations.

[chad7531]

Originally Posted by Terefel

I think you'd be cutting it really close. Mine is in a 20L and that dimension from glass to glass is just barely enough to avoid accidental contact and vibrations.

Yea I'm putting it in a 20L too. So it barely fits that way, will the 9" between my baffles fit the "8.5" side?

[Terefel]

I just measured and my compartment is just under 10 inches so I'm not sure. You might have a problem with the pump and air connection.

I remember dashylock had a problem with his/her sump size so you may want to reach out directly to them to see their thoughts?

[chad7531]

Ok thanks.

[AJ_Tsin]

Just set mine up posting here to follow along, it's currently breaking in and overflowing like crazy... 6 week old system and the skimmer has been in for about 10 hours, should settle down soon.

I didn't clean it, I just put it together and threw it in...

[Dashylock]

Originally Posted by Terefel

I just measured and my compartment is just under 10 inches so I'm not sure. You might have a problem with the pump and air connection.

I remember dashylock had a problem with his/her sump size so you may want to reach out directly to them to see their thoughts?

Ya I had to build a new sump, but measured it out to 12x12 to account for any error. I PM'ed chad. hows your build going terefel?

[AJ_Tsin]

Originally Posted by AJ_Tsin

Just set mine up posting here to follow along, it's currently breaking in and overflowing like crazy... 6 week old system and the skimmer has been in for about 10 hours, should settle down soon.

I didn't clean it, I just put it together and threw it in...

For those of you following along here. I ran mine with the wedge pipe fully open and venturi nozzle fully closed for about 36 hours before it settled down in exactly 7.5 inches of water. Today its pulling skimmate and I have closed the Wedge pipe to about 1/2 the foam base is sitting about an inch below where the body starts to curve and the head is just above the threaded part of the collection cup. I plan on dialling in the nozzle in a week or so once it really stabilizes. I run a Zeovit reactor and carbon.

Very quick break in for this skimmer especially on a system thats about 8 weeks old with only a bit of live rock 2 fish and a CUC.

[Terefel]

Originally Posted by Dashylock

Ya I had to build a new sump, but measured it out to 12x12 to account for any error. I PM'ed chad. hows your build going terefel?

Originally Posted by AJ_Tsin

For those of you following along here. I ran mine with the wedge pipe fully open and venturi nozzle fully closed for about 36 hours before it settled down in exactly 7.5 inches of water. Today its pulling skimmate and I have closed the Wedge pipe to about 1/2 the foam base is sitting about an inch below where the body starts to curve and the head is just above the threaded part of the collection cup. I plan on dialling in the nozzle in a week or so once it really stabilizes. I run a Zeovit reactor and carbon.

Very quick break in for this skimmer especially on a system thats about 8 weeks old with only a bit of live rock 2 fish and a CUC.

My build is moving along well thanks! But I really don't get the divergent results I'm getting from AJ. I've been waiting to get the Vertex dialed in before I start adding any coral to the tank but I'm still not pulling much foam and when I do actually get some into the collection cup it turns watery and is relatively clear. Very inconsistent results. I've got four fish that I feed mysis daily; I've run some filter floss for a few hours at a time on a few occassions and it comes out brown so I know there's junk in the water. I think I may have raised it too much and that I perhaps need to drop it again to get to the 7.5" for a more consistent skimming.

[AJ_Tsin]

Originally Posted by Terefel

My build is moving along well thanks! But I really don't get the divergent results I'm getting from AJ. I've been waiting to get the Vertex dialed in before I start adding any coral to the tank but I'm still not pulling much foam and when I do actually get some into the collection cup it turns watery and is relatively clear. Very inconsistent results. I've got four fish that I feed mysis daily; I've run some filter floss for a few hours at a time on a few occassions and it comes out brown so I know there's junk in the water. I think I may have raised it too much and that I perhaps need to drop it again to get to the 7.5" for a more consistent skimming.

Still relatively early for me to tell if its stable as I only was around for about an hour before work today. I will update as it comes along.

My skimmate is definitely light and not dark black which is likely based on my low bioload, however because of the Carbon and ZeoBak dosing I get a lot of sludge on the edges which is typical of carbon dosing type reefs.

We will see how it goes.

[grandp10]

So I am not sure what this means but... My skimmer will run really well for about 3 days then the foam head falls about 1.5"-2". Though when I close off the air by putting my finger over the air silencer and get all the air out of the skimmer. Then I let go and the air goes back into the body and settles down, the foam head goes up to where it was and has finer bubbles all the way up the skimmer body. It seems to do this about every 3-4 days. Been running about 2 months. Could this be something with the impeller? Please anyone give me some suggestion/opinions.

[morty]

Originally Posted by grandp10

So I am not sure what this means but... My skimmer will run really well for about 3 days then the foam head falls about 1.5"-2". Though when I close off the air by putting my finger over the air silencer and get all the air out of the skimmer. Then I let go and the air goes back into the body and settles down, the foam head goes up to where it was and has finer bubbles all the way up the skimmer body. It seems to do this about every 3-4 days. Been running about 2 months. Could this be something with the impeller? Please anyone give me some suggestion/opinions.

I have an air meter on my skimmer that allows me to regulate its air intake (swapped this out for the air limiter valve I mentioned previously). I have observed the air intake periodically dropping off (and thus the bubble line also dropping in the skimmer), and I fix it by popping the air silencer off and squirting RODI down the air line. I believe there is salt buildup or something in the volute that can slowly clog the air intake. (However I don't have to unclog it as often as you do.)

When you completely close off all air by putting your finger over the intake, you are kind of doing the same thing because it will fill the volute with nothing but water, which may similarly dissolve any salt buildup.

FWIW - Last time I took the volute apart, there was some sort of stubborn buildup on the adjustable volute nozzle that corresponded to where the air was injected. A mild muriatic acid solution wouldn't make a dent in it, and I had to physically scrape it off.

[grandp10]

That makes sense but I would figure if it was cutting off air it would raise the water level in the skimmer.

[grandp10]

Also I had a 150 on this same tank and bioload right before this skimmer for about 2 months and it did nit do this fluctuation. You think it is air and not something with the pump or impeller?

[morty]

Originally Posted by grandp10

That makes sense but I would figure if it was cutting off air it would raise the water level in the skimmer.

If I dial my air intake down from 18 SCFM to say, 10 SCFM, the height of the foam head goes DOWN, not up. Although counter-intuitive, I think reducing the air intake makes the foam line react differently than does completely cutting off the air.

[drawman]

I'm having the same issue as Terefel. Have this skimmer on a 30 gallon with 15 long sump and it's been running for a little over a week. Did the 24 hour initiation of the break in by leaving the collection cup off etc. Was skimming very wet then last night started to pull in more water. Emptied the collection cup last night and it's overflowing again this morning. No epoxy and the only thing I feel is Rod's Reef. Does it just need more time? Riser tube is open 100% and volute screwed all the way in. I think it's in 7.5-8" of water but I'll measure.

[ihigh]

I didn't pre-clean it in vinegar like some people. For the first 2 weeks, the skimmer was going nuts. One day it was under-skimming, the next day it was over-skimming, and when I thought I stabilized it, it goes haywire. Eventually I got it dialed in and everything was set and have never had an issue again. It just takes time (pre-clean it before putting it into your tank is the best bet imo)

[Terefel]

I JUST started getting some great results over the past three days, and I think I found the reason why (though I don't know enought about skimmers to be sure). I had previously gone two turns out on the volute to get some more air in the mixture and then I started adjusting my water level. I was getting a light tea colored skim, nothing impresive and at that it was somewhat irregular; sometimes skimmate, sometimes nothing.

Over the past few days I stuck some filter floss in my bubble trap which slightly raised the water level in the sump as it began to clog. Now I'm getting a pretty thick head and it's coming out looking more like a lighter coffee. This makes me think I need to drop my skimmer stand down about half an inch to get it sitting in more water.

For what it's worth, I didn't preckean either, and I had the same inconsistency and extremely long break in period. I think that could be a key to quicker success based on what I'm reading here.

[j3rms]

So I had this skimmer running smoothly for about two months while my water cycles and I purchase other items, and once I finally added two fish it goes haywire. Please see pictures... im having a very difficult time tuning it. Everything I do produces a very wet micro bubble skim and overflows. Ive tried pipe open/ closed and opening/ closing the volute. I have a 40g with 2 fish. .... what am I doing wrong!??!