Vertex IN 180 Skimmer

[Chris_A]

OK, for years I've been running a mod'ed seaclone or simple DIY's with out many complaints. With the new system I wanted something good. I hummed and hoed about it for a long time as to which skimmer to go with... Wouldn't we all like a Bubble King?!?! Well at $1200 cnd for one of those it was quite simply out of the question. Any of the WM's and Hydor's were out too. I'd LOVE a recirc skimmer with a bubble plate but I just couldn't afford one or they were too tall for my sump. Long come short, I did as much reading as I could on a relatively new skimmer company, Vertex Aquaristik. They are so new, their web site isn't even up yet. Apparently there were some issues with the first batch of impellers (pin wheel too ; ) ) that everyone seemed to blame on the pump. I'm told that has been fixed and even if I do have a problem My LFS is going to back me up with a whole new pump. I do have a few small issues, nothing big though and all are my fault not the skimmer's.
1) My sump compartment has a constant 9.5" of water. These like to be run at 6-8" 7" being ideal.
2) the IN 180 was my only *real* option and it's 24" with a minimum of 0.5" clearance to remove the cup. My "stand" only has 26.5" of clearance from the bottom of the sump.
3) To raise it up 2", I'll have to slide the top of the collection cup across the "ceiling" of the stand.

My solution: because the skimmer is ment to be run with the outlet restricted to set the water level in the body, I'm testing it on the sump bottom... May not work but worth a shot first!
Anyway, here's a link to the product: Aquarium supplies, Fish food, Saltwater aquarium fish and aquarium filters from JLAquatics.com
And now for some pictures!

Shoulda got some pics before putting it in the sump... Oh well lol. Collection cup and top of the neck.

Neck and top of the reaction chamber

Reaction chamber all "milked" up

Pump

I unplugged it for a few seconds to get a shot of the Bubble Diffuser Plate. A lot of people seem to think it looks hand made with no countersink on the bottom of the holes... they obviously didn't see one first hand. They are there and the hole spacing is even... *I'd* say the parts are CNC'd... I think I should be able to tell the difference ; ).

 

[Chris_A]

Pt. 2

Bad shot of the bubble plate

Skimmer outlet. Apparently they are very finiky about how the outlet pipe is positioned. if the outlet is completely submerged the water level and air has a tendancy to "surge". Also it's a "wedge pipe" design, so adjusting is going to be touchy... I'll look into a gate valve later on down the road if I feel the need.

And another neck shot. I'm quite impressed by the bubble size so far. There are some large bubbles that make it so a foam head can't form but keep in mind it hasn't even been running a half hour ; ). I also didn't bother with a Vinegar break-in, no space and didn't have a free container (tank) big enough even if I did have the space. Meh, just means I'll have to wait a little longer.

I'll keep updating with pic's of it's performance and such later on.

Chris

 

[S.Reef]

Looks good! Hear the same thing about the impeller problem...but I hear the issue is resolved. Very similar design to the euroreefs. I was thinking about one but have decided on the Reef Octopus Extreme. Keep us posted on the performace

 

[Chris_A]

What I could gather from the RC Vertex club thread (the most info I could find BTW) was they come out of the same factory as the ER's. From what they were saying the RO Extreme's are a step up from these but the next Octopus down was below them for performance. Didn't really matter to me though... My local options are rather limited.

Please do post what you think of the ROE!

Chris

 

[S.Reef]

Yea when I first saw these on marinedepot I was like that looks exactly like a ER skimmer. Cant wait to get the ROE! Decided on the 300. Ill be making a build thread soon so ill be posting in there.