My definition? Bubble King would be the cadillac industry leader. EuroReef would be the "mainstream" industry leader. Although I would like to know how the Vertex compares to EuroReef as I think that may be a more realistic comparison. :lol:

I recently purchased the 180 (like 3 weeks ago) and haven't put it to the test as yet. I was drawn to this skimmer from what I've read in user's reviews AND the very reasonable price, BUT since I have purchased it they raised the price by another $75. That's a huge price increase (percentage-wise)! <thumbsdown>

Very much like another euro reef knock off, made in china, tought id get one for my small tank.. pump died it in 3 days :cry: nice uint for the price though but i think the pump is junk.

I have the 250 model waiting to be fired up, will let you know, was using a pm bullet2 before

Didn't they replace it on warranty?

I'm actually really impressed with the nasty thick skimmate my 180 is pulling out of the 120 that only has fresh SW and 10lbs of LR in it!!

Well I can definitely say (and not only because we sell them :redface:) That I am super impressed by the skimmers performance AND the pricing even with the increase.

I am sorry to hear of Sir Fragalots experience but we have had ours for three months now with no problems and I still love them. I just recently used the rest of our stock on in store tanks and brought in more to complete the rest of our SW systems.
These I would say would "compare" to Euro Reef however I feel they outdo even Euro reef mainstream and knock on H&S's door (performance not pricing lol) to some respect.

Just my 2 cents :)

Dan

I've been breaking in a Vertex 80 for the past week and had also subsequently picked up a used EuroReef RS80.

I'll post an update in a few weeks and let you know which works better in my tank

Awesome! You could just sell me the EuroReef though! :D

I got my 100 last week, impressed witht he build quality, love the cup mount, why didn't anyone ever thing of this befor.. only need a 1/4" of clearance to remove the cup. has feature of a much higher end pump but a realistic price. I haven't firred it up yet, guess I should do the viniger break in but I am not in a hurry, I have two different skimmers, both home made one beckett and one venturie that I made custom with features to increace contact time, so that is what my assesment of this will be when I decide to get off my but and get my system running.

Steve

Any updates on the vertexes? or the vertex vs any other skimmer? :biggrin:

So far, so good, but I don't have any livestock in there aside from some LR, yet.

here's my 3 weeks experience with the Vertex IN-80 ... your mileage may vary.

setup
- 55g tank + 10g sump, Tunze ATO, skimmer is in 7.5 inches of water
- 50lbs LR, cleanup crew, zoas, xenia, 1-big leather, 1-blenny, 1-chromis
- tank is about 3 years old

pros
- wedge pipe makes water level adjustment easy;
wedge pipe assembly can also be moved/rotated (to a degree) around
the skimmer body for a smaller footprint
- collection cup has a drain

cons
- noisy ... humming seems to resonate in the sump; airline intake is loud too (this is by far the worst factor for me ... I have to crank up the TV!)
- the collection cup has to be "wiggled" off (at least for me) and if the cup is almost full, then it may be easy to spill some skimmate

performance
- given the light bio-load, I think it is pulling out a decent amount of skimmate
- seems to be sensitive to water levels ... on one occasion I shut off my return pump and the sump level rose from 7.5 inches to about 9.5 for a couple of hours (had forgotten to turn the return pump back on) ... got lots of foam that overflowed the collection cup.
- seems sensitive to feeding ... after feeding flakes, the foam head collapses for 1-1.5 hours; after feeding msysis, cyclopeze, it collapses longer
- I'm not sure whether or not the skimmer is broken-in / dialed-in yet ...
- I'm trying to get the bubbles to break just as they enter the bottom of the collection cup, but doing so results in very wet skimming ... so the bubbles are breaking near the top of the skimmer body (and the skimmate production does seem decent)
- I don't think the noise level is going to subside, though

comparison
- I've picked up a used EuroReef RS80 that I'll put in the sump next week and it will offer a good comparison to the IN-80.
- I've used a Deltec MCE600 (both in HOB and in Sump) ... it's skimmate was
much nastier ... but it also had issues:
-- collection cup walls built up a lot of crud and had to be cleaned every couple of days (otherwise skimming efficiency would drop)
-- there was some humming noise (not as loud as the IN-80).
- I've used a Remora Pro in HOB ... not very effective.
- I do have a EuroReef RS135 on a 95g ... I like it very much.

I hope the information has been helpful.

Thanks! Thats great info. I'm waffling between the ER RS250 and the Vertex IN-250. The price of the vertex is awesome but I already have an ER CS6-2 and the security of knowing I'm happy with ER is working more in its favor right now.

The Vertex has the EXACT same body as the ER but with better features.

Here`s a larger sampling of product review:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...5&pagenumber=1

RC no work no more:(

OK, I know a Vertex is in my 150g future. Presently running a RSM Berlin. (crap I think) But, what I need to know, is the performance of the Alpha Kone 170 that much better than the IN 180? Is it worth double the cost? I have 27" total of headroom in my stand. I am excited about the Kone, but my wallet is not. Especially that I am going to be unemployed in a couple months.

You would thnk it is a design improvement. It would improve the swirling action of the bubbles allowing for more residence time. However does the % improvment justify the cost.

I have had my Vertex 180 for about a month now....skimmer is well built and I am very happy with it. It is quite, skimmers unbelievable and can't beat the price.

I would buy another in a heartbeat

vertex
 

how much is a vertex 180 and where is the cheapest locally. JL is kind of expensive

Maybe I am naive but I have always found J and L prices to be about the best in Canada.

they used to be, now they are one of the cheeper but not the cheepest.

Steve

I'm still pretyy happy with it... eventho I've been neglecting the tank a little (ok, a lot) over the summer.

Killer Skimmer
 

I've been running one of these for about a month and It works Awesome!:mrgreen:

I know this is an old thread guys, but I'm thinking of buying a 180 for my 90 gal reef.....I was going to get the 250 but at 31" tall there is just know way to squeeze it under my tank.

Any additional thoughts on them? Everyone who bought one still satisfied?

Bump

My In-180 was working great and I was very happy with it's performance...

There's only one reason I'm not still using it and it was my own inexperience when planning and building my stand...I didn't leave any room for height adjustment, I put the skimmer in the dry sump, measured the height, built the stand to give myself a coulpe inches to remove the collection bowl...that was great until I put water in the sump and found the water level in the skimmer chamber was 11"s high, the skimmer needed to be in about 8.5" (sweet spot) of water....Ok raise the skimmer....Ooops, no more two inches of clearance to remove the bowl...So it was either build a new stand, replace the sump, struggle every time I needed to remove the cup or get a shorter skimmer....I chose the latter and replaced the skimmer...


Shameless plug, but that skimmer is still FS :redface: