DKoKoMAN’s 305g Basement Reef

[Dash]

My Vertex was completely plug and play. I have never adjusted a thing. I googled & apparently the foaming is reaching the sweet spot in the neck. It came at 50% open (whatever that red dial thing is) and I’ve never changed it. Skim mate is black, like I can’t see through it.

[DKoKoMan]

Originally Posted by Dash

My Vertex was completely plug and play. I have never adjusted a thing. I googled & apparently the foaming is reaching the sweet spot in the neck. It came at 50% open (whatever that red dial thing is) and I’ve never changed it. Skim mate is black, like I can’t see through it.

Ugh . Mine is more the color of tea which is annoying. Does your pump have the white Venturi dial on the pump that is supposed to be adjusted as well? Mine was working well until it overflowed from the return pump.

I have my red stand pipe completely open and the foam head is right toward the top creating the wettest tea like skimmate.

[DKoKoMan]

Anyone have experience with the Vertex Alpha Skimmer? I have the standpipe fully open and the adjustable white (screw) volute set at 1.5 turns from completely closed. I have read what I could find and watched a couple videos on YouTube.

I cannot get my foam head to drop. The Skimmer is Sitting in a water level of 9” and this does not fluctuate. The stand pipe is fully open...even with the volute completely screwed in and the stand pipe fully open, the foam head is so high that my Skimmer cup is full with a watery mix in 2-3 days.

The weird thing is when I first bought the Skimmer it worked great. I’m hoping someone who has experience with this Skimmer can chime in.

[smokinreefer]

Sounds like the skimmer needs to be elevated a bit. Get it up out of the water another inch or so.

[DKoKoMan]

Originally Posted by smokinreefer

Sounds like the skimmer needs to be elevated a bit. Get it up out of the water another inch or so.

I will give it a try. Recommended is 9-10” but clearly this is not working out.

[gregzz4]

Sounds like it’s not getting enough air. Not familiar with your airflow adjustment but check it to ensure it is open enough, or open it more. The more air it gets, the lower the water will be. If that’s not working, remove the Venturi from the volute and air line, and check for calcium buildup or a blockage. Also inspect the impeller in case something got in it.
Keep in mind too much air will cause it to surge up and down, and cavitation can damage the impeller.

[DKoKoMan]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Sounds like it’s not getting enough air. Not familiar with your airflow adjustment but check it to ensure it is open enough, or open it more. The more air it gets, the lower the water will be. If that’s not working, remove the Venturi from the volute and air line, and check for calcium buildup or a blockage. Also inspect the impeller in case something got in it.
Keep in mind too much air will cause it to surge up and down, and cavitation can damage the impeller.

I find that the more I turn the white volute in the less height of the foam head I get. I started with 4 turns out, to 2, to 1.5 and now I’m at 1. When I screw the volute out the bubbles rise very high.



The stand pipe is completely open and I haven’t even got to the point of turning it as the water level and foam head is so high.


I checked the propellor and nothing is stuck in it. The Skimmer is only 2 months old as well. Could that cause the instability?

[DKoKoMan]

For some reason this photo didn’t show up on the previous post, so here it is.

[gregzz4]

Have you taken the entire Venturi out to inspect it for built up calcium?
I see it’s very new but doesn’t hurt to check
When you adjust it, you are looking for find bubbles to the bottom of the cup, and larger full ones above that.

[DKoKoMan]

Ya I have taken the Venturi out and it’s not gummed up at all. The Bubbles are fine at the base of the cup and the larger ones are popping past the half way point of the cone. At one point it was at halfway of the collection cup and the skimmate was perfect. Just can’t get the foam head back to halfway...it’s toward the top and the cup has been filling quick in 24 hours.

I drained the cup this evening. I will post a photo tomorrow when I wake up to show how much wet skim is being collected.