Vertex IN-180 Protein Skimmer Not Working

[JohnM]

Hello all, I am new to Manhattan Reefs and joined right after the recent spring frag swap. I am currently having a problem with my Vertex IN-180 Skimmer and getting it to produce like it should. I have it currently sitting in my sump at 7" of water height and I still can't get it to produce correctly. Does anyone know that levels I should be having the bubbles / foam at?

Thank You

 

[fishman1069]

I always set my "bubble height" about a quarter to half way up the neck of the skimmer. Start with a quarter of the way up and let it run one that for a day. If your still not producing, make very small adjustments every day till its dialed in. Hth
Welcome to MR!

 

[d5332]

sounds like your skimmer is working, if the pump turns on and you see a white wall of water then your skimmer is working.

You have to dial it in meaning play with the gate valve until you learn how your skimmer works best.

Make daily adjustments not hourly and observe.

You will eventually learn that your skimmer produces waste in cycles throughout the day and not every single minute.

Learn how to dial it in and you will be fine.

 

[JohnM]

Thank you for your replies, not 100% sure how to check my threads I post and it took me awhile to find it again.

The skimmer is bubbling and making waste just not 'bad' waste. It seems why too clean to be working right. The skimmer in question is hooked up to a 155 fish only tank and quite a bit of fish too. My small 55 corner reef tank with a small skimmer pulls nice black waste unlike the bigger one.

 

[MIKE NY]

by adjusting the bubble height it will either produce a wet skim and a light green tea color or dark thick skim...there are pros and cons to each method...when getting darker skimate it has to be cleaned more often, but when skimming wet, although it doesn't need to be cleaned often your using up water so check your ATO and SG.

 

[JohnM]

I don't really want to say anything too dumb but, since I'm semi new to the reefing aspect of saltwater tanks. What exactly is a SG? Also I currently don't have an ATO as of yet, it is however on my very long list of things I need to get.

 

[ctrayer]

you may want to increase the flow rate thru your sump.
If you don't have enough turn over you are skimming
the same water over and over again

 

[NYreefNoob]

you may want to increase the flow rate thru your sump.
If you don't have enough turn over you are skimming
the same water over and over again

not true
also what size tank do you have this on ? how long has the tank been running ? and whats the bio load like, ive owned this skimmer 3 times,

 

[ctrayer]

Why would you say not true? If the flow rate thru
his sump is slow he is skimming the same water over and over.
Unless this is an external skimmer?

 

[ReefMonkey13]

Is it possible for you to raise the level the skimmer is sitting in? I have the in-100 and the water level at 8.5". I think the in-180 work best around that height as well.

Good luck

 

[JohnM]

I am using it on a 155 bow front tank. The return pump is a MAG-18 so I should have plenty of flow going throw my sump. As for the bio load / how long it has been set up, well that's a funny/ sad story. This tank is actually my fathers tank and I recently moved back in (temporally) due to just getting out of the Army and have taken over. He lost all his fish, corals, LR and LS due to the power outage from Sandy (all three of his tanks). After which all he did was drain the water and put new water in (left all sand, rocks, and dead fish stuff in there). It's been running since then with little fish and now has a decent amount of fish. He also pretty much never did water changes on the tank till I started doing them. His Nitrates are over 80 and even with water changes I can't really lover them. So long story short the tank has plenty of a bio load old and new.

The water level in my sump for my protein skimmer is set to 7" since I just made a new baffle for it at that height (it used to run at about 5" and he was wondering why it never produced...)

I just installed a GFO/ Carbon dual reactor from BRS today. While watching it run to make sure it wasn't leaking sure enough I seen a leak. It took me awhile to find the leak.... not coming from the reactors however, the drain bulkhead is dripping GREAT. I guess when it rains it pours... If anyone has any ideas for me without fully draining that beast that would be great.

 

[NYreefNoob]

if the bulk head is leaking , make sure it didnt move or isnt loose, all you have to do is turn return off and drain down the over flow box and change it out, also check to make sure the airline isnt clogged at all. you can raise the bubble level in the skimmer by twisting the outlet drain. closing it raises the bubble level, the really small bubbles should be set right at where the neck attaches to the cup and let it alone for a day or two to settle

 

[JohnM]

The skimmer problem I think was actually fixed. I bought the BRS Dual Reactor and while I was at the gentleman's house I also got an Ozone generator not even knowing anything about it. Once I hooked it up just messing with it my skimmer was working 100% better. However after doing research on the Ozone generator I don't really want to use it without the proper carbon filters and took it off, but left the air pump hooked up to the skimmer and it's working great now.

Thanks everyone on your input, as for the new bulkhead leak problem I will make a new thread for that for origination.

 

[JohnM]

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/equipment/146151-bulkhead-leaking.html is the thread for the bulkheads, thank you.