I hate my skimmer!!!

[bkhunt]

I have a Vertex Omega 130 for about 2 years now. When it runs good I love it but at the drop of a hat it starts to go crazy and overflow. I have not narrowed it down to one cause. I can do a water change and it will be fine or I can wake up one day and have water all over the place. I am not a real fan of the flow control tube so I am thinking about ordering a gate valve and some piping to set it up like my older Reef Octopus. I wanted to check here to see what other people’s solutions might be. I have see some links to mods but they are old and missing photos and some parts of directions.

 

[Crabs McJones]

I have a Vertex Omega 130 for about 2 years now. When it runs good I love it but at the drop of a hat it starts to go crazy and overflow. I have not narrowed it down to one cause. I can do a water change and it will be fine or I can wake up one day and have water all over the place. I am not a real fan of the flow control tube so I am thinking about ordering a gate valve and some piping to set it up like my older Reef Octopus. I wanted to check here to see what other people’s solutions might be. I have see some links to mods but they are old and missing photos and some parts of directions.

Following along. Not sure the issue but I'd like to hear others inputs. #reefsquad any omega users with advice?

 

[Finhead]

I'm sure this is a no but does your water level fluctuate in the skimmer chamber at all? And how high up are you running the skimmer level, I tune mine to sit about 1/2" below the neck flang on any skimmer I use. Just some thoughts.

 

[bkhunt]

I'm sure this is a no but does your water level fluctuate in the skimmer chamber at all? And how high up are you running the skimmer level, I tune mine to sit about 1/2" below the neck flang on any skimmer I use. Just some thoughts.

I have an auto top-off so the water lever is pretty close to the same. I generally run it where the lever is where the cup meets the skimmer. Photo is a little high because I am trying to fine it level again since it overflowed last night.

 

[ReefSlice]

I had the same problem with a different skimmer and raised it an inch and dialed it into the new height and now it never overflows. If the skimmers in too much water, tiny changes in the water cause it to go nuts.

 

[dragon99]

I had that problem with my Omega 150 at first. Raise it a little higher, mine seems to like 7" max water depth.

If you decide to give up and switch, look at the tunze 9410, there's almost nothing to adjust and it will just work.

 

[Finhead]

I have an auto top-off so the water lever is pretty close to the same. I generally run it where the lever is where the cup meets the skimmer. Photo is a little high because I am trying to fine it level again since it overflowed last night.

So the water does fluctuate in the skimmer chamber, that IMO would be your issue. Skimmers really should be in a chamber where there is no water level change, I have mine in the first chamber of my sump and water level is at a constant 8" never changes from that level unless I shut off my return for some reason. Is there a chamber in your sump designed for a skimmer?

 

[jwshiver]

I ran an Omega 150 for a little over two years and just switched to a Reef Octopus 150 Elite. I found the Omega to be inconsistent and I could never get a dark skim-mate. It did seem to preform best around 7.5 to 8 inches in depth for me. My biggest problem was the ceramic shaft on the impeller constantly chipping off and wearing down to a nub. I got tired of replacing them. When I cleaned it the last time and saw the ceramic shaft was chipped up AGAIN is when I decided to make a change. Glad I did. The Reef Octopus 150 Elite looks very similar in design to the Omega 150 but its performance is far superior. It started collecting skim-mate within the first hour of use. Easy to dial in, very consistent and I can get the dark colored skim-mate I'm looking for.

 

[bkhunt]

The skimmer is in 6 1/4 inches of water and the covers the outlet by 3/4

 

[bkhunt]

I had that problem with my Omega 150 at first. Raise it a little higher, mine seems to like 7" max water depth.

If you decide to give up and switch, look at the tunze 9410, there's almost nothing to adjust and it will just work.

I just ordered a new pump for my old Reef Octopus 110int. So that me be going into service soon if I give up.

 

[rc1626]

I have a 150 in about 8" of water I believe and it runs rock solid. With the 150, I had one impeller shaft chip as jwshiver mentioned above. Skimmer productiom reduced drastically but no overflows.
After reading on a few boards I switched pumps to a Tunze hydrofoamer (similar block) and have not had a single issue since.
I used to run an Alpha 200 with a red dragon pump that would intermittently do what yours is doing. Never could figure out why on that one but very frustrating and it would make a salt spray mess.
Try changing the depth of water and see if anything changes. Looks like you are probably as low with water as you can go. If you can adjust it to add some water to that chamber give it a try.

 

[GoVols]

I just ordered a new pump for my old Reef Octopus 110int. So that me be going into service soon if I give up.

Years ago I almost bought an Omega, but after reading a lot of reviews I backed out.
There were too many reviews saying that they could not keep the Omega's dialed in.

The 130 is well known to be very finicky ;Wacky

 

[Jimbo662]

I ran an Omega 150 for a little over two years and just switched to a Reef Octopus 150 Elite. I found the Omega to be inconsistent and I could never get a dark skim-mate. It did seem to preform best around 7.5 to 8 inches in depth for me. My biggest problem was the ceramic shaft on the impeller constantly chipping off and wearing down to a nub. I got tired of replacing them. When I cleaned it the last time and saw the ceramic shaft was chipped up AGAIN is when I decided to make a change. Glad I did. The Reef Octopus 150 Elite looks very similar in design to the Omega 150 but its performance is far superior. It started collecting skim-mate within the first hour of use. Easy to dial in, very consistent and I can get the dark colored skim-mate I'm looking for.

I was getting my 180i ready for my new tank and accidentally chipped two shafts! It's been running for almost two months now and it's started making that loud vibrating noise! Going to pull it apart this weekend and if the shaft is chipped on this one the Omega is outta here!!!!

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

Do not remove the impeller to clean the pump (Omega), just soak in water/vinegar solution and then run it in the same solution. The pump has a too strong of a pull on a week impeller shaft connection.

 

[Hersheyb]

Had the same issue a few years back with the same skimmer, the very same reason I got rid of it and got an aquamaxx co-1, which performed wayyyyyyy better than vertex

 

[drtrash]

I think it all comes down to quality of pump and bio load. Low load have to run wet and most are inconsistent at this high water level

 

[Shaun Sweeney]

I've got the same skimmer with the same problems. Can't predict if/when it will lose it's brains. It can run for weeks with no problem and then overflow. I keep a weight on the lid and have the skimmer positioned so that if it overflows, it just runs back into the tank. Previously, I had a collection cup with a float switch that would shut the skimmer down if it ran amuck.

 

[Water Dog]

Here is an airline mod from gus6464 that I’ve read about that may tame your Omega 130... involves using the air adjustment fitting from an MJ1200 to control the air intake of that skimmer.

https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/360316-air-valve-mod-for-vertex-omega/

 

[bkhunt]

I've got the same skimmer with the same problems. Can't predict if/when it will lose it's brains. It can run for weeks with no problem and then overflow. I keep a weight on the lid and have the skimmer positioned so that if it overflows, it just runs back into the tank. Previously, I had a collection cup with a float switch that would shut the skimmer down if it ran amuck.

I have mine drain off into a gallon jug but sometimes that is not enough. I am just tired of playing with it. Will have to try the weight idea.

 

[drtrash]

Also check with bubble king owner, the doble cone 130 is very similar and i know its sensitive. Most will say the fix is the red dragon pump but maybe a volute issue