Maybe stupid skimmer tuning question but.......

[PedroYoung]

Been running this Vertex Alpha 200 skimmer for 3 months or so to break it in. Just added the first fish into about 240G total water volume so still oversized.
Untitled by Peter Young, on Flickr

So the question is, in order to bring the bubble level down in the skimmer I should be opening up the outlet wedge pipe right? Sometimes it seems like I open the pipe up and the bubble level shoots up. I'm running it (wedge pipe) wide open now and it's occasionally overflowing. Only other adjustments I have available are 1) changing water level in the skimmer section (manual says between 9"-10" and running about 9.5") or 2 adjusting the nozzle on the Red Dragon 1500 pump. I have really no idea what's happening there. It's open about 3.5 rotations but I haven't really been able to see that messing with it changes much. Any insight into what I'm doing is appreciated. My experience in the past has been with Reef Octopus and Bubble Magus skimmers.

 

[theMeat]

Fundamentals with skimmer tuning include sump water level, outlet valve, and waiting 10-15 minutes between slight changes to see what effect it had.

On your skimmer you also have an additional air intake adjustment. The further out the air intake adjustment, the more air it pulls in. The more air it pulls in the less water, so water level goes down.

ime you’ll get the best skimate with air nozzle on pump all the way out/most air, and adjust water level from there with gate/output valve.

vertex are imo some of the most stable skimmers out there, once you dial it in, and most people struggle with that because it might seem backward that more air on pump’s air intake = less water level.

 

[lapin]

If you have not tried: try 2 things at once, raise the skimmer and closing the wedge pipe a bit.
If this doesnt work the mess with the air intake.

 

[PedroYoung]

Fundamentals with skimmer tuning include sump water level, outlet valve, and waiting 10-15 minutes between slight changes to see what effect it had.

On your skimmer you also have an additional air intake adjustment. The further out the air intake adjustment, the more air it pulls in. The more air it pulls in the less water, so water level goes down.

ime you’ll get the best skimate with air nozzle on pump all the way out/most air, and adjust water level from there with gate/output valve.

vertex are imo some of the most stable skimmers out there, once you dial it in, and most people struggle with that because it might seem backward that more air on pump’s air intake = less water level.

That waiting 10-15 minutes is prob what I struggle with the most haha. Yeah, I've never had a skimmer with the air intake adjustment and couldn't wrap my brain around what was happening when I made adjustments (manual is pretty vague about how to tune). So by opening that nozzle up (un-threading it) that's introducing more air into the inlet? In turn that displaces water in the skimmer body?

If you have not tried: try 2 things at once, raise the skimmer and closing the wedge pipe a bit.
If this doesnt work the mess with the air intake.

I usually don't like changing multiple parameters at the same time. What is the reasoning for raising the skimmer and closing the wedge? (thanks for responding, I'm just trying to get a better understanding on what I'm doing instead of just changing stuff).

 

[lapin]

I usually don't like changing multiple parameters at the same time. What is the reasoning for raising the skimmer and closing the wedge?

I dont think the output/wedge should be wide open all the time. If you experience more waste during feeding or use reef putty it might overflow the cup. You wont have anyway to relieve that

 

[theMeat]

That waiting 10-15 minutes is prob what I struggle with the most haha. Yeah, I've never had a skimmer with the air intake adjustment and couldn't wrap my brain around what was happening when I made adjustments (manual is pretty vague about how to tune). So by opening that nozzle up (un-threading it) that's introducing more air into the inlet? In turn that displaces water in the skimmer body?

That waiting 10-15 minutes is prob what I struggle with the most haha. Yeah, I've never had a skimmer with the air intake adjustment and couldn't wrap my brain around what was happening when I made adjustments (manual is pretty vague about how to tune). So by opening that nozzle up (un-threading it) that's introducing more air into the inlet? In turn that displaces water in the skimmer body

That waiting 10-15 minutes is prob what I struggle with the most haha. Yeah, I've never had a skimmer with the air intake adjustment and couldn't wrap my brain around what was happening when I made adjustments (manual is pretty vague about how to tune). So by opening that nozzle up (un-threading it) that's introducing more air into the inlet? In turn that displaces water in the skimmer body?



I usually don't like changing multiple parameters at the same time. What is the reasoning for raising the skimmer and closing the wedge? (thanks for responding, I'm just trying to get a better understanding on what I'm doing instead of just changing stuff).

Not sure ‘displace’ is the right word in skimmer body. More like in the skimmer pump inlet. Pulling in more air means it’s pulling in less water.

open up air intake all the way out and leave it there. Open up outlet valve all the way. Let it settle. Then start closing outlet valve to get your desired skimmer water level.

 

[PedroYoung]

Not sure ‘displace’ is the right word in skimmer body. More like in the skimmer pump inlet. Pulling in more air means it’s pulling in less water.

open up air intake all the way out and leave it there. Open up outlet valve all the way. Let it settle. Then start closing outlet valve to get your desired skimmer water level.

Duh, that makes sense. Funny how things can make so much more sense once explained haha. Thanks for the help

 

[PedroYoung]

I dont think the output/wedge should be wide open all the time. If you experience more waste during feeding or use reef putty it might overflow the cup. You wont have anyway to relieve that

Agree, that’s what’s been bothering me. Thanks for the help

 

[Rickybobby]

I always keep the air level lowest. Than make a water level adjustment and wait. Then go from there

 

[theMeat]

Let us know how you make out @PedroYoung

 

[PedroYoung]

So opening air intake almost all the way did drop the bubble level a little, but not enough to really close up the wedge pipe. I dropped the skimmer section level another .5" to 9" and that dropped bubble level a little more. Letting it run today and then will try and close up the wedge pipe some.

 

[LacViet]

Raise the whole skimmer up a bit (1/4in or higher) could help by lower the water inside the skimmer.