Just a heads up with LifeReef, great skimmer and products. if they weren't he would not have be around so long. In regards to the skimmers, you need a good pump, pressure rated would be the best type and they tend to use the power and they also, since being Venturi style do make noise and I don't me like oh my RO, I can sometimes hear a low sucking sound, its more like an air hose because they suck a lot of air. If your sump backs off into another room it should not be a problem, but if you using it in sump under the display, it may be an issue.
One thing to remember is the better the skimmer the more sensitive they will be in foam production, they foam the way they want to, not the way you think they should. The best way to set a Vertex is when it is in its most productive time and then leave it alone. If it drops out leave it, if it just sits with no foam going into the cup, leave it alone, because believe me it will hit that productive stage again and if you have moved it from the first spot it will overflow. Vertex skimmers are underrated, they skim the hell out of the water, as you can see for your self when it is in full production it works like a beast but as your Organics drop so does the foam to the point where it just a container that looks like its filled with milk and if you go and adjust it will give problems when the Organics rise again in the water column. You should have got the 150 and even that believe it or not would do some of what you experience know. They are one of the most sensitive skimmers I have used except for Down Draft, I have seen a Down draft skimmer do a total collapse of Foam within minutes of a Cigarette being lit. In fact that is how you almost have to treat a Vertex is like a Down Draft, because when you have it dialed in it will not be like other skimmers and the body be full of tinny bubbles rising in a water column it will will be more like you see a water line down low in the body and larger bubbled foam rising quickly up the body and into the cup, so unlike most skimmer and you put the water line at the top of the body where the cup meets it must be much lower, and that is just simply because of the amount of foam they produce when there are enough organics present. So in the end it is your decision but do not assume that it is not working. In fact if you still have it and want to try something and see just how sensitive they are add some frozen food to the tank and wait a couple of minutes and watch your skimmer. This is when you should do some adjusting because it going to foam like hell and if you can quickly dial it in enough not to over flow but make foam into the cup, that is around where you want to keep it. You may have to adjust a very small amount, tinny amount after watching it for a few, you don't want to adjust on low production only when you see the skimmer in a high production and forget it when in low. I do like the Vertex skimmers, I have found them to be underrated and my biggest beef with they is that stupid screw on cup and because of it, I DO NOT USE ONE as my sump only lets me put the skimmer a certain way and the drain ends up on the opposite side which makes it very hard to work with, but I do have a Vertex 150 as back up.
Anyhow good luck on your skimmer adventure, I hope you find your match!
