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 :neutral:. 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. :evil:

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

Vertex Alpha Skimmer Adjustments
 

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. :lol:

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.

https://i.imgur.com/uNHTW7b.jpg

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.

https://imgur.com/ER5uR7B

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?

https://i.imgur.com/ER5uR7B.jpg

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

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.

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.

Well I have been turning in the Venturi every morning half a turn to hopefully get the foam head to be less and to not have half a cup of watery skim in 12 hours. I am now at half a turn from he Venturi being completely screwed in. At least the skim is a bit darker, the cup is less full and it’s not overflowing. Not where i want it but it will do for now.


https://i.imgur.com/o5knUZh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/kVUBrcE.jpg

Do you use filter socks? Are any of them new?

I have relatively new filter socks 🧦 on the system. Most have been washed a couple times though. I only change them when the first sock fills up and only the second one is draining.


http://i.imgur.com/wuzY5O9.jpg

Try giving them all an extra wash with some bleach. Filter socks come starched when new to prevent wrinkling. Your skimmer should be fine at 9-10", so I'm guessing there is an external factor to your issues.

I will definitely give that a try! Thanks Albert.

A couple more photos of some fish I was able to capture today. What’s a build thread if there is a lack of photos right :lol:


http://i.imgur.com/GiJu4o1.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xSS79wz.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xsIP9SC.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/1KbIf4U.jpg

A couple more zoas and sps (finally some grown :mrgreen:).


http://i.imgur.com/o9j9CRj.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/96STvrc.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/XCD9cXV.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/RFDHr3a.jpg

My wife has named every fish in the tank almost. Here are a couple of the superstars.

Barney
http://i.imgur.com/mmocMgU.jpg

Lemon
http://i.imgur.com/7haB2tM.jpg

Blueberry
http://i.imgur.com/ffw3NXc.jpg

Foxy (original from my 75g)
http://i.imgur.com/JPslids.jpg

Dory...the one and only:lol: (original from my 75g)
http://i.imgur.com/mjGK7O1.jpg

Tanks looking great tonight! Thought I would share a quick photo.

http://i.imgur.com/WoLjZyh.jpg

Haha, that familiar blue glow.... it’s so great when it’s all looking good eh. I just did my monthly water change today and was feeling pretty pleased with myself.

I name all my livestock, even the inverts:lol:

How old is your Dory & how big is she?

It’s totally a nice feeling just to see everything happy and growing. I have had my battles and I am still waiting for my cyano to burn out. But overall I’m pretty happy with the tank right now. My Skimmer is back to normal, still running wetter then I would like but it’s nice and dark. Takes about a week to fill up to around half of the collection cup.

My Dory is roughly 5 years old and approximately 6” now. Last time I was at the LFS and be Dorys are so tiny!

Finally got the chaeto growing like crazy! Nitrates are stable at 2.5ppm using a salifert test kit. It really took off out of nowhere with this new light.

http://i.imgur.com/MLHt1gj.jpg

Try downloading the Open Camera app. It has some decent white balance control features. I've found it very useful for taking pictures of my tanks straight off the phone.

Sounds good Albert. I will give it a try!

Got Skim!?
 

Here is the foam head being produced by my Vertex Alpha along with the skimmate in the collection cup. It is still watery but it is nice and dark. Also it smells horrible and my nitrates are steady at around 2.5ppm between my Skimmer and chaeto in the Fuge. Let me know your thoughts on the consistency of the skim.


http://i.imgur.com/qKoOnfX.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/1wd2T8I.jpg

On another note... I’m finding it harder to find Reef Crystals at the LFS these days. I picked up a pail of Fritz Rpm salt as big als now carries this as a replacement to the Reef Crystals. I only bought be one pail as I have never used be Fritz products and I want to ensure it mixes well and within stable parameters.

Parameters*
Salinity 35 ppt (1.0264 sg)
Calcium 400-450 ppm
Magnesium 1300-1400 ppm
Alkalinity 8.0 - 9.0 dKH
Strontium 9 ppm
Potassium 400 ppm


These numbers seem to be good if they are true to the mixing table. I will be using RODI water as my source. Anyone have experience with this salt? Used it and went away from it? Looking for feedback. Thanks.

http://i.imgur.com/aPGF1o8.jpg

Reef Crystals is old technology. These newer mixes are much better, mixing clear within minutes and ready to use within the hour. I go through a pallet of this every month. It's great.

You go through a pallet of Fritz RPM every month? In your opinion the new mix is worth the switch? Looking for a new go to as I go through a fair amount of salt due to biweekly water changes.

Yah, 50pcs of 200 gal mix. I wouldn't go back to reef crystals if a pallet was dropped at my front door and Taylor Swift asked me nicely.

Well I feel a lot better about my purchase of this new salt :lol:

I'm fresh back onto the reef scene and was excited to try a new brand(fritz) I've almost had my tank running 3 months now all together and with a month having corals in. Almost all of my sps have grown completely over the fresh plugs I put them on and some are starting to creep onto rock already. I've been watching my parameters for the last while and my calcium has stayed in the mid low 400s mag around 1350-1400 and alk has stuck steady for the most part strangely around 9.5-10~ I like it a lot so far as compared to the past using instant ocean seems a lot more beneficial imo.

Awesome! I’m glad to hear you like the results. I’m definitely going to give t a try and as long as the parameters are solid I will try it over a couple months. I guess this is the push I needed to get off of the Reef Crystals wagon. :mrgreen:

Top down left to right on tank. Eventually I will get better at taking photos and get rid of the blue :wink:

http://i.imgur.com/wicGeUA.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OroVAaG.jpg

Common Albert. I’m sure you would eat he pallet of salt if Taylor swift asked lol

T-Swizzle has her ways of making people do strange things :wink:

Sure, but not if she asked nicely.

Try the 'shade' white balance option on open camera. I use the same lights at this clients (Edmonton) and can get it into a manageable balance.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BinhtNFF...d=344xgcqzv6ut

I played around with the contrast, brightness and the different effects. I was unable to drown out the blue :sad:. Photography is not my strong suit :lol:

Just out of curiosity does the Fritz RPM mix to 1.026 with roughly 2 1/2 cups of salt for 5g pail? I’m just looking for a ballpark, I will check and confirm via refractometer.

Super unhelpful answer incoming:

No clue, I've been mixing salt for so long now that it's intuitive. I just add scoops by feel, screw off and come back to 1.022-26 90% of the time.