Vertex Skimmer update

[~reefchik~]

So I got a Vertex IN-100 Skimmer last month, despite having seen the warnings about the pumps.  But hey, the price was right and they said the skimmer was great when it worked.  And mine did, too.

I went out of town the first week of Oct. and when I got home, the skimmer (pump) was dead.  I called Premium Aquatics and they walked me thru disassembling the pump and pulling the impeller.  Sure enough, the magnet was frozen onto the ceramic stem.  Known issue, they said.  They sent out a new impeller. 

Um....well...they were supposed to send out a new impeller.  I waited about a week or so, no impeller.  I called and got Jeremy.  He actually sent the impeller because it got here overnight.

Install new impeller.  Plug it in.  Guess what, the pump is dead 

One day goes by.  Another impeller lands on my doorstep.  Now I have a dead pump and two new impellers.  Skimmer's been down 2 weeks now.

Call PA again.  Oh wow, that's not good.  Can you send the whole pump back to us?  Oh and the extra impeller, too? 
Yes, I will. 

Two days later I get a brand new pump.  Hook it back up to the skimmer and fire it back up.  Runs well for about 5 hours. 
Husband feeding fish, looks under the tank....uh oh.  This thing isn't running, Steph.

I take it out.  Bump it around.  Pull the impeller.  Put it back.  Pump fires up again.  Reassemble, fire up skimmer again.

Next morning:  pump not working again.  I call Jeremy again.  He sends yet another new impeller overnight.

So far, it's been running ok for 2 days.

Now the fun part of all this is the tightness of the fit in that end of my sump.  I literally have to assemble and disassemble the thing inside the sump because it won't come out of the sump and clear the opening of the stand.  A real PITB.  I'd say by now I can probably take it apart and reassemble it blind-folded. 

Let's hope this sucker works forever this time.   I guess I have to give props for PA being on top of the thing after the first incident of telling me they'd get a new impeller out and then forgetting to.  After that, and about 6 emails back and forth and a few phone calls, I was clearly on their radar from that point on. 

[jeremyt]

glad you got it going for now at least   you may want to look into a different brand pump that will work with it, but that may be tough

[TechGuy]

I think you need to replace the pump ASAP. Sounds like a major issue.

[Blown76mav]

You might as well have bought a seaclone skimmer......

Really this is the one you should have bought., cheaper and a lot more reliable.  My Reef Octo 350 has never let me down.

http://www.aquacave.com/reef-octopus-nwb-150-br-needle-wheel-protein-br-skimmer-749.html

[TechGuy]

You might as well have bought a seaclone skimmer......

Really this is the one you should have bought., cheaper and a lot more reliable.  My Reef Octo 350 has never let me down.

http://www.aquacave.com/reef-octopus-nwb-150-br-needle-wheel-protein-br-skimmer-749.html

I think I recomended an Octo skimmer hehehe. Mine is awesome, and when I upgrade, and I think I am. It will be another Octo.

[~reefchik~]

They replaced the pump and it's been running like a champ ever since. 

I had the Octo saved in my skimmer search, (probably because you guys recommended it) and if I hadn't been convinced by all the raves at RC, I guess I'd have ended up with one. 

The Octo at AquaCave is listed as only about $10 less than I paid for the Vertex, and I hear they are very similar in design and operation.   When I was saving all my searches, as I recall the Octopus was a bit more expensive than that.

At any rate, the Vertex is running like a champ right now.  Let's hope it continues. 

[~reefchik~]

And it's still working beautifully!

If they can ever really surmount impeller/pump issues, this skimmer should get a good rep. 

[Riderc82]

Lets see some pictures of the skimmate.

[~reefchik~]

Lets see some pictures of the skimmate.

You must be some kinda sicko 





I hear it makes really tasty soup.

[Riderc82]

Looks like it is doing a good job to me.

[~reefchik~]

From descriptions of other skimmers and their output, I'd agree.