Vertex Alpha 250 cone skimmer!!!

[EriksReptiles]

I just thought I would share my experience with these skimmers quick as a few people have asked me some questions about them.

I just purchased the skimmer last week and received it yesterday. After some sump modification (I had to remove 2 baffles to fit this in the sump. I am upgrading to a larger sump very soon, however I wanted to see this baby run!) I got this in place. Setup was a breeze and the amount of bubble is insane! Very easy to get it dialed in and it is already pulling out a lot of gunk!

Enjoy the pictures:

My dog sitting next to the box trying to gain my attention back. She could tell I was like a kid on Christmas day when I was opening the box!

Finally unwrapped. I just now realized how big it was and that I needed to remove a few baffles in my current sump to fit this in there for now.

Finally got the bad boy running! There are absolutely zero micro bubbles coming out the water exit pipe. Talk about quality on the build of these skimmers, I don’t think that it can be matched. The fact that everything can be disassembled, the ozone port, the giant collection cup, etc... I could go on and on..

Thanks Erik

 

[roscoe]

That looks like a very very nice skimmer! Time for me to save up for the 300 model.

 

[EriksReptiles]

Ya, I will be going with two of the 300's on my big tank.. My big tank will be about 600-750 gallons..

Thanks Erik

 

[roscoe]

The 300 is rated up to 600g it says. My system will be around 450-500g. I think one would be good for me.

 

[EriksReptiles]

The 300 is rated up to 600g it says. My system will be around 450-500g. I think one would be good for me.

Correct. I just like to over skim.. Also with the foot print I am thinking about ( I am trying to decide between 96" x 48" x 32" or 120" x 48" x 32") I plan on having quite a few fish and with the coral added in I figure I would rather have to much then not enough skim.

The 300 should easily maintain your system.

Thanks Erik

 

[roscoe]

Wow that will be a nice tank which ever size you pick. Is this going to be Peninsula style? I know I'm going to have trouble reaching anything that falls down towards the back of my tank at 3' deep and only 24'' tall but then I have short arms LOL. JMO I would go with the 10 footer. I mean if you have the space and the resources why not. Although that would probally mean 2 mor MH lights you have to run. How many Halides are you planning to run any how on the 8' or 10' tank?

 

[EriksReptiles]

Wow that will be a nice tank which ever size you pick. Is this going to be Peninsula style? I know I'm going to have trouble reaching anything that falls down towards the back of my tank at 3' deep and only 24'' tall but then I have short arms LOL. JMO I would go with the 10 footer. I mean if you have the space and the resources why not. Although that would probally mean 2 mor MH lights you have to run. How many Halides are you planning to run any how on the 8' or 10' tank?

Thanks. I am still debating which size. I just want one big enough that I won’t feel like I have to upgrade again anytime soon. The 8 footer will have 6 400watt MH and T5's. The 10 footer will have 8 400watt MH's and T5's. I am still unsure of the amount of T5's I will place on the tanks, however I do know that they will be either 3 feet or 4 feet long. I was thinking that the 8 foot tank would have 16 and the 10 foot tank would have 20.

I am also still debating about Peninsula or not. If I don't do a peninsula there will be about a 2 foot ledge behind the tank for me to stand on and clean and what-not. Thanks.. I am still debating which size. I just want one big enough that I won’t feel like I have to upgrade again anytime soon. The 8 footer will have 6 400watt MH and T5's. The 10 footer will have 8 400watt MH's and T5's. The T5's will be either 3 or 4 feet long. The 8 foot tank would have about 16 and the 10 foot tank would have about 20.

I am also still debating about Peninsula or not. If I don't do a peninsula there will be about a 2 foot ledge behind the tank for me to stand on and clean and what-not. The only thing stopping be from doing a peninsula tank is that I would then have to clean two massive sides..

Thanks Erik

 

[roscoe]

holy moly that is alot of light! I would hate to see your electricity bill.

 

[Skimmy]

looks great eric!

that is definately an awesome skimmer, it's an insane leap from asm's you've been running...

 

[Reefparadise]

I WANT TO SEE THE GUNK....WHERE IS THE GUNK....

I am getting this skimmer in 2 weeks........I AM LOVING IT ALREADY.

looks great eric!

that is definately an awesome skimmer, it's an insane leap from asm's you've been running...

 

[Skimmy]

let it break in dude!!!

 

[veralteaquatics]

Erik, the skimmmer looks really good and I'm sure it will do the trick. Let me know when you're ready for the 2 300's and I'll get em ordered up

 

[EriksReptiles]

roscoe: Currently I am running about $300 per month for electricity.

skimerwhisperer: Ya, those ASM's pulled out some nasty stuff. However I can already tell this will easily out do them although so did the price .

Reefparadise: I will take some more pictures here in the next couple days.

veralteaquatics: I will let you know.

I will try to take some new pics soon. I am in the process of setting up my new lights this weekend and re-plumbing my tank. I got 4 400watt luminbright finished pendants with 20K bulbs.. These things are AWESOME!

Thanks Erik

 

[Reefparadise]

What happened ? Pictures Pictures Pictures.....

I wanna see it breaking in........NOW.

 

[Workaholic]

What happened ? Pictures Pictures Pictures.....

I wanna see it breaking in........NOW.

It takes a few weeks for a skimmer to really break in......

Tom

 

[EriksReptiles]

Here are a few pictures of the skimmer. I had emptied it last night and took the pictures today when I got home from work. You can see the line where I have the bubbles coming up. I am skimming fairly wet right now just till it breaks in..

Here is my tank (Crappy shot but I am tired from work and don't really want to mess around with lighting and all..) You can see my lumenbright Finished pendants too.. They are in a temporary "canopy" until my new one arrives..
-- It looks really Blue because I have the lights dimmed all the way down so that I can gently acclimate my corals to the 400watt Metal Halides.

Thanks Erik

 

[Darthv247]

very nice! love the rockwork. awsome skimmer.

 

[Reefparadise]

More pictures please.....

 

[Darthv247]

Just my 2 cents but if your gonna go with 2 skimmers i wouldnt use the exact same type of skimmer. I would go with 2 different designs or 2 different styles of skimmers.

from what ive read its better to have different styles because they will each pull different types of doc's from the water. one style might be more effective at pulling certain organics while another better at different types of organics. There is a good amount of info on this in the Book of Coral Propagation by Anthony Calfo.

That skimmer is beast though man grats.

 

[EriksReptiles]

Thanks Darth, However I am only rocking this 1 skimmer on this 300 gallon tank. I will be using 2 on my larger system. I don't want any other kind of skimmer due to the power that the others pull and based with the quality I see with these skimmers I want to stay with them. Since I will be using ozone units on the skimmers, they should pull out even more then usual.

From what I see so far, this skimmer is pulling out more then its fair share of gunk and has plenty of power behind it!

Thanks Erik