Vertex Cone 200 overflowing

[aravindk]

It is Royal Exclusive Vertex Cone 200 and it has been overflowing for the past couple of weeks. I have been trying to get to the root cause of it. The resonator inlay appears to be damaged. It needs to be replaced. I dont know if that is the cause for the overflow.

Also when I open the resonator, the pipe open on the top is connected to a small red pipe and then there is another red pipe inside which connects to the tubing that goes to the skimmer. In other words these two short red pipes are not connected to each other. Is this how it is supposed to be?

Right now if I run the pump without the volute in place, the water seems stable although dont see much bubbles except on top. The moment I put the volute and barely in its first thread, the bubbles go all the way up and overflowing.

I cleaned the pump and all that. Also there is nothing being added to the water. No calc/alk/chemicals etc. I have been using this setup for years so I know the water level is not an issue here either.

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks.

[slief]

The red pipes in the silencer are not supposed to be connected. The foam being damaged wont cause the overflow. Sometimes our water changes and skimmers need to be adjusted. The Alphas were notorious for being very sensitive and overflowing. Especially when run wet on systems with light loads relative to the skimmers ratings which happen to be very conservative.

That said, the things that will cause an overflow are: Salt buildup where the venturi line connects to the pump. Check the PVC port that line attaches to for blockage. Wedge pipe closed too much, too deep of water in the sump or the nozzle on the front of the pump needs to be adjusted to allow more air in and less water. If it’s none of those, you can simply open the wedge pipe more, lower the sump level or you can open the nozzle on the front of the pump some and that should help.

[aravindk]

The wedge pipe is fully open. The nozzle is also fully open. In fact if I just insert the nozzle, even before I begin to close it, water level begins to rise and overflows quickly. Water level is one thing I haven't checked but then I have been using this setup for years with a stand that holds the skimmer at its perfect height. I am stumped.

[slief]

Originally Posted by aravindk

The wedge pipe is fully open. The nozzle is also fully open. In fact if I just insert the nozzle, even before I begin to close it, water level begins to rise and overflows quickly. Water level is one thing I haven't checked but then I have been using this setup for years with a stand that holds the skimmer at its perfect height. I am stumped.

You will likely need to lower the sump level then. Even if you ran it that way for years, things in our systems changes over time. You could also test closing the nozzle some but that may make things worse.

[aravindk]

Originally Posted by slief

You will likely need to lower the sump level then. Even if you ran it that way for years, things in our systems changes over time. You could also test closing the nozzle some but that may make things worse.

I guess that is the only thing that I never tried this time around and let me give it a shot. Thanks!

[aravindk]

Originally Posted by slief

You will likely need to lower the sump level then. Even if you ran it that way for years, things in our systems changes over time. You could also test closing the nozzle some but that may make things worse.

Currently the skimmer is at 10.5 inches. What is the recommended height?

[slief]

Originally Posted by aravindk

Currently the skimmer is at 10.5 inches. What is the recommended height?

That explains a lot! 10.5” is WAY WAY too deep. I’d drop it to 9”. Then close the nozzle some until you get nice thick foam. You will likely have to close the wedge pipe some as well.

[aravindk]

Originally Posted by slief

That explains a lot! 10.5” is WAY WAY too deep. I’d drop it to 9”. Then close the nozzle some until you get nice thick foam. You will likely have to close the wedge pipe some as well.

Alright, I raised the skimmer height and it is looking better now. Thank you for your help.

[slief]

Originally Posted by aravindk

Alright, I raised the skimmer height and it is looking better now. Thank you for your help.

Glad to help!

[aravindk]

Originally Posted by slief

That explains a lot! 10.5” is WAY WAY too deep. I’d drop it to 9”. Then close the nozzle some until you get nice thick foam. You will likely have to close the wedge pipe some as well.

Ok, I am back to square one. The skimmer is at 7.8". The wedge pipe is fully open and nozzle is open two rounds out. No matter what I do, it overflows sooner or later. I am ready to give up on this skimmer now. It sucks because, this skimmer worked for me for seven years with enormous efficiency. Even now, it seems to be working great looking at the bubbles and foam coming out it. If only I can control the overflow situation.

Is there anything in the water that could cause the overflow? Currently I am adding BRS Alk. But I stopped for few weeks to see if that is the cause but nothing changed. So how can I rule out there is nothing in the water that could cause the skimmer go crazy?

[slief]

Originally Posted by aravindk

Ok, I am back to square one. The skimmer is at 7.8". The wedge pipe is fully open and nozzle is open two rounds out. No matter what I do, it overflows sooner or later. I am ready to give up on this skimmer now. It sucks because, this skimmer worked for me for seven years with enormous efficiency. Even now, it seems to be working great looking at the bubbles and foam coming out it. If only I can control the overflow situation.

Is there anything in the water that could cause the overflow? Currently I am adding BRS Alk. But I stopped for few weeks to see if that is the cause but nothing changed. So how can I rule out there is nothing in the water that could cause the skimmer go crazy?

Snells breeding and cause it to overflow as can Apoxsee. But continue to open the nozzle more. That will reduce the amount of water going into the skimmer and increase the amount of air which will lower the level inside the skimmer. You likely need to have the nozzle open more to find your sweet spot. You could end up needing to go 4.5 turns out, or possibly more. Also, make sure there are no restrictions in the air intake. Double check to make sure there is no salt buildup where the Venturi line connects to the nozzle on the pump. Salt tends to build up at that port on the nozzle and that restriction will cause the skimmer to overflow

[aravindk]

Originally Posted by slief

Snells breeding and cause it to overflow as can Apoxsee. But continue to open the nozzle more. That will reduce the amount of water going into the skimmer and increase the amount of air which will lower the level inside the skimmer. You likely need to have the nozzle open more to find your sweet spot. You could end up needing to go 4.5 turns out, or possibly more. Also, make sure there are no restrictions in the air intake. Double check to make sure there is no salt buildup where the Venturi line connects to the nozzle on the pump. Salt tends to build up at that port on the nozzle and that restriction will cause the skimmer to overflow

Actually if I open the nozzle more, it overflows. I closed it further and it is now about 1/4 turns open:

[Wandering]

If it has worked for years and is now overflowing, I suspect a contaminant in the tank.

[slief]

Oh yes. That does look like it could be from something in the water. You could try raising the skimmer up another half inch for a few days so it can skim normally. That should help a little bit. That or run it like it is in the video and route the collection cup drain like to a bucket and let it skim that stuff out and see if it subsides.