Vertex IN 100 Review

cool, thx for the advice

 

There is such thing as overkill on a tank. If you have a 100 gallon tank and use a skimmer that is rated for 200 or more gallons, the skimmer won't function as well as it would if it was on a 200 gallon tank. The skimmers that are rated for larger tanks use large bodies and the undersized tank does not have enough dissolved organics to allow the proteins to make it up the neck and into the collection cup. I spoke to Jeremy from Premium Aquatics and Mike from Reef Specialty and they both agreed on this issue. I was looking to get a Vertex IN-250 or 280 but they said to get the 180 since I have a 120 gallon display and a 30 gallon refugium but with live rock and sand displacement I have around 100 gallons of water. The IN-250 or 280 would be way too much skimmer and would not function properly.

 

Don't they have a smaller In-80???

 

Vertex makes IN-80, 100, 180, 250, 280

 

I'm completely new at this fish tank thing. I have a 30 gallon tank and was wondering if the IN-80 would suit me well. I've been wanting to get the best protein skimmer for 200 dollars or less and I am convinced that this is it! What does this look like inside the tank? How much room will it take up? Do I measure this by the footprint that it states it has? What does In-Sump mean? All I know about is the ones you hang on the back of the tank...Anyways, please help! Thanks!

 

You won't be able to run this skimmer inside your 30 gallon tank. You'll need another tank to sit under the 30 gallon that will hold your protein skimmer. Like this,


This is my sump (it is underneath my display tank)


Your best bet is to purchase the skimmer and then the sump. You need to make sure that the skimmer will comfortably fit inside the sump.

 

wow nice tank man!

 

I couldn't have said it better myself. Bubble King actually talked me out of buying the Mini-200 model because it would be too big for my 150G tank. They said how efficient skimmers are getting now (not just BK skimmers) that they can actually skim out some of the trace elements in the water too. I have seen BK skimmers skim tap water!

Get a skimmer rated about 50-100G more than your entire system, it will give you enough wiggle room if you increase your tank volume in anyway.

 

Thanks

 

The skimmer arrived today. It won't fit in my current sump so I'm going to pick up a new tank tomorrow. The skimmer is huge compared to the AquaC. In the meantime I have it in the basement for a vinegar bath.