Hydrofoamer pump for Vertex 150?

[Maximus]

Hi Roger, I'm not sure if you could answer this but how would a Hydrofoamer pump work on a Vertex Omega 150? I've always wanted to try a Hydrofoamer pump on a skimmer.

[moondoggy4]

I could give it a try Maximus, I have a 9420 pump and a Omega 150 down waiting for a impeller. I believe that the pump will be to big.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by moondoggy4

I could give it a try Maximus, I have a 9420 pump and a Omega 150 down waiting for a impeller. I believe that the pump will be to big.

If you could try it, that would be awesome. Please let me know how it works out. Thank you!

[rvitko]

I would defer to moondoggy, it looks from the specs that it is pretty close to the 9420 but the ratio of air to water may be off, skimmers tend to be built around very exact air and water flow rates so this is important for proper function.

[moondoggy4]

Nothing like promising something and not delivering I do apologize I am on call and just pulled a 26 hour day and then more OT so I have not been able to actually test it, I have the pump and the skimmer next to each other but not in the tank as of yet. So hopefully tomorrow I will get it in the sump and run it.
One day I would love to get a 9410 pump, I do have two 9420 pumps.

[Maximus]

No worries at all. Your job is more important than testing a skimmer and a pump. Thanks for helping out.

[moondoggy4]

Hopefully tomorrow I will be able to do it, I will be off on call for one day.

[moondoggy4]

I got the 9420 tunze hydrofaomer skimmer pump on my Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, first impressions it is a good match, I believe that I did not change the settings on the skimmer meaning the twist tube, the pump has been sitting for a while to it will need to break in a little I did soak it in vinegar and RO when I took the skimmer pump off line.
I do have a air meter tester for the pump, but not the ones most people use mine reads in L/min and it is pulling 15 L/min.
I have received in the mail today my new impeller from Vertex so I can compare both pumps on the air meter tester.
So far the pump is doing nicely, looks like a viable alternative.

[Maximus]

Great news! Can you tell me what the water level of your sump is? It sounds like the pump is pulling around 900 l/h of air which sounds right for the skimmer. I'm curious to see how much air the Sicce pump pulls in. I'm guessing around 800 l/h or 12-13 l/m. Does it overflow at all? If you open the pipe up all the way, where is the water level in the skimmer? Thanks again for all your help.

[Maximus]

One other question. How does it fit? Does the nozzle on the Tunze pump fit the inlet of the skimmer? Is it a perfect fit or do you have to modify it or use a different sized rubber/silicone coupling?

[moondoggy4]

2nd question The outlet for the Tunze 9420 is 3/4, the outlet for the Sicce Vertex pump is 3/4 I am using the newer style Vertex with the silicon tubing on the tunze pump. Secondly the tunze can lay flat and still be at the correct height for the pipe to fit in the skimmer body. My sump level is at 7'' deep. Tomorrow I should be able to test the new vertex impeller and volute.

[Maximus]

Sounds good. It really seems like it's a perfect match for the 150 skimmer.

[moondoggy4]

Why are you looking for an alternative?

[Maximus]

My first Sicce pump that came with the 150 skimmer kept dying on me. I called Proline and they sent me a new pump. So far so good. If this pump starts to die again, I'm going with the Tunze. Now, I read that the Tunze pump is similar to the Sicce as I believe it uses the Sicce motorblock but different impellers and volute. Is this true?

[moondoggy4]

Yes, that is a Roger question, I believe that Sicce made the pumps for tunze but to Tunze's specks, the hydrofoamers are great pumps last a long time and the impellers are cheap. The Sicce impellers are more expensive. The Sicce pumps the wire casing will fail right at were the pump connects to it, that is why I bought the 9420 to replace a Sicce 2500.

[rvitko]

Basically the newer skimmer pumps and Silence pumps were a cooperative effort, Sicce molds the parts and finishes the motors (except the 1073.050) and we use our own volute and needlewheels and do the final assembly.

[Maximus]

Sounds good. If this pump craps out on me, I am going with a Tunze.

[PlazMan]

With apologies for resurrecting an old thread, I can confirm that the Tunze 9420 seems to be a perfect match for the Vertex Omega 150. Based on the information above I purchased the Tunze to replace my failed Sicce pump, and after just a few days I am seeing better performance with the 9420 than I ever did with the original equipment.

[rvitko]

Thank you for this information!

[HefeWeizen]

I used a hydrofoamer on my ASM G3. Worked better than the original pump by far. The only thing was modifying the outlet pipe into the skimmer. Not hard, just some trial and error.

[spedly]

This might be a dumb question but can the 9420 pump be connected to a 9410 body? If so would this have a positive impact on skimming ability? I have a 9410 right now but it's undersized for my tank. Upgrading the pump may be a cheaper option than a brand new skimmer.

[rvitko]

The only real upgrade is a taller cup which will let you run the air full open, the 9420 is way too much pump for the small 9410 skimmer body.

[spedly]

Thank you Roger. That confirms what I thought.

[Yuurei]

Hi there

I'm new to the hobby, and as I'm planing my build, I've bought an Omega 150, secondhand.
It arrived dirty, with a dead pump, so now I'm considering replacing my dead Sicce with a Tunze Hydrofoamer 9420.

I have two questions left :

- Can I use my original Vertex volute on the Tunze pump ? or will I have to mod it?

- CanI screw the Tunze pump on the pump support plate supplied by Vertex ?

Thanks a lot

[rvitko]

The pump will include a volute, since the volute is very important to the function, by the restriction and placement of the air the water to air ratio is controlled, it is hard to say if this is a good idea or will work, generally the volute is matched to the skimmer but it is a combination of needle wheel and volute that feed the skimmer the right mix. If the pump is the newer Sicce style it should fit (i.e. the volute is secured with a screw to prevent it from spinning loose).