Pre-ordered the ALL NEW Innovative Marine SkimMate Ghost Skimmer

[Steensj2004]

Questions:

 

-Does your collection cup lid have the gasket it is supposed to have? Mine does not.

-Does your collection cup lid have the rim on the bottom that sits around the cup inlet(like in all the pictures), helps route skimmate into the cup i think. Mine doesn't have this.

-Lastly, does your skimmer have the a metal shaft in the pump? I understoof production models were supposed to have a ceramic shaft like the ecotech pumps?

[IMSR80]

I used Sound Meter app on Android phone to measure my VorTech MP40 today at 60% speed. The level is about 64db....

I will measure if this Ghost skimmer is loud or not tomorrow once it arrives.

I assume most ghosts are quiet.... if a ghost is loud, that really is a problem and definitely bothers me

[Steensj2004]

Good news! This skimmer all the sudden kicked into gear after about an hour of tinkering, and about two hours of running. I played heavily with skimmer cup height and air intake....nice, pulsating foam head. I will likely need to adjust it to skim dryer at some point but it seems to be skimming dry.

 

Now if I could get the rattle down a bit, all would be good!

[netsecpro]

Questions:

 

-Does your collection cup lid have the gasket it is supposed to have? Mine does not.

-Does your collection cup lid have the rim on the bottom that sits around the cup inlet(like in all the pictures), helps route skimmate into the cup i think. Mine doesn't have this.

-Lastly, does your skimmer have the a metal shaft in the pump? I understoof production models were supposed to have a ceramic shaft like the ecotech pumps?

 

What gasket is the collection cup lid supposed to have.?

My lid does have the round rim on the bottom.

My skimmer does have a metal shaft too? From what I read of Marine Depot's part 1 review, they verified that the production models were to have ceramic shafts. Maybe I will call IM tomorrow if I have time during the day. A ceramic shaft should help quiet things down a bit.

[malady]

Frustrated....anyone else getting any skim from this yet...I can't even get the bubbles moving up the next past the tapered part......sigh.

no experience with this skimmer but it usually take me 2 weeks before I start building a nice consistent foam head

[Steensj2004]

no experience with this skimmer but it usually take me 2 weeks before I start building a nice consistent foam head

 

That was the whole point behind this skimmer, 50% faster break in.../

 

What gasket is the collection cup lid supposed to have.?

My lid does have the round rim on the bottom.

My skimmer does have a metal shaft too? From what I read of Marine Depot's part 1 review, they verified that the production models were to have ceramic shafts. Maybe I will call IM tomorrow if I have time during the day. A ceramic shaft should help quiet things down a bit.

 

Look in your manual, it shows a part number for a gasket. It also shows a ring on the underside of the lid I every picture and videos.... Where the eff is that, ever skimmer I have ever owned had that ring deal on the bottom of the collection cup lid....?

[Steensj2004]

Mine has been steady for the last few hours. I have good Hope. I touched the air valve down a bit to slow it down....I want a dry skimmate.

 

When I adjusted mine and got it working I pulled the cup up as high as possible. I turned the air all the way off, then slowly pushed the cup down just a hair past where it made contact with the water. I then turned the air up a quarter turn at a time and waited( about 20 min between each adjustment) until I felt it was where it needed to be. After I made the last adjustment it was pushing a foam head in 30 minutes.

 

I've found the air adjustment isn't like other skimmers, it takes a few minutes for it to actually change. I was turning the air knob then seeing no real change and turning it again.....you have to wait between adjustments or you will over adjust.

 

Hope this helps.

[netsecpro]

Yeah, I see a part listed in the manual, but what video have you seen that shows it? I think that if there was an o-ring in the top of the lid it would sit securely on top of the collection cup.

 

I'm going to call IM tomorrow and see what they have to say.

 

One more thing, about how many quarter turns did you do to where you were satisfied with the flow?

[Steensj2004]

The videos show the clear plastic ring on the underside of the cup.... Like all other skimmers have. So do the pictures. It is slightly bigger than the collection cup tube.....

 

I think my valve is about 1/2 the way out.... I think I turned it about 8-12 times-ish

[Steensj2004]

Well as of this AM it stopped skimming.....no foam head

[NanoFever]

Mine has been foaming since Friday. Got some "gunk" starting to build as well. I am not sure of the o-ring you guys are talking about. I will have to take a look when I get home to see if mine has it or not.

[netsecpro]

Mine has been foaming since Friday. Got some "gunk" starting to build as well. I am not sure of the o-ring you guys are talking about. I will have to take a look when I get home to see if mine has it or not.

 

When I checked this morning, I had a little bit, and I mean very little bit, of brownish sludge in my cup.

 

NanoFever, does your pump have a metal or ceramic shaft inside? If you have a chance can you check it out and let us know?

 

Thanks!

[StevieT]

The videos show the clear plastic ring on the underside of the cup.... Like all other skimmers have. So do the pictures. It is slightly bigger than the collection cup tube.....

 

I think my valve is about 1/2 the way out.... I think I turned it about 8-12 times-ish

 

The desktop version does not. The midsize version does and I would imagine the full size does as well. It's a 2" round acrylic tube cut and welded to the lid.

 

The problem with the pictures IM has on their site is the desktop and the midsize are the same picture, just scaled to look sized different. Same with their manual. None of our DeskTop skimmers in-stock have a ring on the cups lid.

 

The lid does not get a gasket, there is a red gasket around the cup itself for height adjustment.

[netsecpro]

The desktop version does not. The midsize version does and I would imagine the full size does as well. It's a 1.5" round acrylic tube cut and welded to the lid.

 

The problem with the pictures IM has on their site is the desktop and the midsize are the same picture, just scaled to look sized different. Same with their manual. None of our DeskTop skimmers in-stock have a ring on the cups lid.

 

The lid does not get a gasket, there is a red gasket around the cup itself for height adjustment.

 

What kind of shaft does your impeller have? Also, does the impeller look like the one shown in MDs photos?

 

Thanks!

[StevieT]

What kind of shaft does your impeller have? Also, does the impeller look like the one shown in MDs photos? Thanks!

 

Metal shaft

 

The pictures on the MD blog are of a full size version, the needle wheel in the desktop and midsize we have do not look like the pics

[Steensj2004]

Talked to IM.... Cannot get this thing to skim to save my life. Was skimming great then all the sudden poof, it stopped since last night. I've tried everything ... Should I have the cup barely touching the water? They also said it is supposed to be this loud.... The cheap iPhone app says 65db...... Sigh. Frustrated as heck....

 

Also should add this thing has a slime coat inside the cup.... Normally it should start pulling.... No idea. Guy on the phone(Paul) said it only took their skimmer 4 days to break in....

[Steensj2004]

Mine has been foaming since Friday. Got some "gunk" starting to build as well. I am not sure of the o-ring you guys are talking about. I will have to take a look when I get home to see if mine has it or not.

 

How do you have yours set? Mine is spitting out more and more micro bubbles too....

[netsecpro]

I had a nice conversation with Royce at IM, and he cleared things up for me. He let me know that the review that Marine Depot did was on the full sized unit, and that desktop and mid sized units do in fact come with a metal shaft. He also told me that the white impeller is the correct one for the desktop and mid sized models. he even went as far as to put me on hold so he could go and check one of their production units.

 

One other thing, Royce also mentioned that there isn't a rubber o-ring for the top of the collection lid on the mid sized models.

 

After our conversation, I am much more at ease with this unit. I'm sure it is only a matter of time before I start getting a good amount of skim mate. He asked what model of IM tank I had mine in and I let him know that I don't have an IM tank and that I am running it in a BioCube. He was happy to hear that, and told me that I am pretty much a guinea pig at this point for them. I let him know that I had built a small shelf out of egg crate for it to sit on and that I put some foam inside the shelf in order to help prevent the micro bubbles. After he heard that, he advised me that I should remove that foam since it blocks the bottom of the skimmer, and that it would in fact cause more micro bubbles. So if anyone is doing anything to block the bottom of their skimmers, it isn't recommended.

 

After looking at my skimmer again, I did notice that the drain tube on the collection cup had a cap on the end of it. I'm not sure if it is supposed to be there, but I removed that cap because if I do ever have an overflow, that cap won't help things.

 

I hope this helps clear things up for anyone who is having issues. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to let me know.

 

And before I forget, he mentioned that someone named John from VA had also called him today about the skimmer.

 

Thanks!

[Steensj2004]

I had a nice conversation with Royce at IM, and he cleared things up for me. He let me know that the review that Marine Depot did was on the full sized unit, and that desktop and mid sized units do in fact come with a metal shaft. He also told me that the white impeller is the correct one for the desktop and mid sized models. he even went as far as to put me on hold so he could go and check one of their production units.

 

One other thing, Royce also mentioned that there isn't a rubber o-ring for the top of the collection lid on the mid sized models.

 

After our conversation, I am much more at ease with this unit. I'm sure it is only a matter of time before I start getting a good amount of skim mate. He asked what model of IM tank I had mine in and I let him know that I don't have an IM tank and that I am running it in a BioCube. He was happy to hear that, and told me that I am pretty much a guinea pig at this point for them. I let him know that I had built a small shelf out of egg crate for it to sit on and that I put some foam inside the shelf in order to help prevent the micro bubbles. After he heard that, he advised me that I should remove that foam since it blocks the bottom of the skimmer, and that it would in fact cause more micro bubbles. So if anyone is doing anything to block the bottom of their skimmers, it isn't recommended.

 

After looking at my skimmer again, I did notice that the drain tube on the collection cup had a cap on the end of it. I'm not sure if it is supposed to be there, but I removed that cap because if I do ever have an overflow, that cap won't help things.

 

I hope this helps clear things up for anyone who is having issues. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to let me know.

 

And before I forget, he mentioned that someone named John from VA had also called him today about the skimmer.

 

Thanks!

 

 

Yeah, that was me, talked to two different guys. Also was told it will take more time for break in, wonder if the micro bubbles will stop because they are pretty bad.... They also told me there was no o-ring and the shaft was metal. Kinda think they shoulda added the ceramic shaft for noise reduction.... Still pretty noisey....

[netsecpro]

Yeah, that was me, talked to two different guys. Also was told it will take more time for break in, wonder if the micro bubbles will stop because they are pretty bad.... They also told me there was no o-ring and the shaft was metal. Kinda think they shoulda added the ceramic shaft for noise reduction.... Still pretty noisey....

 

Maybe they will at least consider a ceramic shaft in the future.

[Steensj2004]

Maybe they will at least consider a ceramic shaft in the future.

 

Yeah, really hope this thing straightens up soon

[NuEoK]

Thanks for posting that guys. At least now I know im not the only one with the noise issue. Its a pretty loud unit. Its not the bubbling or the slight humm thats loud, there seems to be a pretty distinct grinding, ticking, clicking, gargling sounds that really resonates through out the house. Its not really about the db rating but the sound frequency (pitch) that can be perceived louder then other noise with the same db ratings.

 

My midsize model started to pull some skims on day 5. Its still pretty wet skim, but I am willing to let it run for another week. Yes at first the bubbles would not even come up the middle shaft of the collection cup no matter how low I set it. But over time the bubbles become thicker and started to travel up the shaft. So right now the red ring is about .25 inches from the drain plug. And the air is pretty much unrestricted.

 

White impeller? I could of sworn my was blue. I will take it apart today to check the color.

 

And yes there is a cap on the drain plug.

[Dramad1]

 

 

After looking at my skimmer again, I did notice that the drain tube on the collection cup had a cap on the end of it. I'm not sure if it is supposed to be there, but I removed that cap because if I do ever have an overflow, that cap won't help

 

Thanks!

remove the cap and install some fish tubing to it and then run that tube down to an empty jar or bottle. In the event your skimmer does overflow it will dump into the bottle or jar and not the rear chamber of you tank. Not sure if you knew this. If so oops. Just trying to help.

[netsecpro]

remove the cap and install some fish tubing to it and then run that tube down to an empty jar or bottle. In the event your skimmer does overflow it will dump into the bottle or jar and not the rear chamber of you tank. Not sure if you knew this. If so oops. Just trying to help.

 

No worries. I doubt I'll ever have to worry about my collection cup over filling. I just didn't notice the cap until I started taking a closer look at things.

[netsecpro]

Thanks for posting that guys. At least now I know im not the only one with the noise issue. Its a pretty loud unit. Its not the bubbling or the slight humm thats loud, there seems to be a pretty distinct grinding, ticking, clicking, gargling sounds that really resonates through out the house. Its not really about the db rating but the sound frequency (pitch) that can be perceived louder then other noise with the same db ratings.

 

My midsize model started to pull some skims on day 5. Its still pretty wet skim, but I am willing to let it run for another week. Yes at first the bubbles would not even come up the middle shaft of the collection cup no matter how low I set it. But over time the bubbles become thicker and started to travel up the shaft. So right now the red ring is about .25 inches from the drain plug. And the air is pretty much unrestricted.

 

White impeller? I could of sworn my was blue. I will take it apart today to check the color.

 

And yes there is a cap on the drain plug.

 

If you have a full size model, then you should have a blue impeller according to IM.

 

I have my valve open about 3/4 of the way and the noise is minimal. I have some gargling sound but is isn't bad. I'll try and find a sound meter for iOS tomorrow and get a Db reading. I'll make sure the skimmer is the only thing running when I do my testing.