Pre-ordered the ALL NEW Innovative Marine SkimMate Ghost Skimmer

[Steensj2004]

I'm going to try the lube method on the impeller tomorrow. I am having a horrible time adjusting this thing though. Getting frustrated seeing as IM made it out to be so awesome.... Fingers still crossed.

[netsecpro]

Patience is a virtue with skimmers. I normally change my water on Wednesdays, but I'm going to go a few days longer this week in hopes that my water gets a little dirtier than usual and helps break this thing in. Keep the faith man.

[NuEoK]

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.

 

Hmmmmmm.... I have the mid size....

 

O wells if it's just a color variance then it's no biggy

[Steensj2004]

Patience is a virtue with skimmers. I normally change my water on Wednesdays, but I'm going to go a few days longer this week in hopes that my water gets a little dirtier than usual and helps break this thing in. Keep the faith man.

Netsecpro,

 

You may wanna go ahead and change that water...... Skimmer was doing the same ol nothing when I got home today. So i decided to go ahead and do my 4 gallon water change. When I change water, I vacuum the sane bed and blow debris from the rocks. Then I let the tank run a while so the old filter floss catches the floating garbage, then I change filter floss. I noticed when I restarted the system the skimmer began skimming immediately! I wonder why it can't pull stuff without the water stirred up....hmmm anyway, it definitely skims nice.....for now.

 

Really hoping this thing works out....looking to run bio-pellets to polish of the weeeeee little bit of nitrates I maintain( barely readable with Salifert), I am trying to get my water as pristine as possible.

 

Edit: it stopped again.....

[netsecpro]

Ok, so I finally got around to downloading a sound meter, I ended up getting dB Meter Promfor iOS. With my return pump and skimmer running, I averaged 58 Db with a peak of 63. With only my skimmer running, I averaged 56 Db with a peak of 58. Not bad in my opinion. Starting to get a little bit of foam, but not much. I dosed a bit to raise my Alk and it foamed like crazy for a few minutes.

[NYR]

I was looking to pair this with a fusion 30l. Since all the reviews I've seen so far have been a let down, I'm not sure what else will fit in the back of the fusion

[Steensj2004]

 

Ok, so I finally got around to downloading a sound meter, I ended up getting dB Meter Promfor iOS. With my return pump and skimmer running, I averaged 58 Db with a peak of 63. With only my skimmer running, I averaged 56 Db with a peak of 58. Not bad in my opinion. Starting to get a little bit of foam, but not much. I dosed a bit to raise my Alk and it foamed like crazy for a few minutes.

Consistent foam? Mine goes in spurts it seems... Not sure why it was skimming so well then just stopped?!

[NuEoK]

We have pretty limited options available. One I know of is CAD Light pls-50 and the tunze 9004.. or was it the 9002..

 

Also the Hydor nano skimmate does fit but you will ether have to remove one of your filter chamber or raise the water level of the overflow.

[malady]

Consistent foam? Mine goes in spurts it seems... Not sure why it was skimming so well then just stopped?!

what are you feeding?

 

whenever I feed reef chili or some types of frozen foods I will lose my foam head completely then it will rebuild again.

[masterbuilder]

In a small tank (esp. if you have a ATO unit) I would be cautious about plumbing the overflow vent into a jar or collector. If your skimmer goes nuts (they all will at one point) and begins to overflow then it can pump out a considerable amount of water. With an ATO running you can drastically lower the salinity in a short time and without a ATO you can lower the water level in your tank enough to cause problems with the return pump and other equipment in the rear chambers.

 

IMO.... its better just to let the any overflowing skimmate run back into your tank until you can fix the problem. You are not putting anything back into your tank that wasn't already there so it wont kill anything.

 

My two cents is about worth that

[jcreefer]

It's fairly normal for the skimmer to "go nuts" or reduce bubbling any time you put your hand in the tank, dose additives or feed.

 

Adjustments should also be done gradually as the skimmer gets accustomed to every change and every skimmer has it's own timetable to acclimate to these changes. Like I've said before, be patient and learn what your skimmer does in "your tank" before you go willy nilly with all sorts of adjustment, then blaming the skimmer's design. Please don't take it the wrong way, I just want people to be aware that every skimmers (good and bad) needs the time to "settle" and how long it takes to get settled really depends on individual tanks and your patience to let it do it's work. Perhaps the Ghost was marketed to reduce the break in period, but its performance would vary greatly from your tank to mine.

 

Now with that being said, I went from a Tunze 9002 to a JNS WS1 Nd now Cad Light PLS-50, and so far the PLS-50 has met my expectations thus far. My only complaints would be its touchiness to adjustments and the somewhat noisy-ness. But after a 4 day break in, it's pulling out some rather dark skims.

 

Jeff

[Nanofreak79]

Interesting read here. What's the point behind a so called fast break in, and how is that accomplished? I usually run my skimmer in vinegar for 15-20 minutes if new, to remove oils and any manufacturing crap. Reefers just got these and should know it's like any other skimmer, it takes time to break in. Leave it alone in it's highest setting and check it in a week or two. I'm glad everyone is giving feedback as I'm interested in these as well. I just feel everyone is jumping to get dark skim in 24 hours.

[Steensj2004]

Interesting read here. What's the point behind a so called fast break in, and how is that accomplished? I usually run my skimmer in vinegar for 15-20 minutes if new, to remove oils and any manufacturing crap. Reefers just got these and should know it's like any other skimmer, it takes time to break in. Leave it alone in it's highest setting and check it in a week or two. I'm glad everyone is giving feedback as I'm interested in these as well. I just feel everyone is jumping to get dark skim in 24 hours.

I in no way expect dark skim in 24 hours....frustrated that it is so loud and that it keeps kicking off and then stopping again.

[netsecpro]

Woke up this morning and found a nice foam along with some brackish looking skim in the cup. I have the cup close to its highest setting, and I'm just going to continue to let it sit. I'll check the cup again this evening when I get home from work. I have a feeling it's getting close.

[Steensj2004]

Woke up this morning and found a nice foam along with some brackish looking skim in the cup. I have the cup close to its highest setting, and I'm just going to continue to let it sit. I'll check the cup again this evening when I get home from work. I have a feeling it's getting close.

Where have you kept your cup during break-in? I have the valve all the way open again, and the cup pushed pretty far down. Do y ou have the bottom of the cup just barely touching the top of the water level?

[NYR]

We have pretty limited options available. One I know of is CAD Light pls-50 and the tunze 9004.. or was it the 9002.. Also the Hydor nano skimmate does fit but you will ether have to remove one of your filter chamber or raise the water level of the overflow.

 

I checked the PLS-50 and Tunze specs (both 9004 and 9002). The PLS will fit no problem, but i do not think either tunze will fit in the designated skimmer column in the back of the fusion 30L.

[netsecpro]

Where have you kept your cup during break-in? I have the valve all the way open again, and the cup pushed pretty far down. Do y ou have the bottom of the cup just barely touching the top of the water level?

 

I have the red o-ring sitting about an inch from the bottom of the cup, so it's sitting pretty high. I want to dry skim.

[Steensj2004]

Huh.... Guess I was being a Whitney biotch(yeah, I can admit it,lol). Skimming its arse off since I've been home. Nice thick foam and dark sludge starting to build. Micro bubbles are still kinda bad, sound is bearable but high still. Might try to live the impeller shaft as suggested. I really wish IM had put a ceramic shaft in this thing. Maybe a company like Sicce will release a replacement pump,lol

[netsecpro]

Here is what I came home to this afternoon. As you can see, I keep the cup pretty high. Also, micro bubbles are starting to subside. If this rate continues, IMs claim that the break in time is 50% less than other skimmers holds true in my experience. Tomorrow will be the one week mark since I put it in.

[Steensj2004]

Here is what I came home to this afternoon. As you can see, I keep the cup pretty high. Also, micro bubbles are starting to subside. If this rate continues, IMs claim that the break in time is 50% less than other skimmers holds true in my experience. Tomorrow will be the one week mark since I put it in.

Looking good man! This one over here is slimming its arse off! Micro bubbles are even better since I got home near 4 hours ago! I will have to say, IM delivered on this one. It is still loud, sitting 5 feet away with a movie playing I can hear it pretty easily. Sitting in the room having a conversation and it is annoyingly loud. I am going to see about the Vasoline method this weekend if it doesn't quit down. The way this thing is skimming I honestly don't care about the noise,lol!

 

Off topic, I wanted this skimmer to run bio-pellets( everyone seems to say you HAVE to run a skimmer with pellets). Often you hear to run the outlet of the reactor right next to the skimmer intake, will I be ok to have these separated by the center,"Return" chamber?

[netsecpro]

You might want to call IM and see if they'll give you another pump. I have my tank sitting right next to my chair in my "cave" and I can barely hear it over my stock BioCube pump.

 

I just pulled my skimmer out so I could get the serial number off of it for my warranty registration and the micro bubbles are crazy right now. I'm sure they will subside within the next few hours though.

[Steensj2004]

Yeah, in a completely quiet room and everything else off it is at 65 dB. The guy at IM told me that was about right....I dunno, seems awfully loud to me

 

Thanks for the reminder! I need to register my skimmer as well!

[netsecpro]

Here's a quick clip of my tank this morning. In it you can see the height at which I keep my collection cup as well as some of the gunk it has collected. I tried to capture the noise level as well. This is in a completely silent room with all my equipment running. Enjoy!

 

[NanoFever]

Ya thats about how loud mine is too. Sounds good to me. My tank is fairly new and I dont have the bubbles that others seem to be getting. Very little dirty water in my cup every few days. Could this just be because my water hasnt accumulated enough gunk in it yet to skim off?

[netsecpro]

It's possible, everybody's tank is different.