So I have the 9002, or should say had, and have hated the damn thing since day 1. horribly finicky when it comes to water level, the pump went twice, the pump would consistently fall out of the bottom, and it never really produced much skimmate.... in comes my decision as to which way to go from here. RIght now I have no bioload other than a few snails. I'm in the midst of essentially a rebuild (new sand bed etc), and I want to get all the filtration locked up before I restock. Does anyone have an opinion on the 9001 vs the 9004? Is the 9004 that much more superior? also lookin @ the hydro slim skim... any thoughts/opinions are appreciated
Need help in deciding on a new skimmer.
- Thread starter rhino-31
- Start date
Space heater
New member
I have been running the slim skim on my 40 gallon total volume system for almost 2 months now. It took a bit of fiddling with to get it dialed in, but it's now working very well. I will say that it is pretty loud. Also, the mounting system with the magnetic suction cups works very well as long as your tank doesn't have a pronounced rim and you have room for the outer suction cup. In my case the rim was too thick and the suction cups too low, so I had to build an in tank stand to hold it at the proper level. Overall I'm happy with the performance but between the noise and the limited mounting options I won't be buying another one if it fails.
cheeset202
New member
I originally had the first version of the IM skimmer on a 24 gal IM tank and it was a total piece of junk. Bought the new IM ghost skimmer and it has been great, amazing what a little engineering will do! I had to get the smallest one as the midsize would not fit in the sump.
cheeset202
New member
Can't really answer your question but it does remove a lot of fish waste which I am assuming is ago did thing to do regardless of the size of the tank.
mike1024
New member
Was it this one? http://innovative-marine.com/auqa-gadget/skim-mate.html
That's the one I have on my tank. I'm curious why you think it's junk - not questioning you, mind you, just want to know. I have no basis for comparison, this being my first skimmer in my first tank.
cheeset202
New member
That was the first one I had, the new one is a total redesign. The problems I was having was constantly needing to adjust the flow valve to get the right micro bubbles to send the foam into the collection cup. Every time my ATO would add water to the rear sump the skimmer would run to wet filling the cup in about 5-10 minutes. The airline was constantly plugging with salt creep and I cleaned so much that I ended up breaking the little nub on the pump that the hose slid onto. I had the system overflow once while I was away and the water flowed onto the retainer ring and then onto the floor, consequently the ATO kept putting fresh water into my tank, almost causing a total tank disaster. I replaced it with the new IM skimmer, absolutely no problems, design is such that even In the event of an overflow the water will go back to tank and not the floor. There is just no comparison between the 2 skimmers. If your older style skimmer is working well that is great, just test where your water will go if something goes wrong and the collection cup overflows.
cheeset202
New member
I apologize to anyone if I upset them with my comment about the original IM skimmer was junk. It would have been better if I said I had many problems with it, I know how I feel when I spend good money on tank equipment only to read about it not working for others. There are many factors that can cause a piece of equipment to work differently on different tanks. Happy reefing!
mike1024
New member
Heh, wasn't one bit offended. It's not like I designed it or anything
. It's the only skimmer I ever dealt with, I was curious what didn't work for you, so I'd know what to watch out for. Thanks for the details! In my case, it would empty into the tank, so at least it wouldn't affect salinity.cheeset202
New member
Mike, just to be sure is your skimmer
cheeset202
New member
Whoops hit the send button early! Does your skimmer sit in the back tank supported by the plastic ring attached to the glass. In my case when the skim cup overflowed the fluid went across this ring and onto the floor. My skimmer was in the rear sump as designed but the retaining ring makes a great bridge for the fund to make it out of the tank.
mike1024
New member
Ah, good point, thanks. Never tested what happens when it overflows heavily. Yep, that's the same model I have. I see exactly what you mean, it could easily leak all over the place. Thanks again. Always the things you don't think about that getcha.
rustyjames
EMT-B
Sorry you had a bad experience with the 9002. I've had mine for 2+ years and have been happy with it. The housing is definitely cheap but it works well for a small skimmer. This is about four days in a sump with constant water level.
cheeset202
New member
Rustyjames the bad experience was with the original IM skimmer, not the 9002 you have.
mike1024
New member
Here's an example:
See the plate that attaches it to the side of the tank? That's what cheeset202 meant. Hasn't happened to me, but I can see how it could. I'm otherwise pretty happy with it.
rustyjames
EMT-B
I was actually responding to the op first post.
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