Welcome back to Part 2 of my Ghost Skimmer review. Miss Part 1? Read it here.

The skimmer has been running for over a week now in a controlled testing environment so here is my progress!
I'm testing this new skimmer in a 10 gallon tank without any livestock for a controlled environment. This is a simple barebones aquarium with just the Innovative Marine Ghost Protein Skimmer (FullSize) and a Tunze 6015 powerhead pump for water circulation. I used dirty water from my 75 gallon reef after a water change to fill up this tank.

I compared the Ghost Skimmer to my SWC 160 protein skimmer that I am using on my 75 gallon reef tank. I prefer to run my skimmers more wet compared to other hobbyists so I can pull out dissolved organics more quickly.

I wanted to measure how loud these skimmers are, so I downloaded the Sound Meter app on my Android phone to compare them. While this won't be the most scientific and accurate reading compared to an actual sound metering device, it worked well enough for a quick comparison test. My baseline room ambient noise reading came out to be 59 dB.

I made sure I turned off my return and reactor pumps before taking this reading. This is the measurement with my SWC skimmer at 66 dB

I had to use flash to be able to see the Ghost Skimmer so please excuse my blown out image. Next to the Ghost Skimmer I was getting a 68 dB reading. While it is louder, the skimmer has gotten quieter as it broke in. The pre-production skimmer has a metal shaft which I believe is making the impeller a little louder than it should be. I have requested the new ceramic shaft from Innovative Marine which I will hopefully get to test soon.

I've been pouring skimmate from my reef tank which has sped up the break-in process.

I started with my water level at about 11 inches which I think is close to what the Innovative Marine SR aquarium baffles are set at. The skimmer recently broke in so I will continue testing at this height to see if I can get dark and light skimmate after adjusting the height of the skimmer cup.

The skimmer is foaming pretty well. It took about a week until I got this thicker froth.

The foam has started to rise in the center column of the skimmer cup. Since the skimmer just broke in, I have the skimmer cup set at its lowest point.

Stay tuned for my final follow up post on its performance with the skimmer cup set at different heights, simulations with slight water level changes from evaporation, and reducing the overall water level to 6 to 9 inches which is the standard in most sumps.