Avast Marine Works equipment.

Jay4Robin,

If you don't mind, what was the problem with your swabby? I've had one running for about 2 months on a BK mini 160 with no issues until the other night. It was making some kind of different motor noise then usual...extra vibrations as well. The strange thing was that the wiper wasn't turning because it wasn't on at the time. I have it programmed via Apex for 1 minute in the AM and PM. This was some time after midnight (long after the programmed time). The only way to kill the noise was to unplug from the DC8. Anyways...long ramble...just wondering what your issue was.
Oh, and aside from this little incident, I have been very impressed with Avast products.

Matt
 
Thanks all for the feedback and compliments!

Jay, we figured out what was wrong with your Swabbie- Dan accidentally made a few 8" models with 5" lid rings, where the normal size is 6" lid ring. As soon as I have some of the correct 8" models I will have it out to you.

Matt, send me an email with any additional details and we'll figure out what's up with yours. Making motor noise with the power off is a new one for me :)

Fishbulb, any comments re: ozone assembly are welcome, just email me what wasn't clear in the instructions and I'll be happy to update them.

Justin
 
Justin I sent you everything back including my lid to use for comparison.
I also advised you about the cover on the motor how it was not sitting on it correctly.
Please check the set screw for me. It would not tighten all the way for me.
When do you think I will have the unit back with my lid?

I really was not expecting to have to wait long when I sent my lid to you.
 
Avast Marine Works "You Build" CS-1 Black Pearl Recirculating Protein Skimmer.

Avast Marine Works "You Build" CS-1 Black Pearl Recirculating Protein Skimmer.

So I have been very happy with my Bubble Magus NAC-5E Protein Skimmer since I bought it a few months back but as with everything in this aquarium build I have decided that I need to make some slight upgrades and adjustments in order to suite the overall goal of this aquarium. So I have noticed that my Nitrates have been slowly creeping up over the past few weeks (they are currently 20ppm as of this post). I have a tendency to over feed and my display is stocked quite heavily with various types of fish. So with those two factors in hand, I decided to do some research and investigation as to why my Nitrates are going up.

  1. I have taken the time to reduce the amount of food I feed on a daily basis. I have moved from introducing 4 to 5 cubes of various frozen foods to 1 cube per day.
  2. I have increased the aquarium water turnover by opening the ball valve controlling the amount of water return to the aquarium from the feed pump.
  3. I am conducting a 2 gallon water change weekly.

I also have a BioPellet Reactor that has been running for about 1 week now and still has on average about 3 to 4 weeks left in order to culture enough bacteria to start seeing a difference. Also my Fluidized Sand Bed Filter doesn't seem to be assisting in the reduction of Nitrates but in its defense it is also only 1 week old. So my next obvious choice would be to upgrade my current Protein Skimmer in order to address the issue. In the interim I stumbled across and article regarding the output of a BioPellet Reactor and that they recommended that it be placed as near to the Protein Skimmer water intake as possible or plumbed to feed it. So I figured this would be a better time then ever to upgrade.

I contacted Justin at Avast Marine Works and after a brief Q/A decided to order a recent addition to their equipment lineup, the Avast Marine Works "You Build" CS-1 Black Pearl Recirculating Protein Skimmer. It is currently in route and should be delivered by tomorrow. All I can say it that I am excited to see recieve it. I have been very pleased with all the products I have purchased from Avast Marine Works. I was only saddened that I did not have enough available cash at the time to purchase the Swabbie and the Davey Jones Skimmate Locker (they are next on my list). I am hoping that bad boy assist with my high Nitrate issues. Below is a photograph that Justin sent me of the unit and I can say this is definitely looks beautiful!


cs1-blackpearl_lg.png


View My Aquarium Journal
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2074357
 
Avast Marine Works "You Build" CS-1 Black Pearl Recirculating Protein Skimmer.

Avast Marine Works "You Build" CS-1 Black Pearl Recirculating Protein Skimmer.

Well I am finally done building the Avast Marine Works "You Build" CS-1 Black Pearl Recirculating Protein Skimmer. First let me say that this is not a difficult build but it is rather time consuming. So if anyone wonders why the you build version is about 63% percent more expense well the simple answer is: time is money! It took me about 1 hour just to unpack all the pieces and get everything sorted out and at various stages in the process you have to allow adequate time for the solvent to dry so pieces don't come apart. It's just a simple fact of engineering that if you attempt to rush this build project you are going to run into issues with the seems holding. With that being said it freaking looks awesome! Mine came with the standard oval Avast Marine Works decals and no the cool looking circular ones which just looks better from a aesthetic stand point in my opinion but maybe I can get Justin to send me on. Other then that there is no much that I can really complain about. I am running on 4 hours of sleep from building this but it was worth all the time! I'm hoping to have it setup in the aquarium sump after work this evening! I have included some photographs of the recirculating feature for those that asked. Also because of the smoked cone you cannot see the bubble plate inside but it is removable for cleaning. Also my apologies if some on the photographs are a bit blurry. I was putting this together until 2:00am last night.


AvastMarineWorks-1.jpg

AvastMarineWorks-2.jpg

AvastMarineWorks-3.jpg

AvastMarineWorks-4.jpg

AvastMarineWorks-5.jpg

AvastMarineWorks-6.jpg

AvastMarineWorks-7.jpg

AvastMarineWorks-8.jpg

AvastMarineWorks-9.jpg

AvastMarineWorks-10.jpg
 
Looks great! Time is money, but so is education. You now know a whole lot more about skimmers in general I'll bet, and if something ever goes wrong, you'll know exactly what to do in a pinch.

I'll send you a grey sticker :)
 
ctenophore said:
Looks great! Time is money, but so is education. You now know a whole lot more about skimmers in general I'll bet, and if something ever goes wrong, you'll know exactly what to do in a pinch.

I'll send you a grey sticker :)
Click to expand...

I will give a +1 to that! Thank you for the sticker! I definitely appreciate it!
 
Great pictures! According to UPS mine is currently sitting on my porch. I can't wait to get home and start putting it together.
 
smcwhirt said:
Great pictures! According to UPS mine is currently sitting on my porch. I can't wait to get home and start putting it together.
Click to expand...

Thank you. I think their a bit blurry but I am jacked up on caffiene currently. Just take your time building it and everything will go smoothly. Did you get the Recirculating model? If so and you need any help or guidance let me know.
 
No, I debated for a few days about recirculating or not and how to plumb it with the setup I have started. I still may add it later. I did splurge for the smoked cone, the swabbie and a davey jones locker however. It will be a fun project.
 
smcwhirt said:
No, I debated for a few days about recirculating or not and how to plumb it with the setup I have started. I still may add it later. I did splurge for the smoked cone, the swabbie and a davey jones locker however. It will be a fun project.
Click to expand...

Oh I am jealous! I will be ordering my swabbie and skimmate locker this coming Wednesday. Let me know how you like it. Did you get the float switch for the locker to turn off the Skimmer when full?
 
Avast doesn't use a float switch, it's pressure switch instead. I didn't ask for one, but I thought it was included with all of their lockers. I'll find out for sure tonight.
 
smcwhirt said:
Avast doesn't use a float switch, it's pressure switch instead. I didn't ask for one, but I thought it was included with all of their lockers. I'll find out for sure tonight.
Click to expand...

Cool didn't do my research on it yet but when I do I think I will get the switch. Nothing worse them having to cleanup stinky skimmate from a rug.
 
It even has an area to put carbon so the air is filtered coming out of the top. They shouldn't be any smell until you break the "seal". I'll try and get some pictures to share of the locker as well.
 
Cool thread. I ordered the CS-1 with the recirc kit and smoked cone yesterday so I'm going to be going crazy until it gets here. I love anything diy so this was right up my alley. I just hope it will keep up with my 110 reef tank.
 
AZReefJunkie said:
Cool thread. I ordered the CS-1 with the recirc kit and smoked cone yesterday so I'm going to be going crazy until it gets here. I love anything diy so this was right up my alley. I just hope it will keep up with my 110 reef tank.
Click to expand...

It should I actually have to empty the collection cup after two days!
 
I'm thinking about getting this for my 75g tank I'll be building.

Is the recirc mod worth the extra $35? Not sure how it works.

Plan is to initially get the skimmer then upgrade to the swabbie and locker then do a few media reactors :)
 
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