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TH3C1SC0K1D

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

Rating: 15 votes, 5.00 average.
13 Comments
by
TH3C1SC0K1D
, 10-11-2011 at 10:16 PM (3908 Views)
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!







Update: Friday, October 14, 2011


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.




















Update: Monday, October 17, 2011

The new protein Skimmer has been in operation since Friday evening and I honestly couldn't be more happier. This is a photograph of the skimmate production from over the weekend. I think this is enough to show that the recirculating model is more then doing it's job. I'm going to need a skimmate locker before my swabbie!




View My Aquarium Journal
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Updated 10-17-2011 at 08:11 PM by TH3C1SC0K1D

Categories
‎ Tank Entry , ‎ Water Chemistry , ‎ Equipment

Comments

  1. baker.shawn's Avatar
    that skimmer looks great! what is that horozontal tube for? that would blow my mind if its to input biopellet effluent
    idk about you but ever since i started ordering stuff online the ups guy is my new favorite person
  2. Myhahockeykid's Avatar
    I put your box together today with Justin...no joke, I work for him. That skimmer is a BEAST, you'll be very very happy with how well built it is, the quality of the parts and the overall thought and design that goes into such a product.

    The horizontal tube is for the feed pump as this is a recirculating skimmer, it is absolutely possible to plumb your biopellet reactor into the feed using a "T". Hope you enjoy!
  3. TH3C1SC0K1D's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by baker.shawn
    that skimmer looks great! what is that horozontal tube for? that would blow my mind if its to input biopellet effluent
    idk about you but ever since i started ordering stuff online the ups guy is my new favorite person
    I am actually going to connect the output of my BioPellets to the hose that is cut in the photograph. I know what you mean about the delivery people! I never get to see them but they leave happiness at my doorstep.
  4. TH3C1SC0K1D's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by Myhahockeykid
    I put your box together today with Justin...no joke, I work for him. That skimmer is a BEAST, you'll be very very happy with how well built it is, the quality of the parts and the overall thought and design that goes into such a product.

    The horizontal tube is for the feed pump as this is a recirculating skimmer, it is absolutely possible to plumb your biopellet reactor into the feed using a "T". Hope you enjoy!
    Thank you. If my stickers are bent again I know who to blame. LOL I cannot wait to get it! I have been happy with every Avast Marine Works product and purchase and will continue to purchase from you guys for a long time to come.
  5. trplxj's Avatar
    I can't wait to see how this skimmer works for you. I've been looking at the Avast skimmers for a while now wondering if I should get one when I upgrade my 90 to a 180.
  6. Myhahockeykid's Avatar
    I would say that a 180 might be pushing it for the standard Black Pearl, but I know a larger one is in the works. But definitely if you get in touch with Justin he will be happy to do custom stuff as large as you'd like (his skimmer is 8 1/2' tall on a ~ 2000 gal system).
  7. TH3C1SC0K1D's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by trplxj
    I can't wait to see how this skimmer works for you. I've been looking at the Avast skimmers for a while now wondering if I should get one when I upgrade my 90 to a 180.
    I definitely will let you know. I was hoping to have it delivered today but United Parcel Service apparently takes two days to get here instead of Federal Express's one day transit time.
  8. melev's Avatar
    That skimmer looks gorgeous. If Avast ever makes something that could handle my 400g, I'd probably give it a try. The black or smoked acrylic will reduce algae growth in the skimmer body, but you can't see the bubbles at all. I'd love a strip or band of clear acrylic running up the cone that would give me a viewing access point.

    I love my Swabbie, and run it 4x a day.

    I used a PVC Tee-fitting to feed the NP biopellet effluent into my skimmer's pump's intake. It is working very well.

    Why only 2-gallon water changes per week ? Seems like it is hardly worth the effort.
  9. Myhahockeykid's Avatar
    Marc - the acrylic isnt nearly as dark in person as the pictures make it seem, it's much more translucent and you can easily see the bubble level if you have any ambient light source (fish room or cabinet light). HTH
  10. melev's Avatar
    Thanks for clearing that up. Makes sense. Love the name of the model.
  11. TH3C1SC0K1D's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by melev
    That skimmer looks gorgeous. If Avast ever makes something that could handle my 400g, I'd probably give it a try. The black or smoked acrylic will reduce algae growth in the skimmer body, but you can't see the bubbles at all. I'd love a strip or band of clear acrylic running up the cone that would give me a viewing access point.

    I love my Swabbie, and run it 4x a day.

    I used a PVC Tee-fitting to feed the NP biopellet effluent into my skimmer's pump's intake. It is working very well.

    Why only 2-gallon water changes per week ? Seems like it is hardly worth the effort.
    I have such little water volume in my aquarium that I don't want to throw anything off. I'm just trying to get a baseline routine going then I will make small adjustments over time. Also a question for you Melev, are you dispensing 100% of the BioPellet Effluent into Protein Skimmer's Intake Pump? I am only asking because you said you utilized a PVC Tee. Also I will try and get a video up and running of the Translucency of the Smoked Acrylic. The photographs actually make it appear much darker then it actually is. Also why don't you shoot Justin of Avast Marine Works an Email, they may be able to modify something for you to accommodate your large reef aquarium (so Jealous! )
  12. melev's Avatar
    The skimmer's Eheim pump is sucking in 100% of the effluent from the NP reactor. The reason I use a Tee fitting is to make sure the Eheim gets enough water and isn't starving the pump.

  13. TH3C1SC0K1D's Avatar
    Quote Originally Posted by melev
    The skimmer's Eheim pump is sucking in 100% of the effluent from the NP reactor. The reason I use a Tee fitting is to make sure the Eheim gets enough water and isn't starving the pump.

    That makes sense now. I will post some photographs later, but I have a Maxi-Jet 1100 Utility Pump rated for 294 gph that is responsible for pulling water into the Avast Marine Works MR-5 Media Reactor (filled with BioPellets) then going directly into the feed input of the Avast Marine Works CS-1 Black Pearl Recirculating Protein Skimmer. Since it is Recirculating I don't have to worry about the pump not getting enough water inside the skimmer. However, I may replace it some a bit more powerful later on since the tumbling of the BioPellet media has decreased a bit but not enough to warrant replacing it right now.