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

[TH3C1SC0K1D]

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!

View My Aquarium Journal Thread
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/tank-threads/105278-reef-grows-bronx.html#post1027975

 

[rickytsui]

looks good let see how it perform

 

[TH3C1SC0K1D]

Reply to Rickytsui

looks good let see how it perform

I definitely cannot wait for tomorrow!

 

[jrobbins]

cool! i was looking at those, but the clear one not the black one. do you have any experience working with acrylic? that is the only thing holding me back.

fwiw, water changes will also really help with nitrates.

 

[TH3C1SC0K1D]

cool! i was looking at those, but the clear one not the black one. do you have any experience working with acrylic? that is the only thing holding me back.

fwiw, water changes will also really help with nitrates.

Other then our purchasing other Avast Marine Works equipment that needed to be built I have no prior Acrylic experience. All I can say is that if you take your time it should come out with now issues at all.

 

[TH3C1SC0K1D]

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.

View My Aquarium Journal Thread
http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/...ml#post1027975

 

[Imbarrie]

This looks awesome!

I love the small footprint and the recirc option seems the way to go.
I would get the clear one also, something so satisfying about watching those bubbles.

 

[TH3C1SC0K1D]

This looks awesome!

I love the small footprint and the recirc option seems the way to go.
I would get the clear one also, something so satisfying about watching those bubbles.

Awesome it is! You can't see it in the photographs but you can still see through the smoked acrylic cone chamber. Obviously it much easier to see with the clear but personally the smoked acrylic serves me better. I will try to get a video when it is up and running to show you.

 

[NYreefNoob]

very nice but one thing i would do is add some rubber feet to the bottom of the stilts

 

[TH3C1SC0K1D]

Reply to NYreefnoob.

very nice but one thing i would do is add some rubber feet to the bottom of the stilts

They unit is actually quite heavy and runs extremely quite. I don't think the rubber feet are all that necessary in my opinion. I'm curious to why you would want rubber feet? Great idea though!

 

[dherrera83]

I think its to prevent noise when the skimmer is on. It will vibrate somewhat against the glass bottom of the sump causing some noise. Happened to me on my old skimmer. The one i have now has rubber feet.

 

[TH3C1SC0K1D]

I think its to prevent noise when the skimmer is on. It will vibrate somewhat against the glass bottom of the sump causing some noise. Happened to me on my old skimmer. The one i have now has rubber feet.

I would be guessing the same but their is honestly no noise from vibration from this piece of equipment.

 

[NYreefNoob]

yes it is to keep a vibration hum down, plastic on plastic versus little rubber feet on the bottom will eliminate any vibrations

 

[TH3C1SC0K1D]

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

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!

 

[Brando457]

Want to build mine

P.S. your thread here and on RC made me deicde to get this for my 75g upgrade I'm doing. I don't think I'll do the recirc though on such a small tank.

 

[TH3C1SC0K1D]

Reply to Brando457.

Want to build mine

P.S. your thread here and on RC made me deicde to get this for my 75g upgrade I'm doing. I don't think I'll do the recirc though on such a small tank.

Sure thing... I will do the work for an small Acropora Frag! Honestly if you would like me to I can. It would have to be done on a weekend and should take me about 2 days since you have to wait for 24 hours for certain parts to cure properly. I'm glad you made the choice to get it!

 

[Brando457]

I was kidding, but appreciate the offer! I watched the videos and seems like I'd be able to do it np. Only thing that worries me is making a nice seam.

Would you recommend the recirc mod for a 75g tank with 30g sump and mainly lps dominated with a few fish?

Any tips would be appreciated.

Oh and I'll be ordering the reactors too .

 

[TH3C1SC0K1D]

Reply to Brando457.

I was kidding, but appreciate the offer! I watched the videos and seems like I'd be able to do it np. Only thing that worries me is making a nice seam.

Would you recommend the recirc mod for a 75g tank with 30g sump and mainly lps dominated with a few fish?

Any tips would be appreciated.

Oh and I'll be ordering the reactors too .

I would recommend the recirculation modification to anyone with the extra $35.00 dollars to spend. It make the Protein Skimmer just that more efficient and give you the benefit of not having the Protein Skimmer effected by the level of the water in the sump. Just take your time with the seems and you should be fine.

 

[Brando457]

That requires an extra pump?

 

[TH3C1SC0K1D]

That requires an extra pump?

That depends... There is a pump used as the main recirculation pump and then you could use a second pump to feed the Skimmer or tee off from your drain pipe leading into the dump or as I did hooking it up to the exit valve of my biopellett reactor.