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Unread 09/22/2011, 12:03 PM   #26
TH3C1SC0K1D
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Wink

I couldn't contain myself so I just order another MR5 Media Reactor and the K1 Kali Stirrer with ATB BioPellets.


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Unread 09/22/2011, 04:43 PM   #27
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Post Filling the Avast Marine Works MR5 "You Build" Media Reactor.

So I took a little trip to PetSmart to pick up some CaribSea Ocean Direct Live Sand for my Media Reactor. I had enough to fill the media reactor and also fill my Quarantine Aquariums sand bed. Unfortunately I cannot connect it to the system yet because I am still waiting on the delivery of the pump as well as items to plumb my sump. :banghead:








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Unread 09/22/2011, 07:51 PM   #28
Fishbulb2
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I have their largest mutiny reactor. Just a solid awesome piece of equipment. Great materials, great product, and great support. My only complaint (if forced to make one) was that the instructions on the Mutiny could be improved. Otherwise, everything about the build went smoothly. I also love how they include the glue and literally everything you could possibly need to assemble these things. I would definitely buy from them again. They need to offer a larger skimmer size though and I'd buy it for sure.

FB


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Unread 09/22/2011, 08:35 PM   #29
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Thumbs up

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fishbulb2 View Post
I have their largest mutiny reactor. Just a solid awesome piece of equipment. Great materials, great product, and great support. My only complaint (if forced to make one) was that the instructions on the Mutiny could be improved. Otherwise, everything about the build went smoothly. I also love how they include the glue and literally everything you could possibly need to assemble these things. I would definitely buy from them again. They need to offer a larger skimmer size though and I'd buy it for sure.

FB
I was also impressed with that. I didn't even expect to find tubing or the valve for flow control. I was expecting to buy those separately.


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Unread 09/22/2011, 08:50 PM   #30
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Yeah, the ozone reactors come with a lot of silicone tubing. Which at 1/2" is typically not cheap. Also love the air flow meter.


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Unread 09/22/2011, 09:34 PM   #31
shifty51008
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Can i ask what the purpose is putting sand in the reactor


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Unread 09/23/2011, 12:35 AM   #32
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I agreed with Fishbulb2, I wished they offered a larger skimmer. Their only skimmer wouldn't cut it for my 120gal.

I'm also, curious as to why you put stand in the reactor?


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Unread 09/23/2011, 01:00 AM   #33
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Late to the love fest (LOL), but have had nothing but positive experiences with Avast.

Well designed and executed products and the customer service is bar non the best I have ever dealt with anywhere anytime no matter the product, service or industry...

Where else would you get an e-mail a week after asking a question, out of the blue, that starts with "I was helping a customer today with a similar problem and thought you might want to try..."

I've also enjoyed building my own equipment - there is an extra little bit of pride knowing you assembled something yourself. More importantly, I have a better understanding of what I have and have not been afraid to modify to suit my needs.

So far here is what I have installed in order: K1 Kalk Reactor, CS1 w/ Swabbie & Davy Jones Locker, Mutiny I Ozone Reactor, MR5 18" Media Reactor and 3 Digital ATO's.

Highly recommend and have no affiliation other than being a very satisfied customer.


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Unread 09/23/2011, 02:08 AM   #34
shifty51008
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They have a new skimmer called the black pearl that i think is bigger, looks sweet


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Unread 09/23/2011, 05:38 AM   #35
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shifty51008 View Post
Can i ask what the purpose is putting sand in the reactor
I was wondering the same thing. What is the sand in the reactor for? Are you trying a fluidised biofilter or something?


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Unread 09/23/2011, 05:43 AM   #36
TH3C1SC0K1D
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shifty51008 View Post
Can i ask what the purpose is putting sand in the reactor
I'm using it as a Fluidized Sand Bed Filter. Basically the sand it kept in suspension which allows the bacteria to grow over the entire grain of sand. I see them all the time in public aquariums and wanted one for myself. I will post a video when everything is up and running.


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Unread 09/24/2011, 09:01 PM   #37
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Post

If anyone was interested here is a link to my thread on the Avast Marine Works K1 " You Build" Kalkwasser Stirrer: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2074301


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Unread 09/24/2011, 09:42 PM   #38
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Want2BS8ed View Post
Late to the love fest (LOL), but have had nothing but positive experiences with Avast.

Well designed and executed products and the customer service is bar non the best I have ever dealt with anywhere anytime no matter the product, service or industry...

Where else would you get an e-mail a week after asking a question, out of the blue, that starts with "I was helping a customer today with a similar problem and thought you might want to try..."

I've also enjoyed building my own equipment - there is an extra little bit of pride knowing you assembled something yourself. More importantly, I have a better understanding of what I have and have not been afraid to modify to suit my needs.

So far here is what I have installed in order: K1 Kalk Reactor, CS1 w/ Swabbie & Davy Jones Locker, Mutiny I Ozone Reactor, MR5 18" Media Reactor and 3 Digital ATO's.

Highly recommend and have no affiliation other than being a very satisfied customer.
I can definitely give this a +1


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Unread 09/25/2011, 06:52 PM   #39
Jay4Robin
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small problem with swabby.

looks like they will handle. I was nervous but just received an email advising me about sending a fedex label


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Last edited by Jay4Robin; 09/25/2011 at 06:58 PM.
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Unread 09/25/2011, 07:29 PM   #40
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Thumbs up Reply to Jay4robin.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay4Robin View Post
small problem with swabby.

looks like they will handle. I was nervous but just received an email advising me about sending a fedex label
See great customer service! I don't think you have a thing to worry about.


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Unread 09/25/2011, 10:12 PM   #41
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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


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Unread 09/26/2011, 07:37 PM   #42
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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


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Unread 09/26/2011, 07:49 PM   #43
Jay4Robin
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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.


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Unread 10/11/2011, 09:21 PM   #44
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Post 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
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2074357


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Unread 10/14/2011, 05:38 AM   #45
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Post 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.














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Unread 10/14/2011, 05:38 AM   #46
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Post Continued...







View My Aquarium Journal
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...8#post19389168


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Unread 10/14/2011, 10:08 AM   #47
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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


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Unread 10/14/2011, 10:39 AM   #48
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Quote:
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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
I will give a +1 to that! Thank you for the sticker! I definitely appreciate it!


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Unread 10/14/2011, 11:50 AM   #49
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Great pictures! According to UPS mine is currently sitting on my porch. I can't wait to get home and start putting it together.


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Unread 10/14/2011, 11:55 AM   #50
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Great pictures! According to UPS mine is currently sitting on my porch. I can't wait to get home and start putting it together.
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.


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