Avast Marine CS3 Cone Skimmer Kit (1 Viewer)

[flipside]

I just purchased this thing and I'm going to do a Leo review on it. Basically, I'm going to use all 15 words that I know when I write it.

It's fairly new and uses two Sicce PSK 1000's in recirculation mode. The footprint is 16" x 16", so it won't fit in my sump. I'm setting up a remote sump for it, plumbed into my system.

Reefbuilders did a nice job reviewing it... uh... today. Should be interesting.

I am coming from a SWC 230 Cone with a Laguna 1500 pump, so it's going to take a lot to impress me.

More to follow. I did FedEx shipping so it should be here by the time the group buy for the WP40's come in.

 

[sergio nuncio]

I just returned my Avast product..

The quality of the product was about a 6 out of 10.. The workmanship could've been better..

The whole return process took me over 30 days, part of the problem was communication with Avast and not the distributer..

After installation discovered it leaked overnight...

I received confirmation the item was delivered 2 days ago, still no refund or email of replacement being sent out...

Just a heads up...

 

[flipside]

Sorry to hear that, man. To be honest, I haven't experienced the same issues you have.

So, on to the skimmer...

I got it today. Shipping was as expected (from FedEx) and the items showed up undamaged. One of the pumps has a crack in part of the plastic housing, but it's a clip on piece. It won't negatively impact functionality.

After opening the box, I immediately inspected all parts. The parts were wrapped in plastic pretty well, so no complaints there.

For this skimmer, there are no exclusive instructions. One must rely on the assembly instructions for the smaller unit (CS1) as they are built nearly identical. The only real difference is the CS3 is a lot bigger, and there are two pumps vs one.

A couple of the instructions are a bit off, but they become self explanatory as you go. I printed a copy of the CS1's instructions online (18 pages), and Avast sent a diagram for the CS3. That helped a few times as out was nice having a drawing to refer to.

It took me 3 hours to glue what I needed tonight. Tomorrow, I'll add all the pumps, and non-glueable items. Assembly was very easy, but you will need to set aside some time. The glee provided sets up quickly.

There it's a visible seam in the cone. This may ward people off from this skimmer; but considering the price, footprint, and the load this thing can handle, it's well worth it.

The acrylic itself is good material. It's thick enough to last a long time, and all cuts were obviously CNC'd. Very happy with the quality.

As of now, I'm letting all of the glue setup overnight. It only needs a few minutes to setup to move the items glued, but 12 hours to setup permanently. The cone stated 24 hours, and that's probably because it's the longest bead that you'll lay down... Not to mention the most important.

I took some pictures but not during the assembly since I had to be swift gluing the parts together. I'll post those tomorrow. Not a big deal, and we've all seen skimmers... But I like pictures.

More to follow!

Send from my Droid RAZR using Tapatalk2... Please excuse any typos...

 

[sergio nuncio]

flipside - lets see this thing work.....

 

[flipside]

Should be running tonight, Sergio. I ran into a bit of an issue with custom base plate. It appears to be more of a aesthetic piece, but I still sent an email to Justin/Avast to see what he recommends.

Here's some pics from yesterday.

On the front step when I got home.

Came with a little logo'd towel to wipe up any smudges on the acrylic as you work. Nice touch.

The other side of the towel. I wonder if they sponsor R2R? LOL!

The damage on the pump. That whole piece is just there for looks so I'm not sweating it.

Another angle of the pump's busted piece.

Took it all out to the garage because my wife was on the way home.

The only part of this thing that I didn't like, but I understand. A solid cone of this size would have been quite pricey to add to this kit. This, I'm sure, kept the costs down.

Some more of the parts. Solid stuff...

More parts, stickers and the glue. I was going to use my Weld-On, but that would defeat the purpose of seeing how easy these things are to put together, out of the box.

That's all I got for now... More coming soon!

 

[Diesel]

Cool little project my friend.
Are you sure this all will make a awesome skimmer?

 

[flipside]

Oh no! I don't believe that it will be better than my current skimmer, but I've been doing this for a long time now, man. I like to buy skimmers, goof with them, and sell them off to get another one. It's just something I do for fun. I check how much power they pull, how much air they pull, how much my tank responds, how much skimmate it produces, how noisy they are (pet peeve of mine), stuff like that... I've bought and sold off many skimmers and have yet to put up numbers/results like I get with a Laguna 1500, though. For most tanks, that's all the "pump" you'll ever need. But, I'm getting way off topic ...

Here's some more pictures I clicked off today. I had an AC repair guy stop by today for maintenance, and had to drive home for a bit. Got to goof with the skimmer a little.

This is the skimmer upside down, with the pumps just put in place.

Here's a closer shot of the how the pumps are plumbed in. The PSK 1000 is about half the size of an Askoll/Laguna/Maxjet 1500, for reference sake. They fit in the palm of your hand.

Here's how it will sit in the tank.

The clear hose that's hanging off the stand will go into a Maxi-Jet feed pump.

And here's the only real problem I had with the assembly. These "pegs" don't fit into the custom base plate for them. See how they sit on top like that? They should be slid into that "wrech shaped" piece of acrylic, on all four sides. I tried sanding them a bit, but it's going to take more than a light sanding to make them fit. This is really a non-issue though. I can do a number of things to make it work. I guess the point in showing this is to show that there is a bit of a problem with these, but it's nothing that should impair operation. I'll likely leave it as it is. It's pretty sturdy with just the "pegs."

That's about it for now.

 

[d2mini]

Man, that pump setup on the bottom is SICK!

 

[flipside]

Man, that pump setup on the bottom is SICK!

It is a tad wicked looking. LOL!

It's nothing compared to your skimmer, bro. My other skimmer is similar in design to yours and the pump you (we) have is really the best out there. Red Dragons are Laguna's, but I'm sure you know that.

These newer Sicce's are similar to a certain degree. The have boards in them that act similarly and all, but they lack the torque I'm used-to. This should be interesting...

I really want to fiddle with a DC powered pump. This skimmer is my gateway skimmer, so to speak.

The real differences in this skimmer, vs what I already have been running, is the recirculation feature and that it runs two pumps. That what gets the skimmer in the ballpark of being able to handle a tank between 300g-500g. I'm definitely skeptical of those numbers hence why you haven't seen a for sale post by me... Yet. LOL! I guess we'll see.

More to follow... I forgot to glue a part, so this may take a little longer.

Send from my Droid RAZR using Tapatalk2... Please excuse any typos...

 

[BlackSS]

Cool project. I have a couple little avast things, I like what I have and it's a small business in the USA. I did the DIY kalk stirrer and it is a nice piece. I have the swabbie and the motor failed at about the one year mark - they replaced it free of charge. I've seen mixed reviews on their skimmers, will be interesting to see what you think.

 

[flipside]

Good to hear some positive feedback on Avast, so thanks BlackSS! Yeah, I'm not hating them as of yet. They seem to be a pretty good group and have been very responsive to my needs. Honestly, so far so good.

I woke up a little early this morning and fired up the skimmer. Now, the break-in period begins.

Avast Marine CS3 "Pegleg" Cone Skimmer - YouTube

Will post more as it gets funky, or if it fails on me... I have no pride with these type of things, and will post up any concerns, problems, etc... Initial impressions are good though. It's pretty quiet, and skims as advertised. The two pumps are definitely a necessity, and it all makes sense once you fire them up individually. I don't think 1 pump would have done the job.

I have it in 16" of water (40g Breeder). The water exiting spout skims the surface just enough to avoid splashing. Only problem is that the gate valve is under water, which I don't like. Doesn't hurt anything, but I have to get my hand in the water every time I make adjustments. In our hobby, nothing good ever comes from putting your hands in the water...

 

[BiGPiNK]

Sorry if this is a stoopid question... But what exactly is the maxijet doing again? Is it feeding just water into the cone? Why is this useful, doesn't it just lower the water/air ratio within the cone?

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[BiGPiNK]

Edit.... Ooooh! I should have looked at the bottom setup first, now i get it! The two pumps are both recirculating and adding air to the existing water in the cone... The maxijet just provides fresh sat water!
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[RR-MAN]

Dang Leo,

All those parts man. I would go crazy.

I'm like you trying all types of skimmers. I have used Deltec the most but man my Reef Octo 3000 Cone skimmer kicks azz.

 

[flipside]

Dang Leo,

All those parts man. I would go crazy.

I'm like you trying all types of skimmers. I have used Deltec the most but man my Reef Octo 3000 Cone skimmer kicks azz.

Those are great skimmers, John! For the money, they are hard to beat. The pumps (BB's) are a "tad" noisy, but nothing I couldn't handle. I've used the 2000 INT Cone and my buddy uses that BB-3000 on his SWC. Great pumps and great service, for sure!

I like all the parts. It's like a 3D puzzle, really.

Edit.... Ooooh! I should have looked at the bottom setup first, now i get it! The two pumps are both recirculating and adding air to the existing water in the cone... The maxijet just provides fresh sat water!
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Correct. The water that's being skimmed "literally" gets more contact time. The MJ1200 just feeds water through there slowly.

I still have the gate valve wide open, and I'm experimenting with depths. I'll post some videos up later on but I'm hoping these microbubbles subside.

 

[BlackSS]

WD for a recirculating skimmer shouldn't really matter should it?

 

[flipside]

It shouldn't but it does a little bit. I actually modified the exit pipe. I shortened it to drop the water level a bit. It was too long. It only allowed me to run one of the pumps. Here's some more videos of the mods.

Avast Marine CS3 - YouTube

Avast Marine CS3 - YouTube

 

[sergio nuncio]

Looking good....

 

[flipside]

Okay.... It's just about broken in. I have been running it, with the gate all the way open, for the past couple of days. The microbubbles are just about gone and I'll probably adjust the gate valve later today (got to go to the HMNS today so no time to fiddle with it).

Skimmate production will be the next video but here's this morning:

Avast Marine CS3 Almost Done Breaking In - YouTube

 

[BiGPiNK]

You can tell already that thing is gonna pull some thick sludge!

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