AeroForce AP from CPR Aquatic goes old school with wooden airstones

By on Mar 15, 2012

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The CPR Aquatic AeroForce AP is going old school replacing the aspirating pump from the previous AeroForce model with airstones to generate a respectable abundance of fine air bubbles.  CPR has always done the hang on back (HOB) skimmers really well and the AeroForce is a nicely built HOB skimmer so taking it efficient and old school with the wooden airstone is a nice touch. 

Still using the same counter current protein skimmer design from the AeroForce skimmer the AeroForce AP gets rid of the Hydor aspirating pump used previously and instead uses an air pump and a pair of limewood airstones to produce a dense mass of microbubbles. The AeroForce still utilizes a small feed pump on the intake and the reduction of another water pump should decrease the noise levels slightly.

Using similar dimensions (7.5 x 3.25 x 17 in.) and recommended tank rating (75 gallons but depends on the bio-load), the CPR AeroForce AP is most likely going to ship with the ViaAqua Million Air 400 pump that gives you the flexibility to place the pump wherever you like — sticking it behind the aquarium, in the stand or another out-of-the way location.

Another nice touch is using black plastic on the aquarium side of the skimmer, including the intake and outlet cutting down on excess light that can seep into the skimmer and cause algae growth.

You can still fine tune the skimmer by adjusting the amount of water being fed into the skimmer or by using the air valve adjustments on the air pump to get the right amount of skimming potential for your system.

Pricing should fall in line with the other AeroForce skimmers right around $180 or so and will start shipping soon. We are also hoping the company offers the reverse flow model for situations where you may want the intake and outlet swapped, such as using it on back of the JBJ Nano Cube.

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  • http://twitter.com/dwright69 Darius Wright Jr.

    This does not seem like a good idea. Airstones didn’t last long and varied how many bubbles they made over time requiring constant adjustments. Air pumps wore out frequently too. This seems like a step back.  I was considering an Aeroforce. Did they not work well enough?

  • http://www.AdvancedAquarist.com Leonard Ho

    The Aeroforce 2 is still in production.  Airstone skimmers arguably perform better because they generate finer (and more) bubbles and you can tune the input/flow rate independently, which is a big benefit on small-bodied skimmers like any HOB.  As you said, you just need to replace the airstones regularly.

  • Calen Harmon

     Another thing you can do with the wooden airstones is shave the bubble emitting sides with a sharp knife every now and then – the big problem is algae buildup, not degradation of the actual airstone, so if you refresh the surface by getting it down to the wood grain again, you can make them last a lot longer.

    Airstone skimmers are really nice when it comes to eliminating the micro-fine bubbles which pervade the water and irritate some corals…

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Matt-Meadows/100001064246230 Matt Meadows

    People who criticize wooden stone driven skimmers usually have never owned one. I’ve built several DIY versions and I use my own wooden air stones (they are dirt cheap and easy to make using Basswood, literally about a quarter each, or less). With a good air pump like a Luft you can get a pretty crazy amount of suds. 

  • koraltek

    excellent idea CPR, but for god’s sake,
    use the higher quality ceramic fine pore air stones like the bog hog or the like…
    NO ONE is going to want to replace crappy wooden airstones every month.
    and get a air pump worth a damn on there, the obvious choice is the luft pump.
    stop trying to cut corners and making this product as cheap as possible, and make it as nice as possible and then you’ll have a winner. and while your re-designing your skimmer, please, please, please get rid of that crappy, jankey collection cup, and give us one with a wider neck and made out of acrylic.