The invasion of Ukraine has many costs and among them is an economic hit to affected industries so we want to promote reefing companies that are doing their best to hold on through the war. A&C is an acrylic manufacturer in Odessa Ukraine which has been working on a very unique protein skimmer design that is bursting novel features. We first shined a spotlight on this scrappy brand back in late 2020 but with everything that’s been going on we though it’d be timely to revisit what A&C is all about.
Very few of the tricky details in their protein skimmers are completely new but it’s how A&C incorporates them as part of the skimmer itself that sets them apart. By leveraging the versatility of 3D printing the industrious Odessans have created their own grid-wheel design, a complex air silencer which is also the coupler between the body and the cup, a highly detailed bubble diffuser plate, and a unique integrated volute which also guides the air-water mixture with minimal turbulence.
While nearly half of the A&C skimmer takes over 30 hours to 3D print, the body, neck and cup are made of solid cast acrylic but the tricks don’t stop there because the A&C skimmer design is also pipeless! The lid itself connects to the centrally mounted DC pump and by rotating the lid you can adjust the outflow from the protein skimmer without the need for any valves or other levers or gates that are ubiquitous in most other skimmers.
Curiously because the air supply line connects to the integrated air silencer and the water level is adjusted by rotating the lid the entire device is shockingly flush around the outside making it one of the most economical skimmers in terms of its footprint inside the sump. A&C skimmers are powered by newer Sine-wave Jebao pumps so you can easily control the speed and output of the skimmer from the inline controller.
The A&C Calcium reactor is also blessed with a similarly minimal integrated design with a small footprint and we are eager to try it out as well. Despite everything that’s going on in the eastern part of the country the western part is still fully functional and this especially applies to the parcel services. We hope to obtain some of these finely crafted and exotic pieces of reef aquarium equipment from A&C which will be featured in a full forthcoming review. [ A&C]
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