CPR Brings AIR back with AP Skimmers

The CPR AeroForce AP skimmers are low maintenance with incredibly high density micro-bubbles thanks to - gasp - an air-pump and lime wood airstones. What a novel idea not seen much in the last decade that in my opinion is due for a resurgence because… they work really well. I am literally testing out my 3rd skimmer this year due to impeller/restart issues with the last two. Sound familiar? You won't have that issue here. The CPR AeroForce and AeroFuge AP skimmers are HOBs so there is a feeding pump, but you are not married to that pump and could swap it with any powerhead you have around. Want to have fun? Hack that down pipe and gravity feed it. Low watts, better bubbles. Just look at the pics. More below.












AeroFuge AP


CPR AeroForce/AeroFuge AP Skimmers Include:

• Dual body protein skimmer
• Air pump and (2) air stones
• Feed pump
• Skimmate collection cup

Specs in PDF found here.

The CPR AeroForce/AeroFuge AP skimmers are available now.

They debuted them last year but have not rolled them out much until recently at the last two shows.

The MSRP of the AeroForce AP is $219.
The MSRP of the AeroFuge AP starts at $375.

CPR Web site:
CPR AQUATIC, INC.




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My experience with airstone skimmers:

This goes back to the late 80's / early 90's but my roommate and I had the classic in-tank version. It actually worked well if you kept up on evap but did put bubbles in tank.

My favorite were the 24"x6" counter-current, gravity-fed monsters I had in the early 90's from Debron Aquatics. They were connected to my sump overflows. These skimmers were pure white with dense fine air bubbles and cranked out smelly black sludge skimmate. Nothing I have had since have matched these. Seriously.

My maintenance consisted of scraping the film off the airstones once every 2 weeks. Once a month I replaced the airstones. This just took a few minutes. You could stretch it out longer, but this schedule was for maximum performance.

The air-pumps were audible with stand door open but these days air-pumps are quieter I have noticed.

I am happy to see CPR revisiting airstone skimmers. Other than CPR's AP, I have only seen one other one in recent years from Precision Marine. I no longer see it on their web site however.

Kudos to CPR. I sincerely hope people will try the AP line and spread the word on their performance so I don't sound like an old kook.

Now please make a gravity fed model. An 18"x6" would work for me now. Please.

matt

 

What was old is new again. It will be interesting to see how well it catches on with the younger folks.

 

Are you calling me old John?
j/k

I'd love to see some try it out.

matt

 

LOL not old just old enough to know. You have some work to do to catch up to some of us Matt.

I agree. It would be good to hear their reactions.

 

- As requested:

I like the idea of simplicity in design. Air stones are great for this and obviously work quite well from what we can see here, and also what I've seen from other air-stone skimmers within the past year or so.

I am experimenting with DIY shallow tank designs. The only thing wrong with this is finding a skimmer becomes an issue if you don't have a sump (like me). It would be cool to build a DIY nano skimmer specifically for shallower depths. I would assume the wood air stone would also be much quieter than even an equally sized water pump.

 

Sean are you saying this HOB is too tall for your tank? Couldn't it hang over the stand a bit if flush?

 

I was looking at the dual backpac and also the Remora pro.(birthday is around the corner) Both being close in price. Is CPR the better of the 2 or a matter of opinion vs what your looking for?

 

Normal HOB skimmers kill me. I like the aesthetics of rimless tanks. And so to spend money on that and then put equipment on the side of a tank would be counter-intuitive.

Thankfully I have the Hydor Nano-Skim for my 10g. People always ask to see the sump.

 

I hear ya. But is equipment in the tank much better? Perhaps if a peninsula your could hide it better. Regardless, you could make one of these.

It's a matter of opinion. I did own a Remora Pro. I did not like the bubbles it produced. (look up my remora cap mod) However, many do. I don't have experience with the backpac. Regardless, both are venturis and different animals. The bubbles don't match this from what I have seen.

matt

 

I was thinking two pumps are better than one! I dont want to mod anything if Im buying new. Im already dealing with a seaclone thats not even close to what it was when I pulled it out of the box~
Thanks Matt. Ill most likely end up with the duel bak pak (insert thumbs up here)