PRODUCT REVIEW		RICHARD HARKER

RICHARD HARKER

Overall view of the Aerofoamer from Reef Concepts.

Is This New Skimmer “King Of The Hill?”

In contrast, the ETS skimmer mixes water and air in a long narrow “downdraft” acrylic tube. The air/water mix flows out of the tube into the base of the protein skimmer. The much larger chamber and a series of baffles reduces turbulence, so that as water rises in the second larger acrylic reaction chamber, turbulence has been significantly reduced.

Reef Concepts, a company better known for its reef tank additives than its equipment, has taken the best aspects of the ETS downdraft skimmer, the Marine Technical Concepts HSA skimmer, and tangential venturi skimmers to create the Aerofoamer, a hybrid that may have found a way to top both. The Aerofoamer uses the same aerating fountainhead used by MTC, but, unlike MTC, mounts the aerator in a separate chamber apart from the reaction chamber. The air/water mix flows from the aerating chamber down a length of PVC and into a large reaction chamber. Like the best MTC PowerPro venturi protein skimmer, the water enters the side of the chamber at an angle, creating a circular flow around the reaction chamber. The circular flow increases contact time and also reduces turbulence by generating a unidirectional flow around the chamber. The reaction chamber and oversize collection cup is reminiscent of the early ETS skimmers.

RICHARD HARKER

Close-up of the Aerofoamer reaction chamber.

The well thought-out design extends to the more mundane aspect of protein skimming making the skimmer easy to clean. One comment of HSA owners is that it is inconvenient to clean. The aerating chamber is sealed, making it difficult to clean. The protein skimmer must be nearly completely disassembled to reach the center PVC pipe, and cleaning the reaction chamber also takes nearly complete disassembly.

The ETS skimmer line is somewhat easier to keep clean. The downdraft tube is separate from the reaction chamber and collection cup. There is easy access to the reaction chamber because the collection cup is held to the reaction chamber with plastic thumbscrews, and the collection cup lid is also secured with thumbscrews. However, should one wish to clean the downdraft tube, the entire skimmer must be broken down and the bioballs removed.

The Aerofoamer has been designed to be disassembled at any of several points for easy access. Unlike the sealed HSA design, the aerating chamber has several plastic thumbscrews attaching the lid of the chamber so a hobbyist can easily get into the chamber. The aerating assembly is attached to the main body of the protein skimmer with a true union, which can be easily removed. The reaction chamber and collection cup are held together by several thumbscrews, so one can easily reach the bottom of the reaction chamber for cleaning. The lid of the collection cup is attached with additional thumbscrews so the collection cup can be removed from the skimmer and one can reach the interior from both the top and the bottom.

The Aerofoamer comes in five different heights, from 24 inches to 48 inches. Foam fractionation effectiveness in a reef tank depends on long reaction times, so the taller versions of the skimmer are preferable over the shorter versions. Because the Aerofoamer uses the same aerating fountainhead as the HSA protein skimmer, the Aerofoamer shares the ability to use a smaller pump than comparable ETS downdraft skimmers. All things considered, the Aerofoamer just may be the new standard in protein skimmer design. The unit is in limited production and not easy to find, but if one is interested in cutting-edge foam fractionation, the Reef Concepts Aerofoamer may be just the ticket. More information can be found at www.marineecosystems.com/Aerofoamer.html.