Power Head Question

tim273 · 09-18-2006, 11:51 AM

Hello everyone,

I've had fresh water fish tanks before and have always used undergravel filters with an air pump and charcoal filters. Yesterday I set up a 30 gallon tank with an undergravel filter and got 2 power heads instead. The power heads claim to move 170 GPH. I have a few small tropical fish, and a couple snails to put in there. Would that be too much current for them? It's way more than what I have now.

Thanks!
Tim

jd@ga · 09-18-2006, 11:24 PM

Tim, Your fish and snails should be fine. I swore off air pumps a very long time ago. I had hundreds of problems with them. your tank will only benefit from the use of powerheads.

Jay · 09-19-2006, 07:48 AM

Hi Tim, Welcome to the Forum

UGF filters are slowly becoming a thing of the past, most experienced aquarium folks do not use them any more. They rely more on state of the art canisters, hobs, etc.

Using a UGF also makes getting into live plants difficult.

Powerheads are essential for water movement (circulation) in the tank, they prevent dead spots, keep micro debris moving and therefore easy to filter out, agitate the surface for better oxygen levels, etc. etc.

I have a 1200 gph in my 75, it is aimed down the back glass and causes a great gentle circulation. Some of the fish love to play in the current.

Just my $.02

Regards,
Jay

tim273 · 09-19-2006, 11:32 AM

Tanks for the advice (pun intended).

I have one more question. Right now I have the powerheads and heater running for the inital setup of the tank and I have the powerheads pointing at a 45 degree angle from the corner, would it be better to point them at a 90 degree angle so there's not as much current? Also the PH's have a clip on directional flow thing so the flow of the current can be pointed anywhere in a 360 degree angle. Right now I have it pointed up, would another direction be better?

Thanks for your help!
Tim

jd@ga · 09-19-2006, 01:24 PM

Tim it helps to stir the surface as much as possible. As far as the angle it really depends what works best for your tank set up. Your fish will get used to the currents in your tank regardless. Hope this helps some.

Jay · 09-19-2006, 04:23 PM

I have the return from my canister filter about 1/2 inch under water blowing the long way down the back of the tank. Provides surface agitation.

My big power head is on the bottom of the tank again blowing the long way down the glass. I get a great current around the entire glass surfaces and a more gentle current in the center of the tank. The important thing is that all of the water is moving. I also inject my CO2 through the large ph.

Jay

ahill3780 · 09-23-2006, 03:39 AM

Hi Tim,

Welcome to FishTankForums! You've gotten some great advice already so there isn't much for me to add. If you don't currently have much surface agitation then I would suggest angling the nozzle deflector (technical term for the angle piece you described on the PH) to handle this.

Aaron