Powerheads

[Hellspawn]

I want to get me a powerhead for some extra currant in the water sometime in the near future. I have a 300 liter aquarium. What type of powerhead should I look for? I don't want one powerfull enough to just cling my guppy's to the opposite side of the tank.

Should I get one with the extra air parts? The normal airpump with stone I use now causes problems with the wooden top cover and lid for the tank. The wood is saturated with water, and is splitting apart at the corner of the lid. Ripped the screws right out of the other piece of wood. So I had to shut it down to in time hopefully save my top cover.

ps: occupant catfish are 2 A. Cirrhosus (+ juvies wich will be sold in the future), and 4 P. Maccus still in my QT. The guppys are there just to see something alive in the tank when all catfish are out of sight.

[PlecoCrazy]

I think a Penguin 660 by marineland with the sponge prefilter would be your best bet. In your size tank it wouldn't be too much for the guppies and the sponge prefilter would keep the little guys from getting sucked through the impeller. The only replacement part you need to worry about keeping on hand is the impeller.

Here is a better picture of the model with the prefilter on it.

[Hellspawn]

Nice! Now looking for the European, or more specific Dutch version. Power outlet, 220V and more of that stuff.

Yours is not compatible with our power net. I think it'll run for about 1 second, before literally burning up. 110v US, 220v the Netherlands. Electronics don't like that.

[Bas Pels]

BUT during that 1 second, it will produce quite a flow.

After all, twice the V - that means twice the A - and thus 4 times the watts = power

[Hellspawn]

So that would make for a nice mashed Guppy and Ancistrus stew. Is that even edible?

[MatsP]

Bas: I believe the result would be 2 x the power for a short period of time. More than a few seconds, but probably not many minutes. The current is restricted by the design of the motor, so current will be the same wether you run the motor at 12V or 240V. This is why it's relatively easy to reduce the speed of a motor by regulating the voltage - more voltage -> higher speed, and it's relatively linear within a reasonable range.

--
Mats

[Hellspawn]

You lost me. My English is good, but not that good. In Dutch I could probably make heads and tails of your physics post, but not in English.

[MatsP]

basically: Double the voltage (V) doesn't double the current (A). And the speed of the motor would be double the speed at the regular voltage.

--
Mats

[PlecoCrazy]

Sorry, it does not look like they make a european model. I should have thought of that first. You can get a converter pretty cheap but something designed for your electric system may make it less complicated.

The Eheim aquaball should do the trick. You could easily put a foam prefilter on the intake of it with little effort just like the other one I showed or they have an upgrade kit you can add a prefilter. The Eheim Aquaball has the same flow rate as the other model is suggested.

[Bas Pels]

Bas: I believe the result would be 2 x the power for a short period of time. More than a few seconds, but probably not many minutes. The current is restricted by the design of the motor, so current will be the same wether you run the motor at 12V or 240V. This is why it's relatively easy to reduce the speed of a motor by regulating the voltage - more voltage -> higher speed, and it's relatively linear within a reasonable range.

--
Mats

Although off topic - but still it would serve as a warning - the ohm law would prevent Mats being right. I got this taught in school

V=I*R. V is the power, I is the current and R is the resistance. Resistance is a feature of any device. A pump has, say a resistance of 10 ohm - or 100 or whatever

Reducing the power will reduce the current - simply because the device itself has not been altered.

However, I do agree with Mats the device is made for a certain current - the larger the crossection of the wires, the higher to possible current - and therefore, a device made for say 0,1 A will not be able to continue with 0,2 A. This problem: the current higher than allowed, will in fact be the reason why the device will burn through - not the power itself.

For the rest - I agree

[dw1305]

Hi all,
The Eheim Aquaball option is a good one. I use Maxijet powerheads, I've used there pumps and powerheads for a long time for hydroponics, and they are cheap to buy and very reliable.



If I want more filtration I use the 30cm x 10cm x 10cm centrally drilled PPI10 foam blocks that "Koi carp" places sell. I just silicon the sponge onto a plain glazed tile.
If I was in mainland Europe I would use Poret foam <http://www.swisstropicals.com/Poret%20F ... 0Foam.html>.

I get the foam blocks in the UK from <http://www.ketteringkoi.com/acatalog/Fi ... locks.html> as Poret foam has to be imported, and is expensive unless you buy a lot.

cheers Darrel

[Hellspawn]

Thanks for the replies. I've bought me a new aquariumpump. An Eheim 2226 to be exact. It's a pre owned one, it's leaking at the moment. Gasket is leaking like a sieve. That pump is a big one, 600 liters/hour.

I'll fix that first, then look at the flow in my tank when everything is running ok, and after that I decide if I get myself an extra powerhead for some more water currant.

Excited about next week. I've got 2 weeks off work. I'm going to totally redo my tank! I've been buying the stuff I want for the last couple of weeks.

[apistomaster]

One thing about using the built in aeration feature most power heads use is they only develop enough venturi suction if they are near the surface. If you desire air at depth then a small vibrating air pump can push enough air to run in them in the aeration mode near the bottom. I have a central air pump with air to spare but at first I had a lot of air pumps. I like the bubble stream effect and use it at times but all my power heads run close to or on the bottoms of my tanks. I like having a strong current along the bottom of pleco tanks and it also allows me to drain 3/4 of the water from my tanks without having to unplug the power heads.
I use MaxiJet 600 and have at least one in all my tanks. With the supplied extension adapter they fit Azoo Oxygen Plus Bio-Filters perfectly. I use their model #6, 2 per every tank from 20 US gal Long to 40 US gal breeder style tanks. I am having to replace many I bought at once 4 years ago. Some wore out within 3 years. I still like them and some can be repaired with new impellers but sometimes the motors just "die". I'm sure models designed to run on 220 volt systems are what I would choose if that was what we used in the USA.
Buying power step down converters would not make economic sense.
The second filter is powered by air. Azoo sells their products world wide but in the USA FosterSmith.com and a few others stock them and the replacement sponges.
http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/p ... catid=1477
They are safe to use with the smallest fry and shrimp

[Hellspawn]

For the moment I'm using a 300 l/h internal Rena pump I had laying around. I'll keep a close eye on my water flow for now, and after this evaluation decide if I want a more powerful one.

[andywoolloo]

I use the koralia evolutions

[apistomaster]

Here is my Do It Yourself(DIY) powered sponge filter which has proved ideal for pleco tanks.
Your tank sounds small enough I would recommend the MaxiJet 400 over the MaxiJet 600(160 gph) I use for all my tanks from 20 US gal to 40 US Gallons.
The model numbers correspond to the liters per hour the power heads are rated.
I do not know if MaxiJet power heads are sold in a 240 volt compatible model but the same ideas I used can be applied to other power heads and pedestal style sponge filters. You may have to get creative in how you adapt the fit of the power head to the pedestal type sponge filter. This is not an issue with MaxiJet power heads and Azoo Oxygen Plus Bio-Filter sponge filters. These are sold world wide. This is a very high capacity filter using a piece of open cell foam with 20 pores per 2.54 cm/1 inch. When wrapped around the core of the sponge filter the total width is approximately 13 cm in diameter(5 inches).
http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... =4&t=31782