One Headache...

[Ludwig Venter]

In 40 years of fishkeeping, I've been innovative enough to solve most of my day to day problems.... Yet!!... there is one thing that started only recently.

The submersible pumps of today have such immense inlet suction power, it either "implodes" the strongest arrangement that I can think of, or it cloggs with sediment because I cannot allow bigger "holes" than my wife's silk stockings can provide....(the fry would be sucked in)

I have connected "cutoff" 5 liter plasic bottles with re-inforced wire mesh support on the inside - which rusts in any case - and the opening covered in a double layer of silk stockings... maximum 3 days....

What suggestions???

 

[OldMan47]

You need a larger intake area so that the flow rate across any one spot is low. I use power heads with large sponge filters on the inlet like this one.

Even the very high flow rate doesn't amount to much velocity at the sponge surface when the surface is big enough. They seem to go a good long time. In an outdoor situation I will use multiple sponges connected with T connections to the pump suction so that leaves can't plug the flow path.