What Is A Powerhead

[Far2lively]

Hi this may sound rather stupid as I have been keeping fish for a while now and keep coming across things called powerheads?? Can someone explain what they are, how they function and if they are beneficial to a tropical aquarium or just another way to make money??? Thanks Spence, again sorry if this is something I should already know

 

[ctsv510]

The are simply pumps....used for water circulation, aeration, and/or filtration depending on how you set them up. They can be very useful if you need them for one of those things, but if you don't need any of things then don't buy one. If you end up with "dead spots" in your aquarium where water doesn't circulate well, you can use a powerhead to create a current. If you have fish whose natural environment is fast moving water in a river, you can use powerheads to simulate that environment. If you have no surface disturbance from your primary filter, you can setup a powerhead to create the disturbance that allows for gas exchange and oxygenation of the water. If you connect a filter sponge to the powerhead intake, you can provide extra filtration for your tank.

 

[lucasluke]

As said above they are pretty much little 'fans' in the water that make a current. Most of the time you dont really need them but if you find that you have a spot where all you poop gathers you can have a powerhead to keep the water moving and stop it settling.

 

[Far2lively]

Ahh I see now yh there are a couple of "dead" spots in the water but I don't know why surely the jbl e900 is powerful enough to create a current?? But it doesn't seem to be, I think I'm goin to buy a powerhead, are they big?? How much is a top spec one?? Thanks Spence

 

[nigsy]

Ahh I see now yh there are a couple of "dead" spots in the water but I don't know why surely the jbl e900 is powerful enough to create a current?? But it doesn't seem to be, I think I'm goin to buy a powerhead, are they big?? How much is a top spec one?? Thanks Spence

Powerheads are quite small and clip over the side of the tank. They are a bit ugly, but tall plants can hide them.

They create a very focused stream of water, which gives higher flow rate (I suspect) than your current filter - They are designed to do different things than a standard filter, and are found mostly in Marine setups to keep a strong water flow over corals to assist them feeding.

I have mine for 2 reasons; I have a fixed height outlet on my tank filter, this is not enough to aggitate the water surface and increase gas exchange. My powerhead is set to suck in air, creating thousands of bubbles and overcomes this issue. Second reason, I have a shoal of leopard Dannios and they go 'mad for it' when the pump comes on!! (it's on a timer, 1 hour in the morning and another in the evening)

 

[Far2lively]

I'm definatley goin to buy one now can u you them at the bottom of the tank?? What would you say the best one for a 165litre setup??

 

[Far2lively]

Just bought the koralia nano

 

[mattyd1701]

I'm definatley goin to buy one now can u you them at the bottom of the tank?? What would you say the best one for a 165litre setup??

you can put them anywhere really personally I would put it in the middle of the tank and aim it at a angle upwards at a 45 degree angle so it disturbs the water at the top of the tank creating gas exchange having it at the bottom of the tank is just going to circulate the water at the bottom you will be better off pointing it towards the top of the tank

 

[Far2lively]

I've put it at one end of the tank facing upwards so it disturbs the water but without noise