Do I have enough water flow?

[caffeine]

I have a 20G long tank with an aquaclear 200 (see link in sig for plants and fish and stuff). Do I really need more water flow? The filter intake is towards the left side of the tank so the right side is probably pretty motionless. I'm about to make an order from BigAl's and I'll throw a small powerhead on there if I need it.

I have an Aquaclear 301 powerhead already, but I don't like it because of it's pretty big for my tank. I was thinking of either a small Rio or an aqsystems microjet. Or has anyone tried an Aquaglobe?

[OrionGirl]

I have aquaglobes in my 55. They are decent, though I've found that they accumulate detritus if used on the lower setting. They require more frequent cleaning than my AC's, as well.

If you'r noticing a lot of litter building up on the far side of the aquarium from the filter, you may need more movement. If you notice a scum that builds up on the surface, additional water movement will help there as well. I like lots of gentle current, with a few areas of strong current, since these seems to keep foods from settling on the substrate much, and I think it helps the bunch plants grow better--more even, less leggy. Can't prove that, just a difference that I've noticed in a few different tanks.

[caffeine]

Oh one more thing, what's with the water line on the ac powerhead? Is that really a requirement? Do other powerheads have that too?

I'm not too worried about excess food, my loaches and snails have seemed to pick up just about everything my fish don't get.

[OrionGirl]

You mean the air line? This is so you can have the powerhead sucking air in, increasing surface agitation without having th powerhead aimed at the surface. Most powerheads do have that option--the aqua balls do.

[caffeine]

No not that, the side of my AC powerhead has a sticker with a line that says "water line - do not immerse beyond water line" it's about 1/4" from the top.

[OrionGirl]

Oh...Guess I've never noticed that on mine. I have them completely below water, and I know they start sucking air pretty badly if the top is above or close to the water line.

[caffeine]

Well mine is only a couple of months old, so maybe they just started doing that recently. Mine also says "Powerhead 301" on the front in blue letters, and I've seen some older ones without that too.

[Glenstorm]

Originally posted by caffeine
No not that, the side of my AC powerhead has a sticker with a line that says "water line - do not immerse beyond water line" it's about 1/4" from the top.

I would guess that that indication is similar to the water line on submersible heaters. Apparently some countries have stricter qualifications for product safety. If the company wants to sell in these countries they need approval. So while the UL certifies some things for sumbersed usage the Canadian equivalent of the UL does not. I experienced this with my Ebo-Jager heater. I bought it from Big Als which listed it as a submersible heater, but when I got the heater it had the water line. I asked Big Als and they told me all about what I wrote above.

My AC powerhead has a similar line but if you pop off the top you'll see that the power cord is sealed off with some resin type stuff.

[caffeine]

Ohhh I'm dumb. I thought immerse meant to raise above the water, not to put below the water. I knew the powerhead was totally subersible, I thought the line was saying not to run it with more than the top bit above the water.