Which powerhead is better?

cichlidcichlid said:

Is the aqua clear better then the maxi-jet?

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Well this is a matter of choice. Both are good units. I personally prefer the AC units.

cichlidcichlid said:

Are power heads silent over all including all models?

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Most are pretty quiet. Some you will hear a slight humming from and others you will hear almost nothing. It really depends on how cheaply made the unit is.

cichlidcichlid said:

Is 600gph excellent filtration for a 29gal?

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Yes this is alot for a 29g tank. For a 29g tank you should have at least a 8x turnover. This means your filter should do about 232GPH

cichlidcichlid said:

Is it better to have a slower gph and have alot of filter floss and filter media to clean the water throughly or is it better to have a little less media and have more water per hour moving through it?

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Finding a spot right in the middle is the best. By having a filter that is slow water will not get pulled though as much. In this since water will then not be filtered as well. If you have to much media on the filter it will burn out the motor alot sooner. You have to find a spot in the middle to get the best of both.

cichlidcichlid said:

Also do african cichlids mind if there is alittle current in their tank because of the power head?

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Alittle current is fine. As with most fish if they have to always fight the current they will get stressed. This can lead to problems.

cichlidcichlid said:

One last thing, does the sponge on the end of the power head work well cleaning the water?

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In my tank it works very well. The only problem is when you go to clean it off. Once the suction stops and you move the filter some of the gunk may fall off. Other then that they work very well.

Another powerhead to consider is the eheim aquaball, I got one and I'll never get a different kind. I love those things

Rallysman said:

Another powerhead to consider is the eheim aquaball, I got one and I'll never get a different kind. I love those things

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As much as i really like Eheim, I would get an AQ just because they have outlasted my aquaball. Maybe I just got a lemon.

you must have. my aquaball smoked the crap AC that I got.

The AC was way too loud and their mounting kits sucked ***

My aquaball didnt last very long - but then again it frequently clogged and I am lazy to clean it so it was probably running under stress alot.

I have used several maxi-jets though and they have all done pretty good, and inexpensive. I have two maxi-jet 1200's on my 75 and a 900 on my 45G bowfront. I originally tried a mj1200 (295gph rated) on the 45G bowfront but it was too strong - would blow both the gravel from the front of the tank and also splash the surface at the front, that was with the powerhead in the back right corner half way up pointed at the front center of the tank. The tank isnt skinny either - deeper front to back than most ~45g's.

When it comes to powerheads, Maxi-Jet is perhaps the way to go in my opinion.

Go with the aqua clear..I am telling you, I bought mine like 7 years ago, and all 6 of them are still going very strong like it was brand new..That tells you a lot about quality..I thought one would break down by now..

watermelon said:

Go with the aqua clear..I am telling you, I bought mine like 7 years ago, and all 6 of them are still going very strong like it was brand new..That tells you a lot about quality..I thought one would break down by now..

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Does the aquaclear make any noise at all when you're using it to areate the water?

Rallysman said:

Does the aquaclear make any noise at all when you're using it to areate the water?

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I am not really worried about noise, since I set the valve high so I hear the jet of water in my tanks...But yea, if I would buy another powerhead, it would be aquaclears...