Aquaclear Powerhead

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$eaba$$

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Sep 25, 2006
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So, my Aquaclear 50 powerhead has only a small "grill" infront of the impeller, so that fish can't go inside of it. The grill is very small though, so there is quite a bit of suction. A few weeks ago, my clownfish got stuck on it, and when I got home, he was dead... Right now, I put a foam filter on it, so that there is less suction in anyone spot, but debries are just getting stuck in the filter, making the foam filter very dirty when spraying it with a turkey baster. The small particles fly all around the tank and eventually will get stuck in the foam again. What can I do to eliminate this problem, while at the same time keeping the fish out of the powerhead? It would be great if things such as food went in and came out, and not get stuck in the foam filter.

Thanks!
 
mandy21

mandy21

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May 16, 2006
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I'm going to have to say that the fish was already dying, or have a strong inclination that this is the case. I have some of these on one of my tanks, my QT tank and to mix water and never have had any living thing stuck to the intake unless it was already dying, as was the case during my brook outbreak and had fish in QT to medicate.
 
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$eaba$$

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I can't know for sure and I'm not going to debate that, but I can just say that atleast the clownfish seemed healthy... What kind of aquaclear powerheads do you use? Mine is a 50, so it is pretty powerful, but maybe the fish did have something wrong. I will never know... This is exactly what I have, the 402. http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754145 BTW, do you use that little cone shaped rubber thing on your's or not; I don't, and I'm confused what it's for. When it's on, it seems to create more of a suction then when its not.
Thanks
 
BadRoma1

BadRoma1

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Nov 29, 2005
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I would have to say that your clown got sucked in. you shouldn't leave it open like that. i would recomend to buy something that would go over the whole, but not the cone shaped cover that you have, because it's still opened at the bottom. you need the screen one with bottom covered with screen too, or covered at the bottom and small holes all around the cover. at this point it's like for undergravel filter or something. I wouldn't use it for now and if getting a proper covering is a problem, i would buy the right power head
 
fsn77

fsn77

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Feb 22, 2006
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One option is to frequently clean the foam filter. If it's collecting that much detritus, you'll benefit from removing the foam from the tank, rinsing / cleaning it, and replacing it.

To be honest, when I first started, I used just any old powerheads I had around and ran into all kinds of problems with them. I had several that I lost fish one way or another to them. I don't doubt that one or more of the fish I lost was in less than ideal condition. However, I know for certain that I lost a small blenny to one due to the way the intake is designed (it tried to hide inside a small lip on the intake and the suction was too strong for it to pull away from the screen). Once I switched all the powerheads to Maxi-Jets, I never lost another fish (small or weak) to a powerhead. I've since switched again to Hydor Koralias, still without any problems. IMO, some powerheads are just not designed well for use in a marine tank where there's smaller fish and a desire for lots of flow.

$eaba$$ -- The rubber cone is most likely an adapter to be used if the powerhead is attached to a lift tube on an undergravel filter.
 
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$eaba$$

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fsn77 said:
One option is to frequently clean the foam filter. If it's collecting that much detritus, you'll benefit from removing the foam from the tank, rinsing / cleaning it, and replacing it.

To be honest, when I first started, I used just any old powerheads I had around and ran into all kinds of problems with them. I had several that I lost fish one way or another to them. I don't doubt that one or more of the fish I lost was in less than ideal condition. However, I know for certain that I lost a small blenny to one due to the way the intake is designed (it tried to hide inside a small lip on the intake and the suction was too strong for it to pull away from the screen). Once I switched all the powerheads to Maxi-Jets, I never lost another fish (small or weak) to a powerhead. I've since switched again to Hydor Koralias, still without any problems. IMO, some powerheads are just not designed well for use in a marine tank where there's smaller fish and a desire for lots of flow.

$eaba$$ -- The rubber cone is most likely an adapter to be used if the powerhead is attached to a lift tube on an undergravel filter.
Click to expand...
so you're pretty much suggestion i get a new one i'm guessing? If so, what kind would you recommend?
 
fsn77

fsn77

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If you're not ok with frequently cleaning the foam, you could consider DIY-ing a screen attachment with more surface area. Otherwise, it more or less comes down to switching to another brand of powerhead. I really like the Hydor Koralias, but didn't have any problems with the Maxi-Jets I used either. A Koralia #1 should be fine. A Koralia #2 might be too strong in a 20 H. A Max-Jet 1200 would also be close to the amount of flow you currently have. The Koralia pumps provide more of a dispersed flow than the Maxi-Jet pumps, so don't fear the 400 gph rating on the Koralia #1, as it doesn't really "feel" like more flow.
 
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