A stupid question about powerheads

if you go to home depot, you can check the pond section and pick up a cheap pump made for waterfalls (they are basically the same as what you use for a wet/dry filter). use it when you want to put water back in the tank.

my bf and i use one for our 55 and 75 gallon tanks. we run tubing off of a splitter in our shower to 18 gallon tubs in our living room. we add the dechlorinator to the tubs and then pump the water back into the tanks. it takes literally 20 minutes to do large water changes
 
A pump and a powerhead are not the same. A powerhead is a type of "pump" they rely on a given volume of water to "lift" X amount of height. The greater the height, the less volume can be moved. A PH also needs to be in the water to operate whereas a pump can be internal or external and relies on pressure to obtain height. A PH cannot be above the water level and suction water into it but a pump can. It's almost splitting hairs and semantics but they really are two different sciences.

In your application where volume and pressure are not important you will need a powerhead capable of lifting the water beyond the height you need. I have a mini-vac pump ($80.00 @ home depot) and it will lift water 35'. In my sump I have a powerhead that will flow 500 gallons per hour @ 1' and only 350GPH at 4'. By the time it has reached the spray-bar I am lucky to get 250-300GPH. The mini-vac pump will deliver 350GPH from 0-6 ft. It draws more power than the PH and so is not used as the main pump. It draws 135 watts and the powerhead draws 45 watts. All pumps and PH's have a "shut-off" height where at a certain height-limit the flow quits.
 
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:rofl:I got a 500 GPH pump at petsmart for $20
 
Photos as requested (courtesy of MarineDepot.com)

Notice the design differences.

pump: Iwaki
pumps_iwaki.jpg



powerhead: Eheim Aquaball
EH1212_99.jpg


Then there are a variety of powerhead/pumps, which are more like submersible pumps that can be oriented so that they function like a powerhead. For example:
Rio 400+
TA3136_1.jpg
 
Fishorama- How high can it lift water?

Do waterpumps like the Iwaki run on electricity or a generator? I have to be careful what I use because my tanks are in my bedroom with my parrots and fumes can kill birds.
 
captmicha said:
Do waterpumps like the Iwaki run on electricity or a generator? I have to be careful what I use because my tanks are in my bedroom with my parrots and fumes can kill birds.
Click to expand...
Electricity. The pump part is the white part you see in front. the electric motor is the part in the back. You hook the intake hose to the front port of the pump and the outlet hose to the one sticking up the side.
 
10ft would be good.

Todd, which one? It took me to the whole page of listings.
 
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