Great !! That's a ton. That's exactly hat even hours of googling didn't get me. All those video in youtube and nobody mentioned the min power needed to build something like that. So I get it that you are saying I can use a 400 l/h powerhead to build by gravel vac ?
Power head for gravel cleaner DIY ?
- Thread starter rajdeeprath
- Start date
IMO 400l/r may be too much, it's certainly not needed and may be too much.
consider if you have a bucket that's 20l in size, and you use it to gravel vac the old fashioned way. you siphon water out of the tank into the bucket and it takes 10 mins to fill.
that's a flow rate of ~120l/h, so less than 1/3 of what you're suggesting you'd use... obviously numbers are based on guesses and can be determined by the equipment you're using and the drop to the bucket.
you can get other devices that are air and battery powered to do the same thing, they work and don't move anywhere near as much water.
the higher the flow, the more chance you will have of moving substrate, uprooting plants, sucking in fish... so the lower flow you use, the easier it will be in your tank. If you have the option of a dc powerhead, use that so you can change the flow rate to suit your needs.
consider if you have a bucket that's 20l in size, and you use it to gravel vac the old fashioned way. you siphon water out of the tank into the bucket and it takes 10 mins to fill.
that's a flow rate of ~120l/h, so less than 1/3 of what you're suggesting you'd use... obviously numbers are based on guesses and can be determined by the equipment you're using and the drop to the bucket.
you can get other devices that are air and battery powered to do the same thing, they work and don't move anywhere near as much water.
the higher the flow, the more chance you will have of moving substrate, uprooting plants, sucking in fish... so the lower flow you use, the easier it will be in your tank. If you have the option of a dc powerhead, use that so you can change the flow rate to suit your needs.
Very very helpful reply. I will definitely consider that if I can find it. The 400 L/h is available for about $5 so if I don't find the do one I will just go for it and keep in mind what you just said. Thank you again for your valuable time.
Keep in mind that water changes remove more than just nitrogen compounds. You'll want to monitor TDS and water chemistry the tank water doesn't stray too far from the parameters of your source water.
Hey thanks oriongirl I will keep that in mind. Just posting back to let you guys know what I did in weekend.
See images attached. The only thing I think is I needed little stronger power head. Like 1000 l/h . The current power head is little slow because the pipe length is long.
See images attached. The only thing I think is I needed little stronger power head. Like 1000 l/h . The current power head is little slow because the pipe length is long.
