The Puffer Forum

I was reading on the forum about powerheads, those pumps to create current and was wondering, is it a must, or better, to have one in a brackish tank or is it just a luxury to simulate what isn't really there???

I have a figure 8 and it seems already hard for him to swim in the filter flow or the bubble stream so dunno if it may be too much...

I encourage their usage. Puffers need something to interact with and many like to play around them to get excersize. Plus it is ideal to not have any "dead" spots in an aquarium.

I had the same feeling as my GSP would avoid the outlet of my filter like the plague. 3 days after adding powerhead to my tank he happily rushes against the current.

If I decide to install one, how can I figure out where is the best place to install, aim it??? My aquarium is a 24" long x 10" deep x 20" high bow front tank, all plastic plants.

Obviously since the aquarium is high, most decor is lower down in the bottom half, would it be better to shoot where there is no obstacle or just shoot on the plants and let the current make it's own flow???

Mount where ever will allow for no dead spots. You can play around with aiming it off diferent surfaces to bounce the current around the tank. Getting two smaller powerheads my make achieving this easier.

I imagine I refer to the specs on the powerhead boxes to know which is best or is there a general rule based on the length of the tank???

I think the rule of thumb (someone correct me if im wrong) is 20-40 times turnover for current. With our puffy friends not being the stongest swimmers you would want to aim for the lower end of that spectrum.

Welch4 said: I think the rule of thumb (someone correct me if im wrong) is 20-40 times turnover for current.

What do you mean by 20-40 times turnover for current (sorry if it should be obvious) ???

I went to snoop around in my LFS today and saw 2 models, maybe there is more but they hold 2...

They have the propeller head model:



And the Multifunction water pump:



The clerk told me that the second one actually mixes air in the flow it creates and can be used as a filter with the canister sold seperatly, Actually never seen the second one, any inputs on them???
Which is best, they are pretty much the same price???

When choosing powerheads, say the Fluval one, the sizes goes from (hopefully I remember right) CP2 model for 15-25gallons then the CP3 for 25-40gallons, I have a 26 gallons, would it be better off with a smaller but maxed out model or bigger that forces less??? Unless there is no actual force selector (exemple: like on a home portable fan with different speeds)

I havent used any of the powerheads you listed but I would opt for the fluval sea out of the two that you listed. I havent found very many powerheads that have adjustable outputs, but if they are adjustable it will say in the description/on the box. As far as the turnover rates for example for your tank a 26 gallon times 20 would be 520 gph ( gallons per hour). The high-end at 40x would be 1040gph. The other item to take into account is that what some pumps/powerheads are rated for and what they actually push out may be lower.

Powerheads are very important. First off, they break the surface tension of the water which lets gasses escape. Without it, the water will become stagnant. Also, certain nuisances like algae and cyanobacteria HATE moving water and have a really hard time growing in it. In an aquarium, moving water is healthy water.

I have never added a PH to any of my FW tanks. My Aquaclears do a great job creating flow & breaking up the surface tension of the water.

Pufferpunk: I have BW (1.004 SG), dunno if you still count it has barely BW almost FW...

Anything over 1.000 isn't FW anymore.
I didn't realize this was in the BW forum but to be clear, I use AC filters on those tanks, too.