Best way to hook a powerhead up to pump water?

[apos]

As I'm going to be describing in the other thread, I'm working on an rdsb. I have most everything mapped out, but I need advice on one little thing: what the best way to use one of my two spare powerheads to pump water out of my sump and into the bucket. (the pump will be in the sump and pumping water up, out, and into a bulkhead on the top of a tall bucket sitting next to the sump)
I currently have a penguin powerhead, and an aquaclear powerhead. Neither one has an output that's obviously ready made for attaching a tube to. Both have holes for airline, and the aquaclear even has a big bump for it (I can plug the main hole: the aquaclear though has a two holes, one in the bump, the other just in the tube). The aquaclear can pump backwards (down and out), but at a reduced flow rate. The penguin has no bump, but it's inner channel output is, bizarrely, square instead of round (not sure if they had some sort of attachment that was supposed to go in there). I would prefer to use the aquaclear since it's quieter and starts up better after being turned off.
I was basically just going to twist-tighten the closest fit vinyl tube onto the end and hope for the best. Since the pump will be in the sump, it doesn't HAVE to be a perfect seal, as long as it can push water up into the bucket. And it doesn't have to be a lot of flow either: in fact, the aquaclear probably pumps more than I need. But some solution that provides a really good connection would be nice. Anyone know of any bright ideas here?
I can't be the only person who has ever tried to use these particular powerheads to power some small accessory loop system.

 

[matt b]

do you have a maxijet? it dosent have a hose barb but you can see where the water comes out so just tak it to a lfs and get that size tubing and a hose clamp.

 

[apos]

Nope, don't have one.

 

[scsinet]

Regardless, powerheads like this aren't really designed to have hoses attached to them, so the best you can do is a rig. I'd just do what Matt suggested... go to the LFS with the powerhead and find a hose you can jam on there.

 

[crazyju]

You can buy a 1/2 "cpvc compression joint. Remove one of the rubber washers and it will fit perfectly over most powerhead outputs. Now u can just insert it into a 1/2" pvc coupling or elbow and it will stay firmly in place and is easy to remove for cleaning.

 

[sman]

I have a maxijet 600 i picked up just for this purpose, well worth the 20 bucks. Ill take pictures and show you what I do when I get home from work.

 

[m0nk]

Yeah, this is something I'll be doing for a remote fuge on my 180 since I'm having trouble working out my sump config with the skimmer in there. The power heads are two spare Maxi-jet 400's, one into a 12-gallon from the sump, one to return water to the sump. Since I'm already using an MJ-1200 for water change mixing and moving, I already have a 1/2 inch hose connected to the output on that PH for moving water into the tank I'm doing the water change on, so you'll definitely be fine just getting some 1/2 hose and cramming it on to the MJ output. Just keep in mind that you want the return pump to be the same as your input pump and you shouldn't be pushing water up any higher than a couple inches, since standard powerheads can burn out easy if they're pushing too much. So, basically, try to keep your remote DSB on the same level as whatever location you're circulating your water from/to.

 

[apos]

Isn't using two pumps in and out generally derided as a bad idea? One is always going to go faster than the other.
I'm just overflowing back into my sump basically. The tube will have to go up a few inches, but not too much, and relatively light flow is desired anyhow.