powerhead?

andrewmack

andrewmack

Member
what is a powerhead? im looking at it and the LFS said its sum kinda of filter but i really dont see how. can someone please explain to me at how this may work. and what it does.
The newb
 
arkey.d

arkey.d

Member
A Powerhead is just a pump... I put Sponge prefilters on so inverts don't get sucked up into them... Here's a Pic...
 
wax32

wax32

Active Member
They move water in your tank. If you do use the foam prefilters be sure to take them off and rinse/squeeze them in the sink often or they will get clogged and take away a LOT from your water flow.
 
snipe

snipe

Active Member
You can get some powerheads that have sponge filters, carbon and bioballs in the filter part. I am against this since it is so small it wont really help. I also put sponge on the bottom of the filter to help slow the sucking down.
 
arkey.d

arkey.d

Member

Originally posted by AndrewMack
ok. then how does this keep the nitrates down?
A PowerHead doesn't keep Nitrates Down.. It only moves your water around in the tank. Water Changes keeps your Nitrates Down.
 
meemmoo

meemmoo

Member
My LFS said that all you need is PH's and a Skimmer and that filter's produce Nitrates. Is that correct?
 
mbrands

mbrands

Member

Originally posted by meemmoo
filter's produce Nitrates. Is that correct?
Incorrect. All waste in the tank (uneated food, fish waste, etc) eventually breaks down and creates nitrates. The filter media may "house them", but it does not produce them.
What your LFS was probably trying to say is that you don't necessarily have to run a filter if you have enough LR, a skimmer, and water movement (powerheads). If you have all those things, the only advantage of a filter is mechanical filtration.
As the other postings said, water changes will keep nitrates down.
 
andrewmack

andrewmack

Member
ok. i planned on getting the 20 or 29gallon tank from walmart. cause i wanted to get LR and two small small clownfish, and after the clowns get like 3'' each( cause the LFS has like 1'' ones, thier tiny) i would sell em back to the LFS an just buy another pair of small ones. i was going to get LR, a powerhead and use the filter the tank comes with since LR is a good filter and i plan on buying a good amount.
 
snipe

snipe

Active Member
If all you were gonna have in there was clowns you dont have to take them back. The clowns will pair and will be fine in a 20 gallon ppl keep pairs of clowns in 10 gallon tanks. You could even add a nother 1 or 2 small fish with the clowns in a 20 or 29 gallon tank.
 
andrewmack

andrewmack

Member
WOW! i just found the nano cube 24ga pretty cheap. the new one with moonlight is 270 shipped an the 24DX without moonlight is 246 shipped. is the moonlight that immportant?
 
snipe

snipe

Active Member
Moonlights promote spawning in some fish and corals "having these and only have 2 clowns in the tank would be cool if the fish spawned and hatched more clowns". They also let you watch all the nocternal things in your aquarium.
 
andrewmack

andrewmack

Member
if i had a pair of clowns how would i know if they where male an female? and could i have other fish, cause if i get the 24ga i will prolly get like a goby and a pistol shrimp, along with some more inverts. and is that lighting enough for a open brain coral? i know im asking alot and prolly getting anoying but i wanna be well prepared when i take the plunge into this.
 
meemmoo

meemmoo

Member
Newbie as well, I have a Aqua C Remora Protein Skimmer w/ Maxijet 1200 for my 56g. How many other PH's do I need and what size? Sorry to piggy back on this thread, but since we are on the topic.
 
dani*s*mom

dani*s*mom

New Member
I was told the larger, dominent clown turns into the female. The smaller of the two is the male. A least thats what I remember being told about my two clowns. I could be wrong, have been before.
And yeah the powerhead moves stagnant water around the bottom areas of the tank. Just keeps the basic gunk from settling on the LS and LR so it can get sucked up and away through the filters. Which I guess helps keeps your levels in check as well. I have a 29 gal Eclipse with a Maxi Jet 600, with no filters on the PH. I was just told by my LFS that I should really get another smaller PH for the other side of the tank...It's always something! Oh yeah we don't have a protein skimmer beacuse it's hard to fit one on an Eclipse, so we added some macro algae which the LFS said will process the ammonia and nitrites like a protein skimmer. Anybody have any comments on that statement? I want to make sure what he said is correct.
We have 2 clowns , and a cleaner shrimp with 9 snails and a hermit, LR and LS. Waiting another week or so to get a feather duster.
Joanne
 
andrewmack

andrewmack

Member

Originally posted by AndrewMack
if i had a pair of clowns how would i know if they where male an female? and could i have other fish, cause if i get the 24ga i will prolly get like a goby and a pistol shrimp, along with some more inverts. and is that lighting enough for a open brain coral? i know im asking alot and prolly getting anoying but i wanna be well prepared when i take the plunge into this.
 
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