powerheads kill fish?
- Thread starter jay0705
- Start date
pegasus
Well-Known Member
Wow... sorry about your losses. Not familiar with the latest Hydors, but the older Evolution models used AC current. I'd check to see if there's voltage in the tank before continuing to use it. You should be able to do this with a standard volt meter. If you have grounded outlets, use the ground for the black probe, and dip the red probe in the tank. Only takes a second to get an answer...
flower
Well-Known Member
Hi,
Just because you lost the fish after you just added the power head, does not mean that's the cause. If it were defective, it would not be just a few of the fish, everything in the tank would be affected. Electric current enough to kill and leave some fish alive, would mean the survivors would be acting all agitated with fins straight up, and swimming crazy. I have had two heaters break and release electric shock, once in a freshwater, and once in a saltwater tank...while it didn't kill all of the fish, it still left the surviving fish in great stress. So I really doubt that it was electric current that killed the fish.
Just because you lost the fish after you just added the power head, does not mean that's the cause. If it were defective, it would not be just a few of the fish, everything in the tank would be affected. Electric current enough to kill and leave some fish alive, would mean the survivors would be acting all agitated with fins straight up, and swimming crazy. I have had two heaters break and release electric shock, once in a freshwater, and once in a saltwater tank...while it didn't kill all of the fish, it still left the surviving fish in great stress. So I really doubt that it was electric current that killed the fish.
pegasus
Well-Known Member
You can test it in a bowl of water to confirm (or deny) if it's the cause. I'm no Sherlock Holmes, but the circumstances around the sudden, mysterious death of three fish in the same night after adding a new powerhead seems very suspicious. The clues point to the powerhead. It's elementary, Watson. Always start with the obvious, and if that doesn't pan out, dig deeper...
jay0705
Well-Known Member
Oh I agree sir. I had a similar instance w another tank. Added a head next day wham! Kole tang was dead. Took it out used it to mix saltwater. Had to be the head. A few months later I set up a new tank. I used that head to help add flow while it cycled. Being an idiot I then added my fish from the other tank. No issues!?!? The head is still in the tank now, still no issue. Idk bud
pegasus
Well-Known Member
I added TWO Jebao RW-8 powerheads to my 40 gallon tank, which already had a pair of WP-10's. The WP-10's flow up to 800 GPH each, and the RW-8's flow up to 2000GPH each. You can imagine the turbulence that 5800GPH in a 40 gallon tank creates! Other than having to learn where the currents were strongest, the fish were completely unaffected. Of course, I didn't leave it at that, but it's still pretty turbid at the lower settings. I haven't lost any fish (or anything else) as a result of adding two new powerheads to a nano tank, nor would I ever expect to.
I walked away from Hydor a long time ago, and never looked back. I didn't like the noise they made when attached to a wavemaker, so I sold all of them... really cheap. I did keep one of the 1150's as a supplement to the 2400GPH pump that I use to mix saltwater. It's good for continuous running in a mixing vat. Other than that...
pegasus
Well-Known Member
Sorry, bro...
Bryce E
Active Member
Yeah I couldn't imagine that the increase in flow would have killed them like that. Not that I've ever seen or heard. Especially since they probably could have found somewhere in the tank the wasn't crazy enough to kill them. I was going to ask what bang did.. if you cleaned them first. but since you did, If it was the powerhead that killed them then only possibilities that come to mind for me are:
#1. a chemical... oil or residue of some sort from the powerhead was toxic. (Not likely as they are manufactured for the purpose of being in an aquarium and you cleaned it first)
#2. a voltage leak.. which can be easily checked.
#3. a powerhead physically sucking up and tearing the fish up. (obviously not what occurred in your case)
#4. creating heavy new flow over settled detritus or anaerobic pocket causing toxins or a spike of some sort in your water parameters. (which I couldn't imagine would wipe anything out overnight and would be very rare as well as point towards extremely poor husbandry to begin with)
Unless I'm missing something then if none of the above are an issue (if you tested the equipment for a voltage leak) then it's also possible that it wasn't the powerhead and it was a coincidence. The last new thing you did or change you made was the powerhead pointing towards that as the culprit when you had some other underlying issue that happened to surface at the same time.
I always worry about the electricity. Especially with heaters. I lost an alligator that way once. Sad day. I hope you get it figured out.
#1. a chemical... oil or residue of some sort from the powerhead was toxic. (Not likely as they are manufactured for the purpose of being in an aquarium and you cleaned it first)
#2. a voltage leak.. which can be easily checked.
#3. a powerhead physically sucking up and tearing the fish up. (obviously not what occurred in your case)
#4. creating heavy new flow over settled detritus or anaerobic pocket causing toxins or a spike of some sort in your water parameters. (which I couldn't imagine would wipe anything out overnight and would be very rare as well as point towards extremely poor husbandry to begin with)
Unless I'm missing something then if none of the above are an issue (if you tested the equipment for a voltage leak) then it's also possible that it wasn't the powerhead and it was a coincidence. The last new thing you did or change you made was the powerhead pointing towards that as the culprit when you had some other underlying issue that happened to surface at the same time.
I always worry about the electricity. Especially with heaters. I lost an alligator that way once. Sad day. I hope you get it figured out.
I'd read adding a powerhead increase water movement and "eliminates dead zones" so I put one opposite the filter return. I watched the tank about half and hour, until I needed to make supper. The tank was fine at "fishy bedtime" (tank light off, ambient TV light), but I glanced over during the second commercial break to find my bengai cardinal was being sucked in. I pulled the plug and a breeding box hoping with rest he'd recover, but sadly he didn't.
His replacement is doing great, as are his fishy and invert buddies.
The powerhead? It circulates water in the tank safely. From inside the breeder box.
His replacement is doing great, as are his fishy and invert buddies.
The powerhead? It circulates water in the tank safely. From inside the breeder box.