Should i add a powerhead?

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The Trooper

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Sep 15, 2013
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419
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Scotland
It seems like half my aquarium's water is almost still, please see the below video.

I am wondering if i should add a powerhead, and if so which ones are very quiet? I need one to suit 215l so around 1200lph i think?

Water circulation. - YouTube

Thanks :)
 
A powerhead is a great idea to get more movement in the water. I had to add one before I added another filter. Is your filter big enough for you tank? I have 4 different brands of filters and they all really move the water around. Maybe lower the water level a little to get more movement. As for brands, all of them should be pretty quiet. Being underwater deadens any noise. Just pick the one you like the looks of.
 
I was just a little concerned as only have of the water surface is moving, i'm concerned it may cause issues with oxygenation? Or i could just be worrying about nothing :D
 
Does it look like there is an oily film on the water surface? If ur not seeing a film on the surface then ur good. But a power head will help move the water in any dead areas in the corners or around decor.
 
Yeah over more or less half the tank, which is what got me thinking i may need to do something.
 
Yep. Get a powerhead. Just get an approximately sized powerhead. U don't want to blow the plants to the other side of the tank. Good luck. The tank looks pretty nice.
 
What size would you suggest? I just want to add a little bit of movement, not a tsunami :lol:
 
Anywhere from ~300-600 gph. Ur tank is around 55 to 57 gallons. With the plants, u don't want to do 10x turnover. Around 5x turnover would be a place to start. It it is too much current, point the powerhead towards the glass and let it form a swirling current. I run 2 aqueon 55/75 on my 75 gallon with a biocube 250 and a aqueon 900 powerhead that I rarely run. I have rift cichlids so I don't need a lot of current.
 
I'm thinking about adding a fluval u4 as an extra filter, could that be used as and isntead of a powerhead?
 
It would give u more flow/turn over. But...it's going to take up space in ur tank, it's less versatile in directional flow, and I'm not too sure about the effectiveness of filtration. If ur going to use a secondary filter, I would go with a good hob filter. I prefer (as I'm sure u realize) the aqueon 55/75. If it's positioned opposite of the return of ur other filter, that should take care of ur surface junk and shouldn't hurt the plants. But a powerhead or two won't hurt. 2 biocube 250's would be a lot more versatile than the f u4 and shouldn't create too much flow. And I always use 2 filters that are rated for my tank size at at minimum. The 55/75 is rated at 400 gph and for a 90 gallon tank. I have a 75 gallon so I'm running a manufacturers rating of ~ 800 gph and a manu of 180 gallon tank. Then a total of 1150 or 1200 gph powerhead flow. So I'm rated at a combined total of 1950-2000 gph of turnover. In a plant less tank u look for 10 to 20 times an hour turn over. I'm standing at about 16-16.66 times an hour turn over. I think. M doing long division and it's 0417 in the morning where I'm at and since ur measuring in liters, I'm pretty sure ur probably in the eastern hemisphere. Not positive, just pretty sure.
 
My friend has a number of wave makers and has kindly offered to give me one, i'll try one of them before buying a powerhead :)
 
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