Concerned about powerhead and fish...

[Marc118]

Today i woke up to a horrible sound, my cycling shrimp was being sucked into the intake of one of my ph. The suction was sohard i had to power it off to remove it.

Is this something i should worry about then i get fish?

 

[Hara]

Yes it is, sponges will help with the problem as will intake guards. (depending on the type of powerhead you have)

I have lost a couple fish to powerheads when I was first starting out. It isnt a pretty sight.

 

[Marc118]

I wasthinking about builsing a cage around it to the fish couldnt get near, what do you think?

 

[tecwzrd]

I think a cage would be unsightly IMO. An intake strainer is usually more then adequate for keeping fish/inverts out and they make one to fit just about any power head.

If you want total peace of mind a sponge prefilter will keep everything out. Personally I like these since my shrimp will jump on and get all the little food particles that stick to it. Keep in mind if using sponges that they need to be rinsed off when doing pwc in your old SW.

 

[Marc118]

Its got a strainer on it already but it is before the "funnel" attachment.I can postpics if needed.

I do however have some replacement sponge filters that i use on my skimmer. I can just cut those to fit.