Keeping inverts safe from PH's

[loganj]

Several members have had trouble with invert eating powerheads. I have a possible solution to that. I know this will work with Maxi Jet and Aquaclear units. Aquaclear (Hagen) makes filters to go on their PH's. The one you want is the small one (PN# A-571). It has a plastic outer shell that is in two halves and has removable endcaps. Removing the endcaps lets the body separate into two pieces. Would be very easy to clean. There is another cylindrical piece of plastic inside with a filter sleeve on it. This is removable...remove it and use only the outer shell. It's large enough that even the most suicidal invert could park on it while the PH was running without getting sucked in or stuck. It fits any Aquaclear PH right out of the box. If you want to use it with a Maxi Jet, remove the insert from the top endcap. Then use the stepdown adapter that came with the Maxi Jet on the intake. The screen will fit tightly on about the third step on the adapter. Makes a great place for a little extra chemical filtration when you need it also. 1/2 of a 4"x8" poly filter will roll up and fit perfectly inside the screen casing. A Purigen pack will fit in there as will the Seachem carbon pack. This will keep anemones and other critters safe and it really doesn't look bad at all.
Logan J

 

[Hara]

Then there is this method that Logan here gave me the suggestion for...don't know if I did this the way he had it envisioned, but it has already saved the life of a condy that climbed into the powerhead...just the tentacle parts were able to go through the mesh.
Seperating it out was fun, but he is suffering no ill after effects.

 

[loganj]

PH screen

That's it Hara. Was the best idea I could come up with at the time. I think the Aquaclear filter would work even better as it is larger and there would be less suction per sq inch on it's surface. Of course, it takes up more room in the tank and is not particularly attractive. You did a great job on those...bet the anemone appreciates it .
Logan J

 

[New2Salt]

Thanks for this post, we have 2 power heads that came with the sponges, we just left those on there and the snails climb all over them. We've only got a 29 gallon and probably more water flow than we should,both powerheads are cheapies, they are powersweep 214's and do 160 gph each and to top that off we broke a piece off on our Skimmer so in the meantime while waiting for the part we stuck in a magnum 250 and just had it moving the water, and now LOL my husband wants to stick the skimmer back in with all three. Hope this isn't going to be too much. :/

Is it ok to leave the sponges on? I probably should have posted this on a separate posting sorry :/

 

[Guest]

Just a word of caution to those of us that have Zoo Med Power Sweeps, The flow is directed through many crevices in the PH especially through the flow adjuster. I just lost my beautiful Condy this way. I thought the sponge filter on it was enough however, I came home from work to find part of him ripped to shreds by the impeller. I went to help it off of the PH and its arms were sucked thru the adjuster. I suprisingly enough, it was strong enough to really pull him through..

 

[PrettyFishies]

So Anemones will climb up the sides of the tank?

 

[loganj]

Yeah, they can go pretty much anywhere they want to. They will go where you don't want them to go...every time.
Logan J

 

[NanoJrFL]

How do the anenomes move?

 

[Guest]

They move differently but somewhat the same, if that makes sense...

They have what is called a foot. Much like a snail. This allows them to crawl if you will; around the tank... To make the statement valid above, some let go and float with the current, and some crawl....In our tanks, this can be dangerous for the anemone because if they get close to a PH that is not protected, it will suck it up and rip it to shreds and it will most likely die....

 

[By-Tor]

Another option that I've done in the past is cheap, not the most attractive but very effective. Either a Lifeguard Mesh Bag or an unused nylon nude pantyhose can be placed over the PH. This will restrict small organisms from entering the PH from any direction. Although, I'm not sure how to secure with a Power Sweep. With most Power Heads, a simple Rubber Band works fine.

BTW, I'm new to the forum but not the hobby

 

[Bang Guy]

My solution is to place the bottom half of a Tronic Heater Guard over the intake. It's small enough not to be too ugly and the color is black so it blends in.

 

[klubvibez]

i lost an anemone this way. it was painful becuase he was still alive when i found him. he was completely mangled. all tentacles were sucked in. ive found that the best way to avoid suction death is by using screen mesh (like the kind on your windows that keeps bugs out) i purchased it from a hardware store, and then tested it with pieces of chopped squid i use to feed my animals. i found that the suction still pulls the animal up against the intake, but the screen holes are too small and the animal usually just stays like that, with no escape until you find him. i think this is the best method for preventing almost certain death. the mesh needs only to be wrapped around the intake and then tightened with either rubber band, twine, or nylon string.

 

[StripesTheEel]

i agree with klub there.. i think anemones have more of a death wish more so than inverts.. i lost two anemones to ph's.. very messy and ammonia heaven..! had to do 50 % water changes 3 times over 5 days to get rid of the mess.. if the mesh over the hole doesnt work for u or u dont like it.. the only way to prevent this from happening, unfortunately is not to have any