# Using Powerhead as Filter



## I3lazd (Dec 29, 2008)

So I am currently using my powerhead to filter me tank and am wandering if this is enough. Basically what I did was hook up some tubing to the powerhead so instead of pushing water directly out the front it pushes water out of an UGJ to keep the flow of water then when the water goes back into the powerhead there is a piece of foam to filter all the poo. I am wondering if this alone will be sufficient as a filtration system or if I should use something with it. It is set-up on a 20 tank set-up for my medium size fry. I have had fish in there for about 5 days and today the nitrite jumped to 1. I know the tank is cycling but I did put in a fluval filter that was in my main tank to help with the bacteria growth. Please let me know If I need to do anything else or just let it finish cycling and continue with the UGJ/powerhead filtration?


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

It depends on how big the powerhead and the sponge block is. I use the 4" by 4" by 12" foam blocks in large tanks. You could make two 6" blocks (big enough for a 20 gallon tank) from one of these, a standard size they come in for large filters. With fry, stand the foam up on top of the powerhead because if it rests on the bottom or tank walls, fry can get trapped between it and the glass. Penguin and Maxijet powerheads come with fittings that stick securely into the foam block. Two smaller pumps would be better for an UGJ since the shorter and simpler the piping, the more efficient the system is. A turnover rate of 4X the tank volume per hour should be OK for the foam, but since your pump has to run the UGJ too, you might want to go way over that.

Another way to do this with UGJ is suggested by the first two photos on this link. http://www.swisstropicals.com/Poret%20F ... 0Foam.html
You box off a corner with foam to create a chamber for the powerhead which feeds water to the UGJ piping. One large powerhead, or two smaller ones boxed in, in opposite corners. Then add your gravel. I find it easier to cut the foam in two pieces and sew it together with monofilament fishing line than to curve a single piece as in the photos. The ViaAqua powerheads come with suction cup feet and an undergravel connection that would also work for an UGJ.


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## I3lazd (Dec 29, 2008)

I dont want a whole foam wall in there as i built a diy background that will hide the powerhead but the foam filter will stick through the wall. Here is a pic of current set-up just waiting to finish the background.


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## hidenseek (Nov 13, 2005)

there's a post over on loaches.com that shows an incredible setup like you're suggesting. they refer to this type of thing as a rivertank. the guy i'm referring to has a 8ft long tank and has a diy background with the filtration setup behind the background. try and search for it. it's well worth the time.

EDIT: here is the url for the thread on LOL http://forums.loaches.com/viewtopic.php?t=16770


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

I3lazd said:


> I dont want a whole foam wall....


 The photos on the link show foam just in the corners, so I am not sure what you saw or read or where you found something about a whole foam wall. If you have a background with a foam insert, the foam could be anywhere, even inside a cave or under a ledge that is hollowed out for water flow.

Not too many of us could afford a foam wall. $$$$ Foam walls do provide super filtration and increase the tank's biocapacity, but the right foam is too expensive just to toss it around. When it was manufactured in Ohio, it was cheap enough to do this. It could support a bunch of Java ferns or Java moss if you wanted to conceal the foam.


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## sleepy09 (Jan 15, 2009)

> The photos on the link show foam just in the corners, so I am not sure what you saw or read or where you found something about a whole foam wall.


If you read farther on down in that thread you will find more pictures of the *whole foam wall*. He made the *whole foam wall* out of polystyrene sheets that were glued together and then melted and cut into rock ledges.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

sleepy09 said:


> If you read farther on down in that thread you will find more pictures of the *whole foam wall*. He made the *whole foam wall* out of polystyrene sheets that were glued together and then melted and cut into rock ledges.


 That is not in the first link.
http://www.swisstropicals.com/Poret%20F ... 0Foam.html 
I went all the way down it without any background designs, Poret foam, styrene, or otherwise. Hidenseek posted a link to a styrene background after the comment about not wanting whole foam walls was already posted. As you said, "If you read farther on down in that thread". I would be mystified if the comment was about something that had not yet appeared in the thread. I thought that kind of thing only happens in David Letterman interviews. No problem. It will either be explained, or it won't.


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