# Adding a dimmer switch to control penguin powerfilter?



## Doyoulikefishsticks (Jan 10, 2013)

Hey, I have a 10 gallon tank that is now an established aquarium and I am running a Penguin powerfilter on it. It is a little large for the tank size, and it is kicking up sand and kind of causing a little to much water movement but I don't want to use a different filter since it is already biologically active. I was wondering, has anybody considered adding/modifying a dimmer switch to regulate the amount of electricity going to a power filter? To essentially reduce the flow of it? Or would this not work?


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## S2K_Alex (Jul 2, 2012)

i dont think this would work its not like its a light bulb that it will react to as much electricity you give it or not. I believe they are set to so much power and then it turns over, if not people would be all over this when people feed, etc....


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## lilscoots (Mar 13, 2012)

From what I can tell looking at how magnetic drives work, that should work. it's a simple electric motor spinning a magnet...so it should react to as much voltage as you give it.


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## Doyoulikefishsticks (Jan 10, 2013)

Well, I think I'm going to try it. Because I already have a dimmer attached to an electrical box that was wired so you can plug something into it, and control the amount of voltage to whatever the device is (I use it for an in-window fan) Maybe I should call Marineland first and make sure I wont ruin the thing. :lol:


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## metricliman (Sep 3, 2012)

http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=30139


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## dledinger (Mar 20, 2013)

You could clip a couple fins off the impeller and end up with less flow that way.


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## CrypticLifeStyle (Dec 14, 2009)

metricliman said:


> http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=30139


lol you love that thread.

A dimmer might work yes. Yes in theory, not sure with the product your going to use. It's alternating current, AC can be manipulated for sure, by changing its frequency, in this case a dimmer. If it works let us know i'm "wicked" interested.


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## smitty814 (Sep 27, 2012)

Probably burn the windings and the motor will stop working.


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## joemomma (Aug 31, 2011)

Too low of input voltage will likely burn the motor up prematurely.


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## shockdoc (Feb 18, 2013)

It won't work. Just to prove it to myself, I plugged a sacrificial Tetra filter into a dimmer and it just hums, unhappily. If you're wanting to slow down the flow, try blocking off part of the intake to reduce the water flow.


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