# powerhead help



## coonie (May 23, 2011)

i am about to buy 2 powerheads that were used in salt water tanks.....whats gonna happen to my fish/tank when i put them in my fresh water peacock/hap tank? 90g tank


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## Aulonocara_Freak (May 19, 2011)

They'll raise the PH some. I'd soak them in vinegar/water, then in a bleach/water solution.


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## coonie (May 23, 2011)

yeah i was even thinking of putting them in a pale of water from the tank and running them in the for a few days....changing the water to get the salt out......they gotta be able to be tore apart n cleaned huh


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## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

Depending on what brand of powerhead just break them down and clean them really well.


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## coonie (May 23, 2011)

korialla 3 and 4


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## coonie (May 23, 2011)

and is it gonna hurt my fish at all having a powerhead in my tank? i only really see them in salt water tanks....


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## ndblaikie (Oct 12, 2011)

Lots of people have them in Freshwater to get a lot of water movement, which most Africians can stand.

I have 2 MaxiJet 1200's in my 75G tank and the mbuna love the current and find it amusing to just free-swim and get blown all over the place at times.

If they are fresh from a saltwater tank, then you will as mentioned, slightly raise the pH and they also should be cleaned as they MIGHT have something on them, you dont want in a freshwater tank and not just the salt.

If they have not been used for sometime then again as mentioned, wash them with vinergar/water and then bleach. If you use Bleach, RINSE THEM VERY WELL. Personally I would rinse them in bleach and water and then let them sit for a few days to make sure any remaining Bleach is allowed to gas off...it also makes it easier using vinegar to get any salt residue off.

There is no harm in test running them once clean, ideally in a bath tub as they will push a lot of water quickly if used in a pale and might lead to a mop being required.


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## dsouthworth (Sep 7, 2011)

ndblaikie said:


> There is no harm in test running them once clean, ideally in a bath tub as they will push a lot of water quickly if used in a pale and might lead to a mop being required.


If you clean a tub, wouldn't you be worried about some of the chemicals from cleaners? I would assume they'd get into the water and run through the device.

I've always used buckets to avoid this, or is there no worry, and I've just worried more than necessary?


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

I would just rinse them in water. I don't see a need to scrub as though they have been running in a swamp. I would just clean off the salt and coraline algae and you should be good. I have moved many items such as this over from my reef tanks to my african and cichlid tanks.

I also have a maxi jet 1200 in my 75g. It points slightly upwards and my fish like to swim in the current.


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## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

coonie said:


> and is it gonna hurt my fish at all having a powerhead in my tank?


No it won't. I have Koralias too, had 2x: evo 750s now 1x: evo 750 and 1x: evo 1400. I have 4 maxijets too but Koralias suit me needs better since I don't use them to agitate the waters surface, I have a FX5 with a 5' spraybar to take care of that.


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## coonie (May 23, 2011)

ok thanks everyone! we'll see how this pans out...i have some very expensive fish in my tank i didn't wanna hurt


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

Salt is not a problem for freshwater. I don't recommend it for full time but just what is left on equipment is not a problem. We use strong salt to cure ich.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

PfunMo said:


> Salt is not a problem for freshwater. I don't recommend it for full time but just what is left on equipment is not a problem. We use strong salt to cure ich.


Correct! No problem!


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## coonie (May 23, 2011)

well i have them in my tanks....korialla 4 in my 90g....and it has mad flow....my fish dont seem to hate it...but they dont like it either.....


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

coonie said:


> well i have them in my tanks....korialla 4 in my 90g....and it has mad flow....my fish dont seem to hate it...but they dont like it either.....


Can you angle them up? That way they are not swimming directly into the output of the power heads but more the current they create after being diffused a bit by breaking the surface of the water. This is what I have done with my power head.


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## coonie (May 23, 2011)

if i aim them up it makes a huge wave on the top lol


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## Sub-Mariner (Dec 7, 2011)

A Koralia 4 (1200gph) is pretty powerful for a 90g cichlid tank. I had 2x: Koralia Evo 750s in my 90g and it didnt bother my fish at all and I had both pointing down into the tank. You might need a less powerful Koralia.


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## coonie (May 23, 2011)

i have a korialla 3 in my 65g....but it seems so weak


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

coonie said:


> if i aim them up it makes a huge wave on the top lol


oops...didn't see where it was 1200gph..that is pretty powerful for a 90g. You don't have anything a bit smaller?


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## coonie (May 23, 2011)

ya i have a korialla 3 but it seems really weak compared to the 4


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

coonie said:


> ya i have a korialla 3 but it seems really weak compared to the 4


LOL...compared to 1200gph I would imagine 850gph would seem weak. 850gph is a lot for a 90g along with your other mechanical/biological filtration. What other filters are you using?


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## coonie (May 23, 2011)

2 whisper 60g


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

coonie said:


> 2 whisper 60g


I think the whisper 60 does 330gph? 1860gph total turnover with your powerhead is a good amount of turnover. That is a little over 20 times turnover. Certainly enough. :thumb:

You could down the road add more mechanic filtration to take the place of the power head. That is what I have decided to do since I had to remove one of my large HOB to put on my growout tank. My current filtration is not enough to keep up with my load even though I still have over 10 times turnover. I have decided it is better to have more mechanical filtration in place of my power head. Going to order a canister filter after the holidays!


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## coonie (May 23, 2011)

yeah tomorrow i can gonna take the korialla 4 out and put the 3 in...i'll put the 4 in my 200g


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

coonie said:


> yeah tomorrow i can gonna take the korialla 4 out and put the 3 in...i'll put the 4 in my 200g


That sounds like a plan!

I have a maxi jet that is convertible into a circulation power head with propeller instead of using the impeller. With the impeller in(sucks water through intake and shoots it back out) it does 295gph. With the propeller in(strictly pushes water and avoids intake...think boat propeller) it does 1300gph. I have the power head right in the middle of my tank pointing slightly up creating great surface disturbance and also forcing floating waste to the intakes on my HOB filters. It currently does 295gph. Just for kicks...I set it up using the propeller in circulation mode and the current was way too strong for my fish.

I have a 75g that currently has a penguin 350 and two aquatech 10 filters which total 550gph mechanical filtration plus 295gph with the power head. I did have 2 penguin 350's plus the aquatechs plus the powerhead but I had to move one of the penguin 350's to my grow out tank. I thought one penguin plus the two aquatechs would be enough mechanical filtration but I was wrong. Tank starts to cloud after a couple few days. I do 70% water changes every 3-4 days anyways so it is not a problem but I would prefer my tank to stay pristine.


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## coonie (May 23, 2011)

so today i put my korialla 3 in my 90g....seems ALOT better lol.


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## 13razorbackfan (Sep 28, 2011)

coonie said:


> so today i put my korialla 3 in my 90g....seems ALOT better lol.


 :thumb:


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## coonie (May 23, 2011)

also picked up a breeding group or red ruby peacocks today....3 male 9 females i got quite the good stock of f1 peacock breeding groups now.....but i paid good $$$ for them all.

Got
electric blue iceburgs 2m 4f
kande isnland peacocks 3m 8f
redcaps 2m 4f
taiwan reef 1m 5f
and red ruby 3m 9f


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## coonie (May 23, 2011)

oh and i forgot....lwanda group of 4m 10f

all my groups are supposed F1


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