Power head under-gravel filter problems. I’m a newbie.?
by Aquaboy on Thursday, July 29th, 2010 | 2 Comments
I bought a power head for my fish tank because it was recommended and fish need better water circulation and I was starting to put it together and it said not to use unless you have and under-gravel filter set up.. So I was wondering how to set one up cheaply and the best way to do so. Any help would be appreciated. Need to keep my water clean too so it was recommended to have an UGF along with the regular filter that hangs on the back.
I hope you have a large tank because a power head delivers a strong current from its’ outflow. In a small tank, that would just swirl your fish around and end up killing them. You don’t say what kind of fish you have, but not many require a power head flow to be happy. Are you sure the clerk just didn’t want to sell you a power head and a UGF?
Most people are getting away from UGF’s because of the way they trap so much dirt and crap down in the gravel and in and under the plate. They are efficient if you decide to go that way, but very difficult to clean.
You will have to tear up your substrate to put the UGF plates down and then redo the whole decoration scheme. The easiest way to do it would be to take out all the decorations, large rocks and plants first and then move all the gravel to one end of the tank. Leave the fish in the tank if you want, or don’t have another place to put them, they will be fine.
Install the lift tubes into the plates then place one of the plates down on the bare bottom. Now you can move the gravel back over the plate and push the rest of the gravel on top of it, leaving the bottom bare for the other half’s filter plate. Once you have both plates down with their lift tubes installed, you can smooth the gravel over the whole bottom.
There is a way to install the power head without a UGF. You just need to cover the intake with something that will not restrict the inflow so much that you burn out the motor while still giving enough water to create the flow you want. Many people use open cell sponge, nylon stockings or fish nets cut up and fixed so they don’t get sucked into the intake.
Fish will get sucked into it or against the intake if it is too strong.
Feel free to email me if you would like to discuss this further.
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I’m confused. Are you saying you have an undergravel filter, or you don’t?
You can use a powerhead to circulate water if you don’t have a UG filter. You just mount it to the side of the tank, or hang it from the top of one side. Most powerheads come with mounting devices for this.
In that application, it’s best to put a prefilter on the intake side of the powerhead, so that sand, gravel, and assorted detritis don’t get sucked in and clog the impeller that pumps the water. These prefilters are available cheaply from aqarium dealers. You can also fashion your own from filter material.
If you do use it with an undergravel filter, the powerhead just fits into the “uplift tube” of the UG filter. You may need to cut the tube shorter to so the powerhead will fit in the tank well.