# Powerhead Recomendations



## Sir Nathan XXI (Jan 29, 2003)

Due to the high amount of inquiries I figured I should write up this post.

I suggest that people buy submersible water pumps rather than a traditional powerhead. They usually are cheaper and give you more options than a powerhead. I use Rio pumps and CAP pumps and suggest both because they are cheap, durable and quite. Here is a link to the cheapest deal on Rios 
Cheap Rio Pumps

Make sure to get a pump with an adjustable output nozzle so you can back down the flow if it seems to strong. All fish may not like current but most will and some will love a very strong current (Elongatus, Caribe, Ternetzi and Piraya)

I also suggest you place the pump on the center of one of the sides to give the most realistic flow for your fish and will have a wider spectrum so they will not need to fight over the current. I put a small plastic tube around my power cord so I need not worry about some idiot piranha killing himself and all of his tank mates.

Here are the recommended gph ratings for traditional size tanks

Tank Size GPH Rating
10g 200-300
20g Long 350
33g Long and 55g 450
75g 450-600
90g 600-700
100 - 180g 600-900

These are just recommendations, you may go bigger and just use a ball valve to restrict flow, this has the advantage over a small pump because you will be able to use it when you upgrade to a large tank, just don't go too large as the back pressure from the valve over time may wear parts out and example would be restricting a 800gph pump to 400gph for long periods of time.

A common misbelief is that multiple of the same pump will increase the gph current felt by your fish. This is wrong, lets introduce a term called "FLUX" it means the amount of flow something has. Multiple pumps will increase the FLUX but not the power of your current. So in plain terms multiple 600gph pumps will give you 600gph but a wider current that a single pump. Very wide tanks may want to go with 2 pumps spread slightly apart at 1/3 the width and 2/3 the width of the tank so that they are equidistant from the edge of the tank and each other

I use 2 Rio 2500 pumps in my 125g that do about 600gph each or so, and that is a decent but noticeable current, however my Piranhas would like more current.

Piranhas may not care for it at first or may not be able to handle strong currents at first as they need to build up their muscles and endurance for the exercise, so be patient and start with the current being week and every 14 days or so adjust it to a little more power and eventually you will find they love it, mine swim in the current all day and love it. Pygos like it alot more than Serras do though


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## Xenon (Nov 15, 2002)

Nice info Nate... :rockin:


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## Ba20 (Jan 29, 2003)

what kind of pipeing do you use to cover your pump cord


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## Sir Nathan XXI (Jan 29, 2003)

pvc, or ugf tubing, believe me its not something you would want to skip on. You either can buy small tubing and split one side and pull it apart and squeeze the wire in, or buy a big enough pipe to slip over the plug


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## Sir Nathan XXI (Jan 29, 2003)

bump


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## NIKE (Jan 27, 2003)

:rockin: thanks alot for the info, i have to go shopping this weekend and that advice helped a great deal :nod:


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## Sir Nathan XXI (Jan 29, 2003)

check my link I gave to where I buy my pumps they are very cheap for Rios


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## Lyle (Jan 29, 2003)

I would just like to mention that I purchased 2 rio pumps a couple years ago. They sat for a year and a half, then when I went to use them, they were both dead. I took them apart, reassembled them, one worked for a month or so intermittently, one for a few days. I think I'm going to go with a mag-drive or a little giant personally for the second time around.


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## Croz (Jan 29, 2003)

I good idea for covering cord might be the stuff they use for car stereo installs. Its just plastic tube that has a slit up the middle it insert wire/wires to protect from the heat from the engine and the cold of the winter. i am going to use it when my p's get big enough that they might chew my wires.

Croz


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## Sir Nathan XXI (Jan 29, 2003)

they call it wire loom or something like that, however it isnt strong enough to stop a decent size piranha, you will need to stick to pvc


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