Aquaclear powerheads
 

I just bought an aquaclear 30 for my 30 gal tank. The instructions were terrible but I have it working now. I was wondering if any knows if I can fully submerge it? I have it hanging off the back now with the top out of the water. But I would rather have it all the way under.

Thanks

AC powerheads come with a suction cups attachment. Whenever I've used them, the powerheads never stay in place :confused: That being said, I pretty much only use the 70s (or 802s as they used to be called).

I like my powerheads up high to give better surface movement and air exchange, so hanging them off the back of the tank suits me better anyway.

I can't stand Hagen powerheads. I think that MaxiJets are way better, & more compact at a reasonable price.

Anthony

I'd rather have it near the top aswell. I could hang it off the back and still have it near the top and just barely underwater. So can this powerhead go all the way under?

I fully submerge all of my powerheads - regardless of the brand. They're still going after several years.

When I bought one a couple years ago it had a water level sticker on it and said do not submerge .

I have an RBTA and a GBTA in the 120g that I use Hagen powerheads. I use modified Quickfilter attachments and fill it with foam. This performs two functions - 1) prevents the BTAs from becoming stuck in the intakes, 2) provides me with mechanical filtration with the foams which are thoroughly cleaned weekly during water changes.

I have an aquaclear 30 & 70, Both are completey submerged. The AC30 is in the rocks somewhere.. so Yes you can submerge it. the electrical components are sealed with epoxy. An answer to your question. :)

Thank you, I just wasn't 100% sure and like I said above, the instructions sucked.

You're not suppose to because it doesn't meet CSA standards to be submerged. Everyone does though, because, quite frankly, the entire motor casing is a solid block of water-tight epoxy.

Personally, I find that traditional flow powerheads are a waste of money unless you're trying to do a non-flow related app. (eg. kalk mixer).

I've used Hagen powerheads in all my tanks since beginning reefing back in the late '90s and have found them to be very versatile. The amount of flow can be regulated on them, the direction of stream can be changed ~270 degrees all by moving the nozzle from one side to the other, they can be placed high or low in the tank (though I prefer them high), they can be removed easily and cleaned frequently, they are relatively inexpensive, they can easily be anemone-proofed. Gads! They're pretty darned good in my books :)

Replace one with a SEIO (economy) or a Tunze (high end) and tell me you'd go back...

I've seen SEIOs in tank pics. Those things look like monsters :eek: Not that the Hagen PHs are anything to write home about in terms of size. However, I'm most concerned now about keeping my two BTAs safe in the event they decide to wander. I've read nothing but troubles and difficulties making SEIOs and Tunzes anemone-safe.

~*~*~*~ Warning Rant~*~*~*~*~

WELL.... where do I begin I have 2 AC powerheads the 1st problem with them is when the power goes out or flickers the frickin this will not start back up they just humm and do dick all then you have to bang then turn them up side down shake yell at them ....to get them started again WELL GUESS WHAT????.... that was a nice storm last night power went out and flickered a bunch of times had to kickstart the powerheads a couple times. well the power musta flickered after we went to bed and woke up to a dead tank this morning all my sps except a cap, yellow tang, clownfish, 6 line, and 2 chromis gone. the water was like glass not a ripple nothin working got the big powerhead running by shaking it and pluging in and out half dozen times the other got smashed into bits against the basement floor I will never own another one I will be putting in an order for some new seio's....lets put it this way I REALLY have to choose my words right now so I don't get banned

Sorry to hear about your terrible misfortune, Murray :sad:

How often do you break down and clean your AC powerheads? Mine have never done what you describe, but I break them down to clean them weekly. I'd probably do the same with any powerhead, though. A well maintained piece of equipment is less bound to fail, IME.

Again, so sorry to hear about your losses :cry:

When I started my reef in 2001 the first two ph's I bought were Hagen's. I just removed them recently after a tank upgrade. 5+ years and never a problem. I'll still be using them in a new qt tank. In the same time period I went threw 4 Maxi-Jets and I don't know how many MJ impellers.

Sorry to hear of your Loss Murray.
I may have a few items to help you get the tank going again.
Drop me a line sometime.

Personally, I'd recommend a Maxijet purchase over an AC powerhead anyday.

Dang Murray, that sucks. Hopefully your tank will bounce back.

I also have had nothing but problems with AC powerheads. I now use Seios, Tunzes, & Maxijets.

On the other hand, I love the AC power filters for their sheer reliability & ease of use.

Anthony

Anyone see the new tunze streams (the nanostream pumps)?

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...es/newpage.php

Cheers,
Vic [veng68]

Oh man the Nanostreams are the sweetest little things, especially the 6055 which is controllable.

BTW Bev, a good anemone protection technique for Tunze Streams is the Stream Rock.

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s..._ID=tz-ztsrock

fkshiu,

Gadzooks! That fake rock is $90 :lol: :razz: Doesn't look particularly anemome-proof to me, considering anemones' feet like to grab under rock. I think I'm gonna pass on that one.

Murminator

I wouldn't recommend Seio for restarts after the pwr goes out.I have to slap my Seio's to restart it.Can't complain about the flow.I have a couple Seio's and a couple MJ1200.The MJ restarts every time.

I have 4 tunzes running on my systems and have never had one fail to re-start after a power outage (and I live in a rural area where the power goes out fairly frequently) nor have I ever had an anemone have a run in with one - and I have 5 anemones - 2 RBTA, 1 GBTA, 1 Seabae and one Green Carpet. I do have my Tunzes positioned quite high in the tank using the magnet holders.
I do have a hagen power head in my 10g nano that always has to be jiggled after the power goes out.

Bev the AC was cleaned no longer than 2 1/2 weeks ago, thanks for the info on the seios Quagmire I didn't know they needed a beating to get stared also....maybe I'll have to dig deep for a tunze:confused:
Well seems like a perfect time to move into the new tank no fish to worry about :sad: then I will be looking for some new fishez

Murray - how rude of me - I am very sorry for your loss. I had one of my Nano tanks crash this summer because of stupid stupid grape calurpa that went assexual (or whatever it's called) - wiped out everything including my precious little gobies.

I've had 2 seio 620's and never had a problem with them restarting after power outages. I can't say enough good stuff about them.

Ahhh, but they're German-engineered fake rocks :lol:

In regards to the Seios, they're not recommended for use on wavemakers because of their re-starting difficulties.

http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...ID=WP-RSEO1100

As for the Aquaclears, I find Maxijets more compact and efficient for the flow you get, but I do have a 10+ year-old Aquaclear that is running strong in a FW tank. Although it does cough and hack a while like the old geezer it is on re-start.