powerheads and filtration??

Question

if i use 2 thirty gallon powerheads in a thirty gallon tank, will that increase my compacitiy of fish and what are the benefits and downsides to doing this??

Answer 1

I have found the addition of one large sponge filter, whether it is driven by a power head or an air stone through a lift tube, can be all the difference in an under-filtered tank...

You can put one more power head in there with a sponge on the intake such as a marineland QucikSponge, and you will now have a nice bio-filter going that you can clean alternately with your power-filter. For example, clean each filter once a month, but on alternating two week cycles. This way, you always have a filter loaded with bacteria running.

Answer 2

Powerheads alone will not increase the capacity of fish you can keep in the tank - if you aim them up at the surface so that they disturbe the surface it will increase the amount of oxygen the water can absorb, but will do nothing to increase the bioload the tank can manage, nor the waste you can filter out. If you increase filtration then you can increase how many fish you can keep, but you still need to make sure there is enough room in the tank for the fish, and that the fish can handle the increased water flow. No matter how much filtration you have though, you will find overstocking will increase the amount of tank maintenance you need to perform.

Answer 3

I assume you are using an undergravel filter. All your powerheads do is force the water to filter between the gravel before it is sucked up and spit out. This does not allow any greater capacity for fish and you have to be sure that you still vacuum out the gravel once in a while. All filters act pretty much the same as long as the gravel is vacuumed. There is no distinct advantage/disadvantage to your system.

Answer 4

i think it is probably a little extreme. you can marginally increase fish capacity with filtratiion but you also have to increase gravel vacuums and water changes. the powerheads keep stuff from ciruclating in the water but leaves all the stuff lurking in the bottom of you tank. maybe if you got super bio-wheels but then you would have to watch nitrate levels and still have to do your gravel vacs and water changes. maybe one day they will invent something that does gravel vacs and water changes for you -- until then enjoy!