On Jan 1, 10:02*am, Randy Webb wrote:
AquariumFatasies said the following on 12/31/2007 8:58 PM:

On Dec 31, 7:40 pm, Randy Webb wrote:

snip

URL:http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/hikksnotathome/fishtank/index.html

If, for some reason, the pictures don't load, let me know and I can
email them directly to you. The very last picture the power head is not
attached with tie strips because I bought a kit to mount the power head
on the back of the tank with suction cups and found the filters for
power heads. They were simply put on in an X pattern so that they didn't
lock the filter into the rock.

For yours, if it doesn't have an intake tube, and only has an inlet
area, you can use a piece of air conditioner filter for a window unit,
wrap your pump in it, and use rubber bands to hold it on.

snip

I am not knocking youir filter, but to *be h onest I sure wuld not
want all that in the tank.

OK, so you wouldn't want a rock, a power head and a filter in a tank.
Novel idea. JFTR, it is in a 55 gallon tank and it is actually small for
that size tank.

IMHO its just as easy to stick a strainer piece into the powerheads
inlet tube and if needed then slip on a foam / sponge filter sleeve
that tyupically comes with a Pondmaster or Danner Mag 3 or 5 sized
piump or use the foam sponge filters that are made for the Maxi Jet
like of pumps.............

Hmmm. Have you read the entire thread? Perhaps you should and you will
come to realize why I used what I did. I used it for more reasons than
just the filter.

An even easier solution would have been to get a strainer for the power
head and then put a sponge filter on it. Not near as much satisfaction
in it though.

The "rock" appears to be a portion of concrete that was evidenlty poured
around a 4 x 4 post or so and it appears to be almost as big around as
the bottom of that bucket............

Nice to see you agree with my description of it. And yes, it is almost
as big around as the five gallon bucket I had it sitting on.

just way too much "material" *for a little 4 x 4 area of foam to be
exposed and do the work.

Actually, there is twice that much area of filter exposed (It isn't
actually foam, it is a plastic media for wet/dry filters). The exposed
area of the filter is also on the bottom of it. And, testing it with a
flow meter from the local reef store shows that I do not have restricted
flow. The output is the same with and without the filter on the power
head. The advantage I have is more area for biological filtration. I
wouldn't even begin to guess at the surface area of the filter itself.

A typical foam filter sleeve has approx the same square inches of
fitler surface and needs no "rock"

I can't find filter sleeves where I live. I don't order from the
Internet for personal reasons. I prefer to see what I am buying before I
buy it so I can make sure it is going to work. The only filter sleeves
you can find here are if you buy another power head to go with it. I
need another power head about as much as Methuselah needs another does
of ugliness.

Second problem is that without the rock, the filter I have has enough
buoyancy that it will actually float my power head in the tank. I could
buy a suction cup setup to mount it to the side of the tank but I chose
not to. I actually like the rock.

In the end, it is nothing more than a way to show people how they can
come up with ideas/solutions of there own. Whether it is by choice or by
need.

--
Randy
Chance Favors The Prepared Mind

Well I sure am not knocking it so don't think that I am. I use lots of
powerheads in my tanks both salt and fresh, and stay as far away form
suction cups as I can as I am not fond of sand storms of holes blown
in the substrate no matter if its gravel or sand, when a suction cup
lets loose. Been ther done that too many times. I make brackets to
hang from the top and fix my powerheads to them at the disired depth
and angles.......or I use the typical mag float tank cleaners and
attach the powerhead to the magnet that goes inside the tank. I use
Weldon SOlvent to glue the pump and mount tothe magnet clenaer and
have yet to have one ever come loose on me and create a sandstorm
since I started using it this way in many many years.........I
happened tofind a bunch of mag cleaners on super clearance sale one
time and took advantage of them this way......To clean them its easy
to slide the powerhead up from outside the tank and then just pop the
mag cleaner halfs apart just like the typical mag cleaner is
used.......

The blue foam is typical of what they sell for filter media in many
many LFS and its what is used in the Oceanic Bio cubes......what I am
getting at is the amount of area exposed is still only abojut the size
of my tyupical sleeve filters, unless you have that chunk of concrete
(rock) on its side like a wheel in which course then it would have the
bottom portion also to act as a filter. But once the filter material
gets some junk pulled in its not any different in action than the
typical foam filters like in the aqua clear HOB filters,. It starts to
restrict flow and becomes blocked and pump works against more suction
and produces less outflow. its only natural for less intake and
outflow to occur when filter media of any kind gets detrius sucked in
to it.