DIY Aquarium Powerhead

Aquarium powerheads are submersible aquarium pumps that are used principally to circulate water in the aquarium. Powerheads can be used in the place of a vibrator pump and air stone to run an undergravel filter, and can also be connected to other types of filters. According to Alan Jardine, former chief conservation officer at the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa, marine aquarists use powerheads to blow debris and detritus off the surface of living corals and other sedentary invertebrate animals. A powerhead's motor is encased in resin, which makes the unit totally waterproof and allows the aquarist to place it at any depth within the aquarium.

Things You'll Need

  • Powerhead
  • Undergravel adapter tube
  • Undergravel plates, including raiser stem
  • Powerhead bracket and adhesive suction cups
  • Transparent plastic tubing
  • Powerhead strainer
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Instructions

    • 1

      Remove the air stone from the raiser tube of the undergravel filter.

    • 2

      Place an undergravel adapter tube onto the intake nozzle of the powerhead and seat the powerhead on top of the undergravel raiser tube. The powerhead will draw more water through the gravel that covers the plastic undergravel plate than what the air stone is capable of doing and thereby improves filtration.

    • 3

      Reverse the flow of water through the undergravel plate by turning the powerhead around and forcing water down the raiser stem, instead of drawing the water out. Place the undergravel adapter tube onto the exhaust nozzle of the powerhead and seat the powerhead with its exhaust nozzle in the raiser tube.

    • 4

      Siphon up all the detritus and debris that the powerhead dislodged by blowing compacted waste from between the individual pieces of aquarium substrate or gravel.

    • 5

      Place a bracket with adhesive suction cups onto the powerhead. Secure the powerhead to the back pane of the aquarium and adjust the angle of the powerhead toward the general direction of live rock or living corals within the aquarium. Allow the current created by the powerhead to blow dirt, which can suffocate these stationary animals, from their bodies.

    • 6

      Attach a short length of transparent plastic tubing to the exhaust nozzle of the powerhead and push the opposite end over the intake nozzle of an in-sump protein skimmer. Use the powerhead to drive the skimmer.

    • 7

      Attach an appropriate length of transparent plastic tubing to the exhaust nozzle of the powerhead and push the opposite end into the intake port of a canister filter. In this way, you can run a remotely positioned canister filter with a powerhead that has been placed within the aquarium.

    • 8

      Place a strainer over the intake nozzle of the powerhead, except when the intake has been positioned within the raiser stem of an undergravel filter, to prevent algae and large pieces of detritus from being drawn into the impeller well and damaging the impeller blades.