Marineland Power Head 1140 -- Only to be used with undergravel?

[trukin]

I'm an idiot. I bought a power head 1140 and after reading the instructions, it says i need to plug it into the undergravel. I only wanted it so there was more water flow.


Is it required to have an undergravel filter or should it return it and buy an air pump and set that up?


What is best?

Thanks in advanced.

 

[platytudes]

For what you paid for it, you could probably return it and buy a Koralia. These circulation pumps are much more efficient than a conventional powerhead. A Koralia nano pumps 270 gph, very close to the 300 gph on your 1140, and runs less than 4 watts. I find it to be more discreet, and I like the magnetic suction cup. That being said, I can't see why you couldn't use the 1140 like a regular powerhead...just attach it with a suction cup or mounting bracket (whatever it comes with) to the top of the tank! Skip the venturi, unless you can stand the noise.

 

[rufioman]

You're not an idiot.

If you keep it just attach it to an air pump, that's suitable for your tank and fish, via airline tubing and a gang valve. Stick it halfway down your tank or so on one side and it'll circulate and aerate your water wonderfully. I use it with this setup because undergravel filters are lame. My $0.02.

 

[Rbishop]

If using it just for circulation, depending on the fish you keep you may need a sponge on the intake. My 2 1/2 cents...UGF are definitely not lame.

 

[RiVerfishgirl]

No, you don't have to run them with an UGF. There are various pumps that are sold for or with UGF, so that's probably why it says attach to a UGF, but you can also run them alone.

And I agree that UGFs aren't lame, there are just often better options for people. They are great for creating a large amount of biological media cheaply, they just need to be siphoned regularly to keep them clean, especially if you're not running it reverse flow.