Power Sweep Powerhads by Zoomed?

[jgoal55]

I know that these things had/have a pretty terrible reputation for quite some time....but I was reading some reviews about them just now and they are all pretty good reviews....the biggest complaint seems to be about the mounting bracket......

About.com says that earlier models had big reliability issues which I know was a big reason they had such a bad reputation but that they have now replaced the plastic impeller with a metal one and the reliability is no longer a factor....

Anyway, I am looking to get more flow in my 30 long tank and was thinking of replacing one of my two Aquaclear 50's (old 402 - 270 gph) with one of these and then adding one more at the top of the tank....

Short of making a CL, i think this might give me the best rotational flow in my tank. I was wondering if any of you have tried these lately (last few months) and what you thought of them?

Thanks.

 

[glxtrix]

metal impeller????? That doesnt sound too reef tank friendly. I think best bang for your buck if you want rotational flow, get one of those hydor thingys...

 

[flyingarmy]

I would go with a MJ1200 with a Hydor rotational output. Great flow 360 in front of the PH. I have 2 of them in my 30 & 39 Cubes.

 

[jgoal55]

yeah, i have seen those Hydor's and they are pretty cool but they are pretty big and bulky looking and in order for me to be able to hide them, while still maintaining flow, I would have to re-do my rockwork and well, that's not happening.

As for the metal, Lee...I'm pretty sure that the impeller is designed just like the Aquaclear's now....a plastic blade/ wheel around a metal rod.....I think before on these things they used a plastic rod too and the rod just snapped all the time.....

I am headed to Petsmart later today and I am going to open the box and check it out before I buy it (they let you do that at Petsmart). If it looks well built I am going to give it a hot because I've done a bit more research and the reviews on them just keep coming in strong.

I'll post on here how I feel about them.....I'll be the guinea pig.

 

[wbholwell]

flyingarmy;56176 wrote: I would go with a MJ1200 with a Hydor rotational output. Great flow 360 in front of the PH. I have 2 of them in my 30 & 39 Cubes.

I've had problems with mine. It stopped rotating, so I took it out, soaked it in vinegar, and thoughly cleaned it. I put it back together and it worked for a day before it stopped again.

Have you ever had this problem?

BTW, anyone who wants it is welcomed to my hydor.

 

[wbholwell]

Jgoal55;56233 wrote: yeah, i have seen those Hydor's and they are pretty cool but they are pretty big and bulky looking and in order for me to be able to hide them, while still maintaining flow, I would have to re-do my rockwork and well, that's not happening.

Here's one other alternative: it involves simply cutting the output nozzle off of the MJ. This makes the water come out of the hole at roughly a 45 deg angle (the flow is also wider.) If you have these on a timer, each time the PH comes on the water will come out in one of two directions, depending on which way the impellor rotates on start-up- so it will alternate 50% of the time. I'm actually going to give this a try- I'll let you know how it turns out if you like.

 

[jgoal55]

that's actually very interesting and could work well.....still not the 360 water flow but probably good enough....definitely let us know.....

 

[wbholwell]

yeah, one thing I didn't like about the hydor was that it really restricted the flow. At least the mod won't have that issue.

 

[flyingarmy]

That is funny...I have another PH, forgot which brand but I accidently broke off the output nozzle and had it on a timer and it would do the exact same thing, depending on which way the impeller start it would kick out the flow that direction. So it literally was quite randum. Great idea by accident!

 

[linda lee]

wbholwell;56236 wrote: Here's one other alternative: it involves simply cutting the output nozzle off of the MJ. This makes the water come out of the hole at roughly a 45 deg angle (the flow is also wider.) If you have these on a timer, each time the PH comes on the water will come out in one of two directions, depending on which way the impellor rotates on start-up- so it will alternate 50% of the time. I'm actually going to give this a try- I'll let you know how it turns out if you like.

Keep me posted on this, too? I might try it.

I need better flow in my 33 gal.

Thanks!

 

[jgoal55]

ok, so I purchased these PH by zoomed and I must say that I am actually quite impressed....you can see the difference in flow and the sweeping head does a great job....we'll see how long they last but so far so good.....only complaint is that they are not easy to take off the mounts so once they are in the tank, make sure that's where you want it.....secondly they are quite bulky but not too, too much bigger than the comparable aquaclear.....just longer/wider.

 

[jgoal55]

Update: These things are Ok but too much maintenance.....am returning it to petsmart tomorrow.....the sweeping head definitely stops working and while fixing it is nothing more than cleaning the gear, its a pain in the butt......It wouldn't be so bad if they were easy to take off the bracket but they are not at all......

Overall, I wouldn't buy again...great concept but poorly executed.....too muxh maintenance for a powerhead.....the impeller however has given me no problems and is still pushing at full force.

PS- it worked well for about 2 1/2 weeks.

 

[jgoal55]

I just read about the hydor thingy really restricting the flow.....would it be a good idead to get a bigger PH for it to go on?

 

[jgoal55]

its just a humble little 30 long.....looking more for multidirectional?

thats what I was thinking was the AC 70 and attaching the hydor floe diverter....but I wonder if it would make more sense to buy a koralia 1 or 2 or a tunze nanostream (sam has them) though that may be way too much.....

can you get multi directional flow with the koralias and Tunzes?

 

[jgoal55]

hmmm.....and yet another thing to use my credit for at F&S........two of them would be so bulky though......would the nano stream be too much? mostly softies/LPS in the tank....i wonder if it would jus be better to by the Aquaclear 70 and use the flow director?

 

[kevinc]

Just remember that the nanostreams (I don't know about the Koralia's) shouldn't be used on a wavemaker that cycles their power very often. Due to the mechanism the nanostreams use to cause the propeller to always turn the right direction their long term durability is sacrificed every time they are turned on. Tunze recommends a wavemaker cycle of at least 15 minutes, not the 10-15 seconds most wavemakers put out. In addition, when the pumps are turned on, if the propeller starts spinning the wrong way (which it does half the time) there's a loud rattling sound for a few seconds before the propeller corrects itself. Listening to that every 15 seconds would drive you crazy even if it wasn't bad for the powerhead.

This doesn't apply to the 6055s since they are DC pumps, but they are over $200 each.