Power head for water changes

[Rita]

Hello all!

Has anyone used the aquarium co op power head to do water changes? I'm more interested in the ability to push water from a 5 gallon bucket into the tank. Also where do you get hosing that will fit on the output?

Thanks!

[AllFishNoBrakes]

I haven’t used the ACO powerhead to do that, but before I had my Python I built this bad boy to pump water from buckets

 

The biggest issue that I had to tackle was a pump that had enough power to lift the water, but not so much that it disturbed the tank too much. Plus, I have tanks at different levels on a rack so I needed a little less pressure for one row and a little more for the tanks on the next level above. I liked that this pump was adjustable to tackle whatever I needed, and it was a fun DIY project.

Edited January 15, 2023 by AllFishNoBrakes

[nabokovfan87]

Look up the sicce zero pumps.  If they have a "nano" version of something like that it would be the one to go with.  That style of pump is usually ok to run dry and is made for pumping out and leaving almost no liquid in the container.  I say sicce because of quality and warranty, but there are others available.

For most pumpheads you're looking for 3/8 or 12mm ID tubing.

[DaveO]

On 1/14/2023 at 10:29 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

On 1/14/2023 at 10:29 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I liked that this pump was adjustable to tackle whatever I needed, and it

 

What pump is that? I don't think you mentioned the name and model.

[mynameisnobody]

I tried using the coop powerhead for water changes from a 32 gallon trash can to a 75 gallon tank. The uplift wasn’t sufficient and it took 10x the amount of time to complete. Now I use it to move water in an aquarium as it’s only use. 

[Tanked]

Fountain pumps are intended for this kind of use, and often come with adapters for various hose sizes.  I use a setup similar to @AllFishNoBrakes.  Mine is a Little Giant fountain pump  MOD.# pes-130-pw. It is not the fastest pump in the world but that gives me enough time fill buckets, scrape algae...whatever. I also use an inline ball valve to control control flow in tanks of different depths. This is important because when you cut off the power, the hose will immediately siphon water out of the tank.  Most pumps will show head, rise, or lift, telling you how high the pump will push the water, as well as gallon/hr. at 0 elev. and x feet.  I can't say that the ACO power head won't work for you, but customer service might be able to tell you how high it will push the water.

[AllFishNoBrakes]

@DaveO I don’t know the exact name and model. I bought it like 3 years ago on Amazon and have since sold that little setup to another fish keeper friend. 
 

Like @Tanked said, it was a fountain pump and I made sure it could push water to the height I needed it to. 

[ccc24]

I purchased a submersible pump that is meant to drain the tanks quickly. I can just fit the end of my Python in the adapter. It works brilliantly but I definitely had to purchase a good size pump. It’s right around $20-30 but for me it cut the time off the water change pretty drastically, especially for my tanks that gravity was no help for (like changing water on the tank sitting on the bathroom counter that is lower than the bathroom sink). 

[mynameisnobody]

@ccc24 That’s the exact pump I use

[Up North]

This is what I made with 1/2" pvc.  It goes to the bottom of my tank and directs water up so it does not disrupt my substrate 

[YYC Carrie]

On 1/15/2023 at 4:15 PM, Up North said:

This is what I made with 1/2" pvc.  It goes to the bottom of my tank and directs water up so it does not disrupt my substrate 

super helpful! I have been working on figuring a way to pump replacement water into my tanks after a water change. I love the idea of the dual output directed up to avoid stirring up the sub.... thank you!

[Up North]

I will also use it for taking water out of my 20 long that is just a few inches off the ground.  Place the pump in the tank with the diffuser end in a bucket because it is too low for a siphon 

[Rube_Goldfish]

On 1/15/2023 at 10:19 AM, Tanked said:

I also use an inline ball valve to control control flow in tanks of different depths.

I use a similar pump and thought about using a ball valve in this way but I worried it would strain the motor to be pushing water against a closed or narrowed valve. You haven't noticed any issues like that?

[Gannon]

On 1/15/2023 at 5:15 PM, Up North said:

This is what I made with 1/2" pvc.  It goes to the bottom of my tank and directs water up so it does not disrupt my substrate 

This is exactly what I need so desperately to build but I dont want to screw it up. Can you give me a list of all the stuff I would need to make this it would help me with the confidence to finally get started. 

On 1/15/2023 at 9:36 AM, ccc24 said:

I purchased a submersible pump that is meant to drain the tanks quickly. I can just fit the end of my Python in the adapter. It works brilliantly but I definitely had to purchase a good size pump. It’s right around $20-30 but for me it cut the time off the water change pretty drastically, especially for my tanks that gravity was no help for (like changing water on the tank sitting on the bathroom counter that is lower than the bathroom sink). 

additionally this happens to be the exact pump i use with 50 feet of 3/4 inch vinyl tubing. Its a good one. I just need something to hold the output inside the tank. 

[Tanked]

On 1/17/2023 at 12:29 PM, Rube_Goldfish said:

I use a similar pump and thought about using a ball valve in this way but I worried it would strain the motor to be pushing water against a closed or narrowed valve. You haven't noticed any issues like that?

I haven't had any issues.  Manufactures recommend any restrictions be placed only on the output side of the pump as the impellers and motor will stay wet and cool