# Power head with CO2 injection, good/bad?



## avguy (Jun 26, 2006)

My 55g is a heavily planted & lit by 130w of pc 67K bulbs, CO2 injected from the AB dual membrane diffuser in the back bottom near my Ehiem pre-filter 2215 cannister intake. That filter alone circulates at 164 gph. But, I think I'm just enamored with the idea of having moving water.  I already know better not to agitate the surface by using such a filter and keep the spray bar down about 2 in. - this keeps the CO2 inside better.

In question, would it be ok to add a power head such as the Power Sweep 228http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=27261;category_id=3875;pcid1=2181;pcid2= in the back of the tank aimed forward, like my spray bar?

I have mostly livebearers, sailfin mollies being my favorite. I believe the water circulation will benefit them, appeal to my eyes and wonder how it will affect the CO2 and the plants.

I grow lots of crypts, vallisneria, java fern, anubius, Apongs, rotala indica, bacopa, and some swords.

My nitrates never are above 5ml, I water change 1/4 every 10 days, keep ph=7, and have a Red Sea CO2 indicator.


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## Reefcrack (Apr 10, 2006)

Avguy,

I am currently running a ZooMed powersweep in my 100 gallon planted tank. I too love to see plants sway gently. I think that's how it should be. That, and fish! The power sweep keeps the CO2 rich water circulating throughout the big tank. In fact I made a CO2 reactor out of a powerhead cage filter. I filled the cage with bioballs and ran the CO2 line into the base of the cage and connected the cage to an AquaClear 201 powerhead. The CO2 bubbles get minced into millions of tiny bubbles and the powersweep spreads the wealth. I say go for it!!


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## yildirim (Nov 25, 2004)

Unless it is not too close to the surface hence causing excess agitation on the surface, power head usage is extremely beneficial for planted tanks. This way you will have a better way of providing nutrients and co2 at all places esp. if you have a densely scaped tank. This increased circulation will also help stopping algal growth and ease the nutrient uptake of plants as it also will thinner the still layer surroundin all the leaves.


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## zig (Jul 3, 2005)

I have a 40 gallon heavily planted tank with the same 2215 filter, i have the input one side of the tank and the output the other side, the spraybar points across the tank from left to right at a 45 degree angle just below the surface, the filter gets cleaned every 2 months, so everything is good in that respect, anyway after a while i was getting dead spots in the front bottom corners of the tank and bga started to appear even though my dosing schedule is good, i added a small powerhead (just 400lph) positioned it stratigically and within 24 hours the bga disappeared, this was a couple of months ago at this stage and there is no sign of the bga reappearing, so IMO the powehead has been an excellent addition to the tank and will be a permenant feature from now on. I have it about 2/3 of the way down the tank and find it easy to hide from view, fish and plants seem to like it as well, so i would echo the view and go for it.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Using a powerhead with CO2 injected in it is the most efficient cheap way to disolve CO2. Compared to a diffuser (atomizer) the efficiency is huge - I had to reduce the CO2 supply to 1/3 of what it was with a diffuser.

The increased flow may not be that simple of a topic. Luis Navarro uses huge flow rates in his tanks. But at least one German company considers fast water flow a reason for good algae growth. 

I have one single 55 gal. non-CO2 tank that was infested with Cladophora and reducing the flow immensely slowed down the growth of the algae. With about 300 gph I had to remove handfuls of Cladophora every week. With about 80-100 gph the algae barely grows.

I also have a 180 gal. tank with about 600 gph of circulation. It has stayed pristinely clean despite the big open areas in front. The tank has only big swords covering about 1/3 of the bottom.

Lastly a little surface agitation is a good thing. It helps the gas exchange of the tank. Keeping the CO2 in the body of water is not the only concern. If you start a brand new tank and completely eliminate the surface movement you will see that every single time the processes in the tank stall - plants (and algae) do not grow.

--Nikolay


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I'm using a Maxijet powerhead in my 29 gallon tank, with a sponge filter on it and the CO2 injected thru the sponge into the inlet of the powerhead. It is my only filtration, only circulation and only CO2 injection, and it is working great for all jobs.

About algae - algae likes just about everything, if not everything that plants like. So, more circulation can mean more algae, unless the ferts are well balanced, the CO2 is high, and the lights not left on too long. BBA, in particular, seems to enjoy water circulation.


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## John N. (Dec 11, 2005)

I think it would be a good idea to add a powerhead for increased circulation. Never seen the Zoomed in action, but the slaying effect sounds like a neat, effect way to spread the water around. 

Though, maxijet powerheads tend to have greater respect for durability and longevity with reef keepers.

-John N.


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## Reefcrack (Apr 10, 2006)

As mentioned previously, I have a powersweep running at the moment. I actually had moved the powersweep from my reef tank to the planted tank because it came with a sponge filter attachment. It actually sweeps a good 45 degrees. I have never had a problem with it not working. Even in the reef tank while encrusted with coralline algae. They make a few sizes also. I went with the smallest model considering the reef tank is only 20 gallons. A larger model may make more sense in a bigger tank. I am looking to add a second powersweep(same small model) to aid the circulation. Highly recommend the powersweep.


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