ZooMed powerheads?

[Derek B]

Anybody ever used them? Looks like a great way to create wavelike water movement in smaller tanks without the expense of the big wavemakers. Anybody with any thoughts?

[Chris]

They're crap and totally not worth it. I had one that stopped moving after only a few weeks.

I had to constantly clean it to get it to turn again, and most of the times it would last a dayafter cleaning. I eventually just got tired of cleaning it and let it run as a normal powerhead.

They're also a lot weaker than suggested. Definately not worth the price.

:?

[captexas]

Don't waste your money. They are a good idea, but they don't last long. I had one and it stopped rotating after about a week. In a saltwater tank, there is too much stuff in the water that ends up clogging up the gears that make it rotate. I think a lot of people buy them because they look neat and end up throwing them away not long after.

If you are looking for something for a small tank, Osci-wave makes a thing similar looking to a Sea Swirl, but it simply holds a power head and rotates the entire unit. Marine Depot has them for about $100.

Hope that helps.

[Chris]

Vinh is selling an item called the Squid or SWCD or something like that....

It's for external plumbing but I think you can basically have two 3/4" outputs that you stick in your tank, then the "squid" somehow varies it's output from one to the other.

The plus is the item is cheap... around $40-50 and the guy who invented it for some reason has been using it for a few years without problems before he finally decided to sell it.

[captexas]

Yeah, it's called the Squid for SCWD. You can do a search on Reef Central. There is a big thread going on it and I think a couple of people have purchased them to try them out. But like the other Chris said, it still requires external plumbing.

[Tim Marvin]

A small surge unit. Cheaper and better than any other device.

[TexasState]

You can use the SCWD Wave Device with external or internal plumbing. The SCWD have one water inlet, and [/b]two water outlet. It acts like a T for your plumber. There's a propeller inside it, as the water push on the propeller, the SCWD open and close the outlets. The device is small. Mine is in black color. I have several, and will try to bring one to the meeting.