Do canister filters work in half-filled tanks?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
I'll get a powerhead then..can I take off airpump off my list?
will my fish choke to death? i will be getting a 4" bluegill in there. along with the 15 guppys, 4 goldfish, 2 crappie, and 10 small(1") bluegill that are already in the tank.
 
No your fish will be fine without the air pump. you'll have plenty of water movement to oxyigenate the water.
 
i might get alittle off right now..
after a big fish puts up a good fight, when I release the fish, I slap the water violently to make the water "white" to crate alot of oxygen there..

in the tank, I don't think I will get "white" oxygen water but would the underwater movement of the powerhead create "invisible" oxygen?
 
You cant see usable O2 in water. You CAN see tiny bubbles but they do the fish no good at all. Thats why it's called DESOLVED oxygen. Water can only take in so much and thats a tiny fraction of the amount in the air. It also varies depending on water temperiture. Slapping the water wont do anything except annoy the fish.
 
haha okay..so the filter and powerhead is going to supply the tank with enough oxygen that I can't see right?! how does this occur though?
I think the surface of my tank will be undisturbed though..

the water temperature will be 78F, was it that the colder the water the more oxygen it holds?
 
As long as you have filtration and water movement...even though you don't SEE a lot of water movement you'll have 'turn over'. The serface interfeace area....where water and air meet is where the gas exchange takes place.
 
oh ok thanks wolf..
one more..will the azoo powerheads connect to the XP1's intake?
Also, do all powerheads come with a sponge? what would happen if I don't use one?

and one more..i decided to build a tnak stand but how high should it be?
you guys told me too low is not good with canister filters but what about too high?

I was thinking 2 or 3' stand..the tank is 16" high.
 
Stands from 24" to 36" would work just fine. as long as the canister is below the tank it will work great. No most powerheads dont come with foam pre-filters but they are simple to install....and I doubt the powerhead outlet will match the canister intake hose but again it's not too difficult to adapt them. You CAN run the powerhead without the foam pre-filter but you'll have to clean the canister out a LOT more often.
 
Where can I buy the sponge for the powerheads?
How am I gonna connect the 2 devices? Like you said, I can't just point the powerhead towards the intake right..and I need to directly connect it.
I just can't see an image of how to connect those 2..(It could be because I've never seen both of them.lol)

And how long are the hoses that come with the XP1?
 
Most all sponge filters are designed to connect directly to a powerhead. check out the hydro line available on Ebay...Let me know if you can't find them and I'll post a link. I've never set up an xp1 so I can't tell you exactly how long the hoses are but all cannisters are designed to fit under the tank and most commun stands are 24" to 30" tall so the factory hoses should be at least that long. To adapt the output of the powerhead to the 1/2" inlet hose is fairly simple...you can slip a piece of clear hose over the outlet. (you might have to cut off the air tube on the powerhead). slip it on far enough to cover the air hole and then cut the tube off flush with the end. This should now fit inside the intake hose of the cannister tight enough not to need a clamp. (You might need two tubes depending on the size of the powerhead outlet. One over the other to make it thick enough.) It sounds a lot more complicated than it really is...once you have the stuff in your hands you'll understand what I'm talking about.
 
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