Water Movement - Filter vs Powerhead

[nzafi]

I know everyone on this board is in favor of over filtration but what is the thought of using a powerhead for flow instead of filters?

What I mean is essentially doing a setup like a couple SunSun canisters or HOB which are really just focused on filtering the water versus achieving versus achieving high GPH, and then using a powerhead like a jebao rw15 to focus on water movement in the tank?

I just feel like its cheaper and better to do 2 SunSuns for like $100-150, dump $50 on a jebao PH, and you will get more capacity and flow than either a FX6 or 2262 and cheaper.

Obviously people will talk about quality of cheaper filters but I have found lots of folks with problems with expensive filters too.

 

[PassengerTN]

On my tanks, I use HOBs to achieve a high turnover rate of usually 10-12 per hour. 700gph on a 55 for example should turn over the water column 12.7 times per hour. I use power heads in conjunction with the hob's to eliminate any dead zones. Using two Sunsun's and a power head vs a single large canister is up to you. Comes down to how much crap you want pulling power, and how much stuff in the tank. With two sunsuns you should have a lot more room for biomedia too, always a plus IMO

 

[PassengerTN]

Forgot to add/distracted typing, gph from a filter(s) is a lot different than gph from a pair. High gph from filters yields higher turnover, thus increased filtration. Powerhead is gonna be water movement only, which can help filtering by keeping waste suspended in the water column, but not something I add into an "over filtering" set up

 

[millerkid519]

I have ran with low turnover with powerheads (4×-5×) and also high rate with power heads (10×) only thing different I noticed is how clear the water is. I know there are people breading stingrays in holand that do 3x turnover max and use power heads. Water is in contact with the media longer which means bb can do a better job. In my opinion it's all in how you want to set it up