Loaches Online Forum

I was looking at some new products, a few are worth mentioning-

This new powerhead has it's a propeller inside the tank, but it's motor is outside the tank.
The price is nuts, but the technology of it sounds great for tanks that need high flow without adding any heat to the water.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=16754

Another cool, but pricey item is a PinPoint electronic Nitrate meter-
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... atid=16751

These have been used in the reef hobby for awhile. I've often thought my loaches would appreciate a Vortech, but for that price a MaxiJet will just have to do.

Magnetically coupled impellers are already in use in pumps and an external pump is basically the same thing, if you think about it. However, this is probably a first for a powerhead.

The nitrate monitor may not actually be usable as a 24/7 monitor. For 2-4X more money, you can get a spectrophotometer test kit that will test many more parameter than just nitrate.

Good points.
Thanks, I just found out that the Vortech came out last year, but this is the 1st time I've seen it. Maybe I wasn't looking very hard.

I was just glad to finally see that an electronic nitrate meter/probe specifically designed for aquatics has hit the market . There are other electronic nitrate meters/probes designed for lab use, but they are a bit more expensive. Maybe someday there will be an affordable one that can be used 24/7 with no fuss. Technology ain't there yet, but it's definately a step closer.

One of the things that would concern me about such a pump is the intake area. If there are baby hillstreams in the tank, or small dithers for that matter, they could get sucked up against the intake and die. I guess with that level of flow, it could even kill larger adult fish.

Dead fish would be a deal breaker. Somebody delete this thread!

chefkeith wrote:Dead fish would be a deal breaker. Somebody delete this thread!

Yeah but you made this warning already.

That's a new one on me too. Pretty neat idea, but the small fish ingestion problem is a big negative IMO.

There's another design which we discussed ages ago where the motor sits above the water and drives an impeller via a long shaft. Looks kind of like a weird outboard. Again, the idea is low heat transmission to the water. Forget the brand name now.

Martin.

If heat's a concern you could get a chiller that would remove way more heat than one magnetically coupled powerhead and it wouldn't cost that much more.