Unboxing & setting up a powerhead filter in fishbowl:

A powerhead is fully submerged in water. It sucks water from the bottom & a nozzle releases water with high pressure.

Powerhead filters are inexpensive. It needs a simple setup & it is one of the top filters for fish bowls. Using a little 8-Watt filter with a flow rate of 600 L/H is able to turn around water at 7.5 times the capacity of the fishbowl aquarium.

A foam is available inside the Powerhead filter that acts as mechanical & bio filtration media.

Aquarium inhabitants including fish & invertebrates like moving water. If you copy their wild habitat inside your aquarium, then they will be healthier.

Watch a video below which shows how to setup a powerhead with an internal filter in fishbowl aquarium:


How to setup a powerhead with an internal filter

Unboxing powerhead (with an internal filter):


Unboxing powerhead filter
Unboxing powerhead filter

Gently open the powerhead filter box & take out the filter & its components. Remove the filter cover & wash the mechanical filtration media before adding it to the fishbowl. Make sure you dip the mechanical media in dechlorinated water before adding it to the fishbowl. Tap water contains chlorine so dechlorinated water will wipe out the toxic chemical.

 

Connecting powerhead (with an internal filter) components:


Connecting powerhead filter components
Connecting powerhead filter components

Connect an elbow joiner to the powerhead. Connect a spray bar to the elbow connector & close the other end of the spray bar. Use suction cups on the back of the powerhead for attaching it to the bowl glass.

 

Testing powerhead filter in the fishbowl:


Testing powerhead filter in the fish bowl
Testing powerhead filter in the fishbowl

Connect the powerhead filter to the bowl glass & power on the filter. It will start sprinkling water in the fishbowl. A spray bar is used for lowering the water pressure & keeps flow smoother. I am no longer using a spray bar after testing it in the video, & I have angled the outflow so water currents can sweep around the whole bowl in one direction.

 

Maintenance of powerhead filter:

Turn off the powerhead filter. Take it out of the fishbowl. Gently remove the filter cover & take out the media. Squeeze the media in a container filled with bowl water. Do not wash media in tap water because chlorinated water will kill all beneficial bacteria. Put media back in the powerhead filter & install it again in the fishbowl. Turn on the powerhead filter.

 

Comparison: Powerhead vs Sponge filters:

Powerhead also comes with an internal filter. Usually, it contains a mechanical filter media. It offers mechanical & biological filtration much like sponge filters. Unlike sponge filters that are connected to the air pump, powerhead has its own submersible pump. They are more efficient than sponge filters because powerheads work with large volumes of water. Powerheads do not create bubble sound that sponge filters produce without an air stone. Powerheads add more oxygen to the water than an air pump. You can position the powerhead in any direction. Connect your powerhead filter to the bowl wall & angle the outflow for water circulation.

 

Benefits of powerhead filters:

Powerheads add atmospheric oxygen into the water via an air tube. You need to connect one end of the air tube to the powerhead & keep the other end outside water. It does not suck any small fish because a strainer is connected to the inlet.

It will allow beneficial bacteria to grow & water circulation will help filter in collecting fish waste & other debris. Water circulation will even trap solid waste particles, leftover food, & other debris stuck in the substrate that will otherwise release ammonia which is highly toxic to fish.

Other advantages of powerhead include driving an overhead SUMP filter. It sucks water from the bottom & sends it to the SUMP using a hose connected to the head of the filter. Also, it can run an under-gravel filter. Powerheads are available for low price & create a waterfall in your aquarium. Just connect the outflow of the powerhead to a spray bar for a waterfall effect. 

Water circulation is a good exercise for the fish & they like swimming against the water currents.

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