How to Pick the Right Aquarium Powerhead for Your Saltwater or Reef Tank. | BRStv Buying Guide

Did you know there are 7 different aquarium powerhead pump categories? How do you know which one is right for your saltwater aquarium? We break each powerhead type down and help you determine the right tool for the right job along with 4 considerations you NEED to know before you buy!
Your search for the RIGHT powerhead for your tank starts here:
➡ www.bulkreefsupply.com/pumps-...
Legal Stuff
The content contained in this video is general information on the topic and should not be relied upon as your sole source of information or safety advice for this project or topic. Each product or situation is different and has its own concerns related to successful completion and safety that must be fully researched by the individual considering the project or product. The purpose and content of this video is to provide general information regarding the products and their applications as presented in the video. Aquatic sales solutions, Inc. And its officers, directors, employees and agents disclaim all express or implied warranties, in any way, related to the products and their application as presented in this video, make no representation or warranty regarding the products and the application as presented in this video and shall not be liable for any direct or indirect losses or damages of any type, including but not limited to punitive damages, or from personal injury or death resulting from or in any manner related to the video, and the products in and contents of the video. The viewer expressly agrees that aquatic sales solutions, inc. And its officers, directors, employees and agents shall not be liable for any damages or losses related to the products in and content of the video and hereby agrees to hold the foregoing harmless from any such losses or damages.
00:00 Buyers Guide: Powerheads
00:41 Intro
01:30 Laminar Flow
05:15 Wide Angle - Low Velocity
09:06 Narrow Angle - High Velocity
12:15 Fixed Speed
14:22 Adjustable Speed
17:23 Aimable
21:17 Cordless
23:36 Battery Back-Up
28:26 Maintenance
32:40 Placement
34:06 Favorites

[@jbtrades69]

Right when I was about to buy powerheads this released! Thank you BRS

[@anchor4346]

This isnt about what product you buy.. This is about knowing what you want to do and buying appropriately. Any pump can move water, but will lit move it the way you need it moved. Thank You BRS

[@hammbone1612]

Great video fellas. Thanks

[@DarkSky0685]

I have two XF280s on my 6ft peninsula. I have an extra set of cages and rotors for each of the power heads, every month I take the powerheads out and swap out those two components and soak/clean them at my leisure. Every 6 months or so I take apart the motor cage and check on the motor shaft and magnet. Doing this has significantly saved me time cleaning these things, because like you said, they're a pain in the butt to clean.

[@Brocollipy]

Thanks as always. Someone needs to make a gif of Randy with his toothbrush cleaning that pump 😂😂😂

[@bopeep7806]

Gyres are awkward to keep clean and make lots of ramping up and ramping down noise even the latest ones are noisy, the sicce reliability is terrible same with their return pumps, tunze are super reliable but click and make noises at higher levels of flow and are quite old technology now, the ai Nero is super quiet and are proving to be reliable but have virtually no direction and I don’t fancy a copper coil inside my aquarium, the vortech is reliable super quiet and no wires in your aquarium and less heat transfer into the water easy to swap out the heads for cleaning, not much direction though but they do suspend detritus very well, draw back is cost, but the vortech is my pick followed by the Nero, I didn’t mention apex wav they are great and have some great features like switching off out of water but they are really bulky and not very nice to look at :) great video guys

[@neilbright5346]

Good to know. However my sicce has been running for years reliably with no issues. My bug bear company is hydor, had 5 (ish) pumps in first couple years everyone of them failed, two of which were still running but leaching electricity in the water.

[@chrisc2683]

Great video guys. Thank you!

[@tekkersreefer8055]

Love ur vids guys top work 👍🏻

[@williamwiese9963]

You guys nailed it in the great video!! This really explains it alot of different options which helped me decide what I need thank you guys!!👍

[@BRStv]

Glad it was helpful!

[@oscara9852]

Great video! It was very informative and helpful

[@Lovedbythealmightyforever]

Thank you for all the information

[@thevinylreef7511]

Great video!

[@jachoreefer]

Had an mp10 sold it after replacing the wet side every year because of rust😬

[@mikkostenberg1740]

Excellent helpfull video again! 👏👌 It would be great to have small attachable poles with pennant type flags which one could use to determine actual flow in one's tank. The angle and movement could indicate approximate flow and there could be a chart included to help in estimating the flow rate. The chart should be rather easy to do in a tank with a flow meter like you had in one of your other flow video. Perhaps these pennant poles would have a magnet base so they could be mounted like stream pumps and also a heavier magnet base that would work on hardscape and bottom. Perhaps this would not be a volume selling product but would really help in finding deadspots and locating ideal spot for different corals.

[@tigerick7291]

What an excellent explanation.

[@christophersexton4192]

Why do you not talk about the Nero 5 at all? By far my favorite powerhead and requires no controller. Sometimes I feel like you guys choose to talk about certain things just to sell them, probably based on what you have the most inventory of...

[@jimmylin8226]

They have talked about it in a previous video.

[@I3IMBO13AGGINS]

Agreed the Nero 5 changed the game for me, affordable used/new, and it's such a slim design! Feels like I am shilling the thing lol

[@jlozano2615]

The Nero 5 caught my eye because of the price but I saw a lot of reviews mentioning having fish get stuck in it. Have you had any issues like this/how do you avoid them?

[@nathanhull4472]

I’ve been waiting patiently with the nero 3 in my wishlist for them to be back in stock.

[@timothydillard9507]

Picking the right pump for a cube tank is challenging, thanks for the info. The wide but low velocity is probably key. Thanks fellas.

[@raisethereef]

There's Tunze and then everybody else. No other pump maker offers as many options or the reliability of Tunze. Once you've done this long enough, you care about reliability and longevity. If you're seriously that worried about a cord, you don't have gorgeous enough corals 😉

[@jasongockel7132]

First off, thanks for the videos, the information has made setting up our first saltwater tank much easier!!! I was wondering if you have any thoughts on a review video on some of the more affordable lighting and flow pump products on Amazon?

[@ericfisher9206]

What about the recirculating pumps? Low maintenance, out of sight and good flow options with new DC pumps.

[@bopeep7806]

I think these 3D printing guys should make some vortech dry side holders that go round pump like the spacers with black double sided tape on the bottom to tape them directly to the glass and place dry side snuggly, no more dropping off and no more silly squares with white tape !! Come on 3D printing guys !!

[@jayb6825]

WiFi-enabled smart power strips allow you to control your AC pumps from your phone, and you can put them on schedules and timers.

[@LisaJuliaphotography]

It would be great if you had your products on the website sorted the way you did this video...so someone could go go to 'powerheads' on your site and search for 'aimable'. Like that word doesn't even come up in a search on the site. It would also help if you listed in the description direct buying links to the ones featured in the video.

[@Tohei08]

Lol remember when the 360 was actually bare bottom.. 😅😅

[@pubwvj]

You often state that battery backup units are poor after a year. Yet, my real world experience, across many, is that batteries are good for more like a decade.

[@steevareno2002]

what about the Octo pulses?

[@-Wreckanize-]

Mp40, that's how you pick one.

[@lisademayo8589]

Hey guys! on your 160 behind you, how many gyres do you use? one on each side facing each other? or just one for the whole length? i have a 5 t long 200 gallon and wondering if i need one or two to "gyre" across the tank and back?

[@BRStv]

We run two Maxspect gyres, one on each end of the tank. We also have a few MP40's to hit some specific areas behind the rock work.

[@EastSideAquatics]

would you ever use multiple style powerheads? Such as a Gyre and eco tech mp40 in the same tank?

[@BRStv]

Absolutely! We use both in our BRS160 🙂

[@vaibhavsinghtak]

Hey guys!!please give us the review on Quantum salt!!! On brs investigates!!

[@bio10155]

You actually shorten the life of an AC pump if you constantly cycle on/off to energize the copper coil. Best if you can have a ramp up/down - but that's what the DC is for and does best.

[@shane6450]

Hey guys, what flow do you recommend for the waterbox frag 165.6? The dimensions are 72x24x16. It’s a shallow tank and I’m aiming for a mixed reef tank with some SPS but mostly LPS. I don’t know what to do when it comes to the flow I’ve just been using the returns as flow for now.

[@BRStv]

Given that the tank is pretty shallow, I would suggest taking a look at one of the Gyre pumps. This will help you get good flow over the length of the tank, but you won't be blasting corals directly. The thin sheet of water flow pattern is ideal in situations like this.

[@shane6450]

@@BRStv great, I just ordered the maxspect 4k gyre pump, thank you very much for the help and pointing me in the right direction.

[@buddybonbutt7510]

I feel you won't read this, but I'm looking into getting a gyre. The testing you did, which grye pump did you use?

[@BRStv]

We've used just about every gyre option out there at one point or another. But most frequently, we use the Maxspect Gyres. The video in the link below has some awesome flow pattern information about the Maxspect Gyre XF350 and XF330, among other pumps (timestamps are in the video description). kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXmvfoGHhbineJY

[@douglascampbell5284]

I'm a newbie what kind of pump would you use for a mixed reef I have a 120 gallon tank 5 feet from end to end

[@BRStv]

Lots of great options. I'd suggest taking a look at the Gyre pumps for your main flow because you can keep them close to the surface of the water. This avoids blowing any direct flow at your more delicate softies or LPS corals, while still providing good water movement.

[@kerrie2720]

Not sure is this has been asked or not? What would you suggest, if you wanted to create an figure of 8 within your tank? As I would of love to set some this in my tank.

[@BRStv]

Creating that type of flow pattern might be difficult as the intersection of flow would be pushing against itself. I'm not sure how you could achieve a figure 8 pattern unless you were to use quite a few powerheads. Ultimately, it's probably not worth it and going with a more traditional gyre style flow pattern (vertically or horizontally) might yield better results at a lower cost.

[@njjeff201]

Has BRS looked into ultra sonic cleaners. I know typical use is jewelry but maybe power heads too??

[@BRStv]

Yep! We actually use a small one here at the BRS office for cleaning powerheads like the Vortech wet sides and gyre parts.

[@njjeff201]

@@BRStv Thanx!

[@njjeff201]

Speaking of sumps.... lol... do you sell Geo Reef sumps? Can I buy one from you? They really REALLY impress me.

[@njjeff201]

Do corals really care if the flow is 5x v. 20x? Doesn’t the ocean flow less @night?

[@BRStv]

Nobody really knows for sure where the cut off is for exactly how much flow each coral species needs. Generally speaking, we try to provide as much flow to the corals as we can without blowing the tissue up against the skeleton or creating a sand storm.

[@1776Jan]

How can you have that many clown fish in 1 tank? You have a small clip with a bunch of the black/white clown fish.

[@cjdangles]

What powerhead would you recommend for mixing saltwater in a Brut trash can?

[@BRStv]

Just about any powerhead will do for that purpose. I like to use one of the AC Tunze powerheads because the mount allows you to rotate the powerhead 90 degrees, which really gets the water moving in the Brute can. Plus, they're seemingly bulletproof and will last a very very long time 🙂 www.bulkreefsupply.com/tunze-turbelle-nanostream-6025.html

[@Razgriz218]

A cord isn't nice to look at, but come on. It's not THAT big of a deal. Especially when you have to pay top Dollar for it, just not to see a cord. If I can buy a very good pump which is as good as a Vortech, but costs a lot less, but I do have a cord in the tank... Then so be it ;)

[@Boogerdick69]

Jebaos work for me all the time. Even got the newer Nero knock off the slw line, I got the slw-20 and slw-10. Been over a year and yet again no issues, the easiest power head I’ve ever had to clean and TONS of flow for cheap. Payed $68 and $58 for them. A Nero is like 250

[@JudicialMermaid]

I LOVE the Nero’s and use them in one of my cubes. But for large 120, the Jebao pumps and wavemakers have been phenomenal and reliable.

[@Boogerdick69]

@@JudicialMermaid yeah I think they’re really cool. Especially cause of the app and the way you can customize it, but Spending 700$ on 3 power heads for tanks is pretty steep for me. I only spent about 160$ on 3 jebao wave makers

[@c3dpo]

Having just dropped 400 notes on 2 nero 5s. I wouldn't recommend them, 1 made a clicking so sent it back. replacement makes a thumping... cba to return again and it makes a new noise

[@um02122]

I'm curious if you'll mention the wave boxes (DC pump pulsing water out of an open top box, see the Tunze product line).

[@Newt211]

Anyone know if that is a 6 foot or 5 foot tank behind them?

[@BRStv]

The tank behind them in this video is 6' long.

[@Newt211]

@@BRStv ty

[@hawkslayer2351]

what is the best one for a anemone?

[@BRStv]

No powerhead is completely safe for anemones, but I would suggest picking one like the MP10, MP40, or Maxspect Gyres that have third party anemone guards available to reduce the risk.

[@hawkslayer2351]

@@BRStv thanks!

[@Alamo-cz5xc]

Vortech is the most overpriced piece of equipment in the hobby. They are good but, not THAT damn good.

[@akvasvet]

:) 👍

[@mattdizzow5408]

Tesla power wall 2, 14kWh. Keep the most power demanding tank going for days with lights, temp, and waves.

[@travertinepico751]

Tell Thomas I’m sorry, I like the videos he’s doing but never watch the commercials on KZbin

[@A.R.C.77]

🤘🐠 1k sub goal so I can get a new tank upgrade

[@mikeevans6589]

Random Flo Generators are the best, you can run multiple off your return pump and you only have to worry about replacing the main pump impeller. The rest are junk. No power head is worth more that $200. It’s just wrong to sell the consumer on something that’s high price and doesn’t have a simple low cost parts swap and gets noisy over time. Invest in Abyzz and run Random Flow Generators! 10 year warranty!!!

[@Mike__B]

No powerhead is worth $200, but spending $2k on a return pump is completely reasonable. Interesting idea there...

[@Billdeluz]

@@Mike__B 🤣🤣

[@mikeevans6589]

@@Billdeluz try being in the hobby for 30 years and seeing all the money wasted on stuff that doesn’t last very long or that breaks down just beyond it’s short warranty. No moving parts in a RFG. 10 year warranty on pump... Keep laughing...

[@Billdeluz]

@@mikeevans6589 30 years makes u ancient I have only 15 years in the hobby u missed what @mike b said that's the crazy part but any way your opinion is just that yours we all find success in our own way and if it involves someone buying a 200+ dollar pump so be it one thing I agree on are random flow generators. G/l

[@marcelrodriguez2067]

@@Mike__B thats also utterly ridiculous and you should feel bad if you have bought it lol