Powerhead Mounting

[NoSump]

I have two powerheads at opposite ends of my tank, pointing toward the center.

One of the powerheads has occasionally become dislodged from it's suction cup mounting. When that happens, my sand bed is blown all over the tank.

I've read that once a good DSB is established, it's harmful to the organizisms to stir up the bed. I was away today when my powerhead can unattached. My sand bed was blown all over the tank (in some spots nearly to the glass bottom).

How do most of you guys mount your powerheads? Do you use some DIY, no suction cup mountings?

Thanks.

[Poseidon]

I use the suction cups, but I also use the power cord.... Make it TIght so that if the suction cups fail, the cord will keep the pump at the top. I have wrapped the cords around the adjustment screw of my overflows, used black tape to hold them to the tank, and even used the Lees airline suction cups to attach the cords to the back of the tank... I know I know MORE suction cups... These ones I use a drop of cooking oil to hold in place though instead of water... Seems to work better!

[pisomojado]

I have my powerstrip screwed down. I run a drip loop from all of the lines to the tank, and in the process it keeps all of the wiring taut so nothing has very much give. If a powerhead or whatnot gives away, the cord holds it down

[middlemark]

I too use the suction cups - but am always careful to clean them well every time I move/clean the powerheads. Also clean the glass super well too.

Some brands I've found much crummier than others, my Seio + Maxijets have not been the problem a few others I've tried were.

[NoSump]

Thank guys,

Cooking oil? Based on the advice, I used a combination of powercords and the suction cups.

I put a small amount of olive oil on the suctions cups....that was before I noticed that Posiedon recommended using cooking oil on the 'outside' suction cups. Oh well, I don't think the small amount of olive oil in the tank should cause problems. (at least, I hope not).

One other question, despite my fully cyled live rock (90 lbs - in a 72 gal tank), and a two month old sand bed - my nitrates are still hovering around 15 ppm. I have been doing small R/O water changes weekly (my replacement water is testing at 0 nitrates), despite the lack of any livestock (other than snails and crabs). Shouldn't my rock and sand be performing a more effective de-nitratification role at this point?

Thanks.

Chuck

[charlie]

I know some people DYI magnets to their powerheads. I'm not sure, but I think they used glass cleaning magnets. It seems like it would work rather well!!

[middlemark]

Nosump ... well, sandbeds take a while to start working. And the LR takes a while really to `get done' with everything - that the die-off and decomposition might take a little while before everything in the nooks + crannies is alive or rock.

Plus, even testing `zero' on the nitrogen cycle just means that bacteria are keeping up with such processes ... not that there is no more nutrients being worked on. Same as after feeding - my tank might still measure `zero' yet food-leftovers just were consumed by bacteria all the same.

I'd water change some [never think that hurts IMO] and help them come down - yet still give things the same time. All the tanks I've set up just got more and more stable/`solid' as time went by - with every month gone by things change less and less ... and grow/thrive more + more despite the same care being kept.

Anyway - here's a good read about cycling and tank-succession, that while on another board, merits reading IMO:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...75#post1828375

[marxsman]

I took off the suction cups and used underwater epoxy to attach it to the clean glass. it is almost permenant