powersweep 2xx

[ryancarman.com]

i have a small one in my tank right now and i like the concept that it delivers, i'm just not super impressed with the performance...
i find that i am cleaning the sweep mechanism regularly it seems to get a bit of something, ie sand and it gets jammed often

does anyone have a suggestion for a similar product? (that might work better)

also are the biggest versions a little more robust perhaps?

thanks
ryan

[kennyman]

I had bought a 280 for my first powerhead. I gave up on it after three months and removed the sweep mechanism and used it as a powerhead/heater mounted on a sponge filter in my brackish tank. But I have had to remove it from there too as it generates too much heat. They are very inefficient. As an example the 280 gph uses MORE electricity than the 820 gph seio ph. Also the seio moves water in a very dispersed cone vs the concentrated jet of the autosweep. The more diffuse the cone is a superior type of flow for corals. The seio can not be run by a ON/OFF type timer however and must be slowed and sped up by a purpose built timer that seems to be quite a few bucks.

[Alchemist]

I have a rio powersweep in my 25g.  It's been running non-stop since Feb and I've been very very pleased with it.  Seems very powerful and hasn't broken down yet!  Yes...the stream seems pretty concentrated but I'm getting a nice turbulent flow from it that I wouldn't be able to get from any other source at this price.  It is a cheap way of getting a wide range of water movement as the sweep seems to be just shy of 180 degrees.  I was actually thinking of getting one for the other side of my tank but I'm getting a koralia 1 instead I think as I only have a few deadspots left that this powerhead can deal with without the sweep mechanism.

[ryancarman.com]

interesting info.. i hadn't noticed the power consumption, but that is a valid point,

ghp of flow vs current draw means that the more gallons per hour per watt tells me that the energy is being turned into impeller movement as opposed to heat

[Alchemist]

Well you do lose some flow as the water movement is what drives the rotating mechanism...energy has to be used for that and it takes away from the overall output...I haven't really noticed any heat isues in my 25g...we've had some hottish days here and on the hottest so far without the central AC on my tank has topped out at 82 C.  Again though...for this amount of cash you can't beat the water movement....you'd have to spend a lot more for a SCWD and sump/return pump or an oceans motion or timed switches and powerheads etc.  For a smallish tank on a budget I still think they are fine.....ask me again though f the thing breaks down...but so far...it's working flawlessly and there's a lot of water movement in my tank and I don't have any algae problems to speak of (might be more due to a hard working cleaner crew though and a particularly hard working emerald crab).  If (when) I had (have) a bigger tank I will probably use a SCWD though as this seems to be a good budget method for creating water movement.

[kennyman]

The impeller and everything still works fine on mine, just the platic gears need to be replaced. I bought mine for the same reason you guys did, I just found the gears for the sweep feature didnt last very long.