# What powerhead to buy for a 75gal oscar tank?



## ohmyfish

I have a 75 gallon tank with an Rena XP3 (350GPH) canister filter and two baby oscars inside (inside the tank, not inside the filter).  I have the spraybar outlet just above the water pouring water onto the surface for some aeration. I have an internal filter pouring water onto the surface but it is temporary. *My question is, what kind of device should I buy to properly aerate this aquarium?* I have been thinking of buying the Maxi-Jet Powerhead but I have no idea which one to get. There are also the Marineland Penguin Powerheads and Aquaclear Powerheads. And there is also the option of an air pump with a bubble wall. But *I think I'm going towards the Maxi-Jet Powerhead. Which one should I get?* Here are the models:

MP-400 is 106 GPH
MP-600 is 160 GPH
MP-900 is 230 GPH
MP-1200 is 295 GPH

My XP3 is rated 350 GPH but the box says the waterflow will be 187 GPH when full of media and accessories. Mine is full of bio and mech filtration.

*So, I ask, which Maxi-Jet Powerhead model is best for two oscars in a 75 gallon?* I would really appreciate any advice or suggestions. I need something that will aerate my aquarium.


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## Jackson

Have you thought about an air pump? It would work better then a power head.
Most of the time power heads need to be almost even or near the water line to pump air in properly. The air pump will be a constant flow of air. This way if the water line dropped for some reason you won't have to worry about the fish.

If it's for circulation- I personally don't like the maxi jets. Look into the koralias or aqua clear power heads. I think they do a better job. These are reasonably priced as well.


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## ohmyfish

Jackson said:


> Have you thought about an air pump? It would work better then a power head.


The air pumps seem very expensive. I would buy the Rena 300 (up to 80 gallons) but it is $47 dollars. I don't understand that price at all. What if I bought a HOB filter to pour water into the tank? The Emperor 400 is close to that price. The air pump prices just turn me off.


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## Jackson

ohmyfish said:


> The air pumps seem very expensive. I would buy the Rena 300 (up to 80 gallons) but it is $47 dollars. I don't understand that price at all. What if I bought a HOB filter to pour water into the tank? The Emperor 400 is close to that price. The air pump prices just turn me off.


 That would work as well and you are adding for filtration. I use them on a few tanks just for that nothing else.

I know the prices are messed up.


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## BillD

You do not need to add any aeration. Air bubbles don't add any significant amount of oxygen. Oxygen enters the tank from gas exchange at the surface. If the water is moving you don't need a powerhead or air pump for aeration.


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## overthetop2009

*pump*

A weak one if any. I put in a powerful one on my O tank and my Oscar ()full grown hated it.... rammed it until it was on the gravel and just kept attacking.


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## fish_luva

BillD said:


> You do not need to add any aeration. Air bubbles don't add any significant amount of oxygen. Oxygen enters the tank from gas exchange at the surface. If the water is moving you don't need a powerhead or air pump for aeration.


Folks, Bill is correct here. It's not how many bubbles of air you inject into a tank, it's how much surface agitation that you create for the exchange of gases at the surface. IF you have an airpump and it's fairly powerful with good decent air stones then you can create a decent surface agitation. IF you are using powerheads then try and make sure they are pointing towards the surface to create that surface agitation. Some of the powerheads do have an airline attachment so you can control how much air to add to the mix for gas exchange. I use sponge filters in most of my tanks plus Aquaclear filters so i get plenty of surface agitation...

Good Luck
Sheldon


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## ohmyfish

I would like to thank all of you for the feedback. I ended up buying the Maxi-Jet 1200. It is my first powerhead and I'm quite impressed with it. The debris at the bottom doesn't get the chance to settle. My baby oscars are happy so we should all be happy.  Again, thanks folks!


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## dynamite07

Great choice! I recently got one 1 month ago. I had an aqua clear power head and unfortunately I found two of my baby tropheus in there. I figured they might of gotten sucked up because they went to close to graze some algae. They were smaller than an inch each! With the maxijet 1200, reliability and fish getting sucked in are no worries.


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## JohnyBGood

How are the Pro models different from the standard Maxi-Jets?


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