What is the Difference Between a Powerhead and a Wavemaker?
- Feb 20, 2022
- Anshika Mishra
- 603 0 0
What is the difference between a powerhead and a wavemaker? A pump is a pump. Right?
Well, maybe it is not.
Just because they are both pumping water doesn't necessarily mean doing the same thing. So, what is the difference between a powerhead and a wavemaker, and which one's right for your tank? Let's start by looking at a powerhead.
Powerhead
Powerhead is a small centrifugal style water pump that uses an impeller to draw water through an intake and then pushes it forcefully out of an outlet. The design is more or less the same as a small utility pump, as a return pump and powerhead are often used in the same way as an engine to move water through the reactor and other filtration elements.
Powerheads are also useful tools for maintenance. For example, You can attach a hose to the outlet and pump water from a container, like a bucket, into the aquarium. Or you can pick up a vacuum attachment so you can pump water out of your sump into a bucket and remove the built-up debris from the sump at the same time.
You can also use that powerful jet of water to blow build-up debris from between your corals and rock work right before a water change, so it is easier to remove.
Powerhead isn't great at providing that massive yet gentle and indirect flow that our corals and inverts in our tank rely on to thrive.
That focused jet of water that comes out of a powerhead is too direct and does not get enough water moving throughout the tank. This is where the wavemakers come in.
Wavemaker
A wavemaker is a broad term used to describe a variety of water motion devices designed specifically to create natural water movement that stimulates the massive but gentle flow found on reef habitats.
They range from being simple AC propellers style pumps with a cage around the perimeter of the propeller to act as an intake and a large opening in front of the propeller to act as an output to app control propeller and a gyro-style pumps and even DC controllable wave boxes designed to make standing waves within the aquarium.
Regardless of how the pump or device looks and how it gets the water moving. They all have one thing in common.
They move a massive amount of water in broad and defused waves to emulate the beneficial flow found on reefs that is important to the health of corals, fish, and other inhabitants.
Why are these Devices Important?
So, why is this kind of flow so important to our aquariums?
This massive random and diffused flow aid an oxygenation and gas exchange brings nutrients and food to corals while also removing waste. Without it, our reefs wouldn't be able to thrive, and our corals will suffer and even water away.
That's why there are so many different wave pumps available and why wavemaker technology has been improved so rapidly. Simply put, they are vital to our reefs.
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