So I purchased a used TOP 90 (Global Aquarium supply) external powerhead, similar to HiTech pumps, about 3 months ago. I have never had a chance to set it up on the tank, because I didn't have a bracket to mount the pump and keep it from falling in the water. A few websites sell "brackets" for these pumps, but they didn't ever show pictures so I couldn't see if they would work for my tank or not. I also didn't want to have to drill a hole in my eurobrace.
I think these pumps are great, they push a ton of water and add minimal extra heat to the tank. They also don't stay in position by suction cup and are low profile.
I fabricated my own bracket and wanted to share some pics of what I did.
1. First I cut a piece of acrylic to accomodate the pump from the top down. You can see that I cut a small rectangle out to fit around one of the braces for the canopy and I added a small piece of velcro to the right side.
2. Then I placed this up into the canopy into position. You can see that the acrylic fits pretty well and when slid back up against the canopy, the cut out is overlapped by the eurobracing. You can again see the velcro holding things in place.
3. To get the pump into position, the acrylic has to slide out, the pump slips on top, and then the acrylic slides back against the canopy. With the pump in position, about 2/3 of the pump rests on the eurobrace, while the rest of the circle hangs out over the edge. I found that this didn't really require anything to hold the acrylic down on the eurobrace, but I added the velcro just for insurance to make sure the pump didn't have any chance of tipping over into the water.
4. Here are two pictures of the pump in action. Very low profile and it moves like 1426 gph.
I think these pumps are great, they push a ton of water and add minimal extra heat to the tank. They also don't stay in position by suction cup and are low profile.
I fabricated my own bracket and wanted to share some pics of what I did.
1. First I cut a piece of acrylic to accomodate the pump from the top down. You can see that I cut a small rectangle out to fit around one of the braces for the canopy and I added a small piece of velcro to the right side.
2. Then I placed this up into the canopy into position. You can see that the acrylic fits pretty well and when slid back up against the canopy, the cut out is overlapped by the eurobracing. You can again see the velcro holding things in place.
3. To get the pump into position, the acrylic has to slide out, the pump slips on top, and then the acrylic slides back against the canopy. With the pump in position, about 2/3 of the pump rests on the eurobrace, while the rest of the circle hangs out over the edge. I found that this didn't really require anything to hold the acrylic down on the eurobrace, but I added the velcro just for insurance to make sure the pump didn't have any chance of tipping over into the water.
4. Here are two pictures of the pump in action. Very low profile and it moves like 1426 gph.
