how much flow are you restricting your powerhead from delivering because of the foam your attached to it?
Not much. The reason I have half a dozen foam guards is to swap them out when they dirty, and thus not reduce much flow.
I have seen a nem go through a hole the size of window screen and get put into the return line to a sump..
It's a preventative measure, not an end all be all, and it's much better than not having one at all. Or using a traditional powerhead without any sort of protection.
BTA's are not the "prime example" a Condy is the ones that never stay put in the tank... BTA's are typically set into finding a spot and not moving..
BTAs are a prime example because they have the ability to detach and become buoyant, floating in the water column. Based on what others have reported on these boards, it's the number one reason why BTAs get stuck in powerheads.
Once anemones are happy with their location, they rarely move unless another environmental factors change -- be it lighting or flow.
One of the main ways to remove a nem from a rock is what??? It is pointing a powerhead at them and making them go for a walk since they do not like the flow.
Right, but, we're not talking about pointing a powerhead directly at a nem, we're talking about them getting sucked into them. Obviously, they (specifically talking about floating BTAs) don't have the means of controlling where they go once floating in the water column, and many times they end up getting sucked up by a powerhead.
we can argue about this all day from one persons experience to anthers, but that is not the point...
I don't want to argue either, but I stand by what I said about you giving misguided information. The OP asked specifically noted that he/she wants "to steer clear of something that will chew up anything that wonders too close." and you promptly responded by stating that you "have two powerheads (Hydor 425) and they work great. I have them pointed more above the anemones then at them.. Nems do not like lots of flow and will walk away from that spot. Thats the reason they get tangled in powerheads."
Any unprotected powerhead will chew up a nem. Pointing them above the anemones does nothing to project them. You stated that nems do not like not lots of flow. Depending on the nem species we're talking about, that's simply not true. Finally, they may walk away from flow that's pushing towards them, but certainly won't avoid flow that's sucking them into a powerhead.
The question was what powerbeads to use, not saying someone is misleading. So far I have not had a problem in two years with a nem walking into a powerhead.
In reality, though it wasn't clearly stated, the question was not what powerhead to use, it was what kind of flow creating device is best for to use when housing anemones.
The best device is one that cannot suck in a nem. Many people used to use closed loop systems for nem tanks, but there was still a risk of the nems getting sucked into the intake portion of the closed loop.
While you may not have experienced getting a nem stuck in a powerhead, many others have, and it's something nem owners need to be aware of.
I don't mean to personally attack you, I just don't like it when people basically say "go for it, it hasn't happened to me, so you'll be fine too." That's simply not true, and well, it's misguiding information.
