Controlling the Powerhead Speed

For those of you who are wondering if it is possible to control the speed of a typical powerhead, the answer is yes but to a limit.

I recently purchased two relatively strong powerheads and later decided to find out if it is possible to control the speed of powerheads; so, I did some research and did an experiment, and I am here to report that it is possible to control the powerhead speed by using a Rotary Ceiling Fan Speed Control ( in my case I used Leviton Trimatron Rotary Fan Speed Control Price less than $13). However, you can only control the speed to a limit, I determined that you can reduce the speed by only 40% after which the fan stops to work or behaves erratically. But within that 40% range it works great and you can control as many powerheads as you want with a single controller if you are within the controllers capacity. The one I used has 1.5 amp capacity so you can easily control 4 powerheads with it. There is a second nub controller on the unit that let you limit the minimum speed.
So far it is working great and at the moment my fish are enjoying calmer water flow and they love it.

 

Just wondering but would be willing to post a how to video on doing this?

 

This is basically just a Rheostat type device. it May shorten the lifespan of the pumps.