problem with gutter guard is that it looks ugly on the powerhead and then unless you work out a way to cover the bracket as well and incorporate it ,the actual powerhead won't fit back in!. I used the mesh from a fishnet and used fishnet stocking over this. I put the flow up( you can mod the flow with my powerhead) but I do need to clean off all the stuff that adheres to the powerhead routinely now. I think my flow is only slightly les than before because I was able to adjust it to a higher setting. I've seen people modding the tank so that they have an acrylic barrier at the back behind which they put the powerhead so that just its head juts out of a hole cut in the barrier