Will fish sleep better with filters off?

[scholar]

Will fish sleep better with filters off?

Will the bacteria be ok with the flow off for 8 hours? The filters are Magnum HOT and a powerhead with filter attached. So the temp will not change.

Thanks, :)

[demon_surfer]

no. dont turn off your filter.

[JSchmidt]

No, the fish don't need the filters off, and you risk increasing ammonia and nitrites while the filters are off. Fish shouldn't any problems unless there is too much current for them.

Jim

[scholar]

Well, what is too much current? That's the question I am asking! :(

[anonapersona]

Bacteria begin dying rapidly if there is not flow thru the filter. Dead bacteria are big trouble!

If the current is too high, rearrange the output, direct against a wall or corner.

[JSchmidt]

If your fish have trouble maintaining station (i.e., they're getting blown around the tank) then you have too much current.

Jim

[Verse914]

A piece of nylon over the filter intake tubes will slow down the flow for you if it needs it. I do that with my Pengiun mini in my fry tank.

[scholar]

Does anyone know how many hours it takes for bacteria to die off with the flow reduced ir stopped? :)

[125gJoe]

Some canister filters have variable flows.. Find the adjustment and use it if needed. Nylon over the intake seems ok, but wouldn't that hinder what the filter was designed to do? Don't turn off the filters..

[JSchmidt]

Whether there will be ill effects or not probably depends on how dirty the filter is and whether it is open (e.g., an HOB) or closed (e.g., a canister).

When turning off a canister for an extended period of time, I'd worry about the canister going anoxic, especially if were very dirty inside. Turning the canister back on would expell stale water with little or no oxygen content into the tank. I doubt you'd get much action from anaerobic bacteria producing hydrogen sulfide gas (the rotten egg smell associated with a gas that can poison your fish), although I don't know that for a fact. I would also worry about ammonia & nitrite levels rising in the water column for the period during which the filter was off. Depending on the stocking level, I'd also wonder about oxygen depletion in the water column.

With an HOB filter, I think only the latter two concern would be valid.

In any case, many, many fish come from waters where there is constant movement, so they generally are well adapted to it.

Do you have some specific reason to fear your fish are being harmed by current at night? If you are, you can fashion a refuge from currents behinds plants, rockwork, etc., where the fish can hide out if they don't want to deal with the current.

HTH,
Jim.

[blitzen25bm]

yes they would, you might even have trouble trying to wake them up

[Slappy*McFish]

I agree with everyone else in that you should never turn off your filters, day or night. Leave them running 24/7. Why, exactly, do you want to turn them off?

[scholar]

I thought that the africaaners would sleep without currents. If I could without risking to riase the level of Nitrites and amonium. I could provide a better sleepoing environrments.

I am also planning to get a 200 g tank. I do not chrish taking it upstairs. Doenstairs in need to go into my bedroom and i do cherish my own sleep without the filter noise. I am a very light sleeper. :)

Dose anyone knows how long the bacteria can survive without a flow (food)?

[Slappy*McFish]

They start to die as soon as their oxygen supply runs out...It isn't as much about food as it is about their need for oxygen. I'm guessing that the bacteria begin to die within an hour or two's time inside a canister filter...with most aerobic bacteria dead in 12-24hrs...of course, I'm just speculating. Hard to say without actual testing.

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

My filter is dead-silent except for the trickling noise from the output. Or so I thought. A couple days ago I put my ear up to the glass and to my amazement the tank was humming! Do the fish sense this 'noise'? Does it bother them? I guess they would get used to this.... but i had no idea it was so loud in there! I feel sorry for them now. :(

[anonapersona]

For the 200 gallon tank, invest in an Eheim filter, or 2. I have the 2126, it is totally silent. At 6 pm one of the lights in my planted tank goes off, and with it the fan goes off. The tank is totally silent then -- so peaceful.

I do believe in double filtration, especially for large tanks.


I have read that the bacteria will begin to die off within the first hour of filter flow ceasing. I know that when moving a filter, one ought to lay the filter media in shallow tank water, just covering the media, to keep the oxygen up. And when power is out, one ought to open the canister to get air to the media. It really is important.

You have to remember, the filter bacteria are living creatures in your tank.

[JSchmidt]

For the big tank, get Eheim filters (a 2229 wet/dry and a 2028 canister would do the trick, unless the tank is heavily stocked); they are silent.

I'd question the basic premise that launched this thread: that fish need zero current to be able to sleep well. I wonder what the basis is for that assumption...

Jim

[anonapersona]

Oh yeah, good point!

Current and filtration are two different things. You cannnot shut down the filtration, but you might need to adjust the current.

If the current is too fast, the filter can be slowed, or simply adjusted to have a larger diameter output. Like the nozzle on a garden hose, if the outet is enlarged, the jet stream becomes a gentle gurgle. On a filter that can be done by drilling out the spraybar holes, or adding more, or removing the spray bar and adding a larger diameter hose. Or maybe just divert the flow to a wall or something to absorb some of the force.

I'm in the midst of that right now myself. The new filter is rather large for the tank, and the ouput is pretty strong. I hate to drill out the spraybar (freakin expensive Pro II) and the elbow I bought is the wrong size :( so for now I've just adjusted the flow toward the wall a bit more and turned the filter down a tiny bit. the front corner is still brisk, and the fish seem to love that. But, in my tank the back of the tank is very calm and nice for resting.