Feeding question

[falcon]

When you feed the fish, should you turn off the filter so it doesn't such any of the food in? What's the general practise? I have an Eheim Pro 2028 canister filter and I started to unplug it each time I feed the fish, especially dry food. It has flow control on it, but I'm not sure if I should turn it down and it would do the same.

Another question, I feed the fish twice a day, 7 in the morning and 6 in the evening. I turn the lights on at 11am and turn it off 11pm. The question is, what do you do for the feeding a 7am. Should I temporarily turn the lights on for about 20min?

Any input would be appreciated.

[SayersWeb]

Turning off a canister while feeding can be iffy. When you restart it does it discharge gunk into the tank? It would be best to restrict the water flow, but I never do.

As far as feeding them in the morning..... I wouldn't wake the fish for a quick feed and then turn the light off again. Why not feed them when you first get home from work and then at 11pm?

[Leopardess]

I can't see as though you would need to turn the filter off....I dont think anybody does that as a general practice. Do you have fish that are very docile/picky eaters?

I have one heck of a current in the 55, but everyone eats just fine with the filter going.

as far as your other question...is there a reason you can't feed them at 11 when you turn the lights on? Or perhaps just turn the lights on at 7am and off at 7pm? Or just leave them on a couple hours extra (its not planted, is it?).

[falcon]

It is a planted tank, 120g. I think it makes more sense to feed them when I come home and then 1/2 before I turn the lights off. My wife is the one that turns the lights on at 11am, so I can't feed the fish then. Maybe when she's more comfortable, she can feed the fish at the same time but for now I'll probably stick with 5pm and 10:30pm.

I have cardinal tetras in there also, and I find that they are slow/picky eaters. I guess the idea with the filter was that when I feed the fish flakes or freeze dried shrimp, it seems to mix in the water all over the tank and I figured it will end up going to the filter and pollute it. It is a hassle to turn it off and on each time and I'm sure it's not too good for the filter either. Will leave it on and see how it goes.

Thanks guys for your input.

[freshfishy]

I'd just turn down the flow. Starting and restarting a canister isn't really the best thing for it or your water.

[travelinman1969]

One other thing to think about is the amount of time you're feeding them. It takes 15 minutes to kill the beneficial bacteria in your filter. If there is no flow for this time you will end up with other issues. I would leave it on.

If you're worried about poluting the filter, feed em less. Or more slowly so they eat their food. Don't worry about the tetras, they'll eat when their hungry.

[Leopardess]

Well, I beg to differ with the 15 minutes comment. IF taht were true, everytime we clean a filter we'd lose our bacteria load. They can last over 24 hours often. Just need some o2 and food..which wuold be stuck in the filter. You'd be fine turning it off for 15 minutes - though I don't think you need to.

[travelinman1969]

Sorry, but I was told the bacteria will die if the flow is interupted for more than 15 minutes. Just going by what I've been told, and what I practice.

[RTR]

Agree w/Leopardess on the timing bit - no way the bacteria are harmed in such a short interval. In long power outages, I dump the biomedia into shallow trays just covered in water after 8-12 hours, but I suspect I am being very conservative in doing so.

But my filters are normally well-maintained. A dirty canister would have a shorter no-flow life than will a clean one - more organic waste.

[mtdewlover]

I wouldn't turn the filter off. That's not good for the filter and your fish really don't care if you do or not. Don't feed them with the light off. That is their sleeping time. Either turn the light on earlier and turn if off earlier. Or feed them later than at 7am.