Leave powerhead on all the time?

[HistoryGirl]

Should I be leaving my powerhead on all the time? It's not connected to a filter, I just wanted the water movement. I usually turn it down for feedings and at night.

[Oliver]

yes

[HistoryGirl]

Should I be turning it down?

[Oliver]

well, that depends on how much of a current it is creating. depending on if u have a reef tank or a fish only , for a reef tank u need to be turning the water over about 20 times in 1 hour and 10 in a fish only. but the more movement of water u have the more the bad bacteria ar going to be moved arround and they wont stick to your fish or live rock/coral

[saltyc]

It won't hurt to turn it down for feedings, I think.

[skippy2]

I turn everything off at feeding time for about 1/2 hr.

[OrionGirl]

...the more the bad bacteria ar going to be moved arround and they wont stick to your fish or live rock/coral

Huh? 'Bad' bacteria? I'm not sure what this means. There are lots and lots of bacteria that are in our tanks all the time. Most are not pathogenic, meaning they do not cause any disease. For those that are pathogens, poor water quality impacting a fishes immune system is more likely to allow the bacteria to penetrate the slime layer and cause a problem for the fish.

The powerheads should be on to provide current, which will increase gas exchnage at the surface and keep the dissolved oxygen levels from dropping.

[skippy2]

Are you saying, OG, not to turn my powerheads off during feeding?

[VDub90]

I used to turn 1 of the 2 off at night but stopped doing so after another thread on here about my PH. I leave them on 24/7 even when feeding the fish as it blows the food around and keeps most of it off the bottom. The fish also seem to enjoy the chase.

[OrionGirl]

Turning one off to feed can be done, if needed to prevent food from getting swept away or into a mechanical filter. Temporary shut downs of less then 10-15 minutes are much different than turning them off for an extended time period, like overnight.