Do you leave Filter ON all day???

[EIHAB83]

Hi Guys.... I have a questin .... do you leave the filter and Air pump ON all the time .... at the moment I never turn them OFF they are ON 24hrs a day...
Thank you :)

uhhh...yes, that would be a good idea ;)

some people turn them off briefly to feed, so that the food doesn't all get sucked into the filter....other's use a prefilter making the brief shutdown un-necessary...

david

[Carol_Roberts]

24/7

[Miles]

Why would you want to shut them off?

Miles

[dred]

Just 'cause nobody specifically mentioned it, I'll add that ...

If you turn of your filter for too long, it dies and becomes toxic. Our beneficialo bacteria need an oxygen supply too.

And, if you want to turn off an air pump, be very sure you've got a check valve in the pump or in the line. Air pumps are supposed to be higher than the water level, but we never really set the up that way.

[edgeguy]

Leave it all on 24/7 you never know when something might come up that the filter would of handled if it was on. Besides the bacteria grow better with a constant flow going by them. Stagnant water would eventually kill the good bacteria off.

[Willie]

For the sake of accuracy, the toxicity problem when filters are shut off only occurs with tightly sealed filters. Canister filters are the major culprit. Power filters cause no problem, neither do sponge filters, when they're shut off. Bacteria go into suspended animation when their food source, ammonia, is reduced. When the pump goes back on, their metabolism picks up rapidly and they will resume growth and division.

Having said that, there's no harm in cleaning out your filters every so often. :D :D :D

Willie