Powerheads on or off when feeding?

[jaydubh11]

My plugins are kind of hard to access right now and I was just wondering if I need to move things around or not before I add livestock. I will be feeding a combination if flakes, cyclopeeze, mysis shrimp, etc. and I was just wondering if you are supposed to turn the powerheads/skimmer off.

Sorry for such a newbie question, but atleast I put it in the correct forum, right? ;)

[doox00]

I keep everything on, keeps the food in the water column longer.

[hdevils]

on

[imtheonlylp]

i turn my ph's off then as the food starts sinking to the bottom and lying there, i turn them on to give it a nice swirl to keep the foot from settling on the bottom...it just makes it a little easier for the fish to get the food sometimes, especially if i'm feeding them cyclopeeze...b/c they can barely see it as it is!

[Randall_James]

I always turn off the pumps...
In my tanks this allows the fish to eat without the distribution of food all over the tank (nutrient control)

The fish learn the routine in just a couple days too, pumps off means dinner time.

After a couple feedings you will know exactly how much food they need without any waste. Vacuum uneaten food out of the tank before restarting pumps.

You will kill most algae problems like this as well. Algae requires nutrient in the water column to grow. You eliminate the excess food and you eliminate 90% of the excess nutrient.

Your fish will eat better too

A word of caution, more than one time guys have forgotten to turn the pumps back on. I have a mechanical timer on the pump switch with "On" tabs every 2 hours. I kill the pumps with the timer switch and if I forget to return it to the "On" position, the tabs will do it for me..

[kelly630]

Randall_James....

Sounds like good advice. I'm cycling the tank right now and was wondering how to go about feeding when I do have livestock in there.

[gabegmonkey]

Pretty clever Randall...

I just have all of my powerheads, pumps and filter on one Power-Strip so I can just flip the Toggle...

[Randall_James]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8357388#post8357388 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gabegmonkey
Pretty clever Randall...

I just have all of my powerheads, pumps and filter on one Power-Strip so I can just flip the Toggle...
Thx :)

Just go down and get a mechanical lamp timer, set only the "On" tabs, plug the powerstrip into it. (is how mine is setup)

There are a number of "OMG" threads here on RC where owners of some pretty costly systems have gotten distracted and left the pumps off.

[BlueCoast]

depends what you are feeding, for filter feeders it needs to circulate, for fish & direct fed corals i turn them off to reduce the amount that gets blown away before it is eaten. You could setup a small power strip that is easier to access...

RJ - snappy idea on the timer since i will not be getting a reefkeeper anytime soon... I have seen packages with just the replacement pins as well if you wanted extra ON tabs..... <sigh> another trip to the Home Depot.... great learning about all these little tips to help prevent a meltdown....

[GlobaLPimP]

I really like the on-tabs timer idea - thanks!

[imtheonlylp]

yeah, great idea! i heard someone else mention using the American DJ 100w 8-switch panel on here before, so i figured i'd give it a try....i was so tired of plugging/unplugging wires and reaching over/through my sump/refugium just to get to them...so i bought the switch panel, some "L" brackets at home depot, and mounted it above my sump in the cabinet...everything plugs into the back of the panel and is controlled by brightly-lit switches...a few labels from my label-maker at work and everything is good to go! here's a picture of the panel...oh and it was only like...$24 shipped off ebay!
http://img3.musiciansfriend.com/dbase/pics/products/4/0/8/290408.jpg

[DrBegalke]

Those switches are great, just make sure they are in a location where they can't wet in the event of an accidental leak/splash/drip, etc.

As for water flow, I turn of my sump and skimmer snd leave the powerheads on.

[chocolates mom]

I turn off my powerheads and skimmer for about 15 minutes at feeding time. When I turn them back on they pick up a lot of the fallen food and the fish get another feeding

[chocolates mom]

PS If you forget to turn everything back on, how long until you are in trouble?

[Randall_James]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8358772#post8358772 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chocolates mom
PS If you forget to turn everything back on, how long until you are in trouble? That is a tough question...
Bioload, water volume and oxygen saturation are all going to be part of the equation.

A tank that is not overloaded and properly setup should be able to last 6-8 hours without too much distress. Not that the fish are not going to notice but it should not be a total disaster.

Fish in distress are pretty easy to spot, they are "panting" or "gulping" a lot of water