Turn off Filter When Feeding?

[Soupy97]

I have an eheim 2213 canister filter and it pushes the water around my tank (40 breeder) quite a bit. Is it ok for me to turn off the filter whenever I feed my fish to prevent the current from blowing food all over the place and the fish missing it?

I figured it would be fine but then I read some people saying not to.

 

[Fishanatic]

Well I saw this saying that if you turn it off, you give more chance to the food to settle at the bottom, witch can help lead to ammonia increases, possibly bacterial bloom.

 

[Rare]

I would like to hear more on this as well as I shut down both filters when feeding. I believe I'm okay with this as I have go flow & if left on it will just get picked up by the filter...

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Yeah

Yeah I always turn my filter off during feeding and it is fine! The only problem with yours is that you may have to re-prime your filter.

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

I don't usually turn mine off since my angels like to chase their food around the tank lol. I feed them guppy fry now and then and they LOVE chasing it around, kind I a connection to their wild instincts I guess

 

[matty2085]

I keep mine running normally, the guppies like to chase the flakes. I do turn it off, or reduce the flow if I want to feed my rams something specific like bloodworms or smaller pellets I tend to turn it off as it makes placing the food for them easier. It also makes it easier to see where all the food has landed and therefore remove if it doesn't get gobbled up quickly. My Bolivians can be a bit fussy and like to take their time at meals

 

[okapizebra]

The only problem I can see is forgetting to turn it back on after the feeding.

 

[librarygirl]

I have an Eheim and I do turn it off as most of my fish like to feed as the food is falling to the bottom. If I leave it on they end up chasing the food and it hits the bottom before they get to it and then they have to fight the corys for it lol Just remember to turn it back on afterwards (I've forgotten more than a few times lol).

 

[HUKIT]

I turn off all my filters during feeding as this allows me to target feed certain fish with either NLS flakes and pellets, especially with aggressive fish which don't allow shy fish to actively feed. This also as its been mentioned doesnt allow the food to get sucked up into the filter which when you have as many tanks and fish as I do is a HUGE waste of money.

The thought that this technique would allow for spikes in ammonia is silly, if your dumping that much food in that its settling at the bottom and causing water quality simply means your overfeeding and wouldn't matter if the filter was on or off during feeding.

 

[Ian086]

I also turn mine off during feeding. I feed a few pellets at a time, so it doesn't get a chance to hit the substrate. I have all my equipment on remote control, so it's only a matter of pressing a button!!!

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

I also turn mine off during feeding. I feed a few pellets at a time, so it doesn't get a chance to hit the substrate. I have all my equipment on remote control, so it's only a matter of pressing a button!!!

Interesting, how did you program it all to a remote if I may? Sounds cool

 

[Ian086]

Interesting, how did you program it all to a remote if I may? Sounds cool

No programming required. Just press the button. I know this model is not for the American market but there is American versions available. Dino asked me about it and he got one. I think he found a similar one in Home Depot....

 

[Soupy97]

Im gonna have to get myself one of those. It seems very convienent

 

[Ian086]

Im gonna have to get myself one of those. It seems very convienent

Yeah, it's very handy when doing your water changes. Also your lights now become remote controlled!!. I also use them around the house, lights, TV, Satellite/Cable box etc..
PS....They also come in single socket versions, up to 4 different sockets from one remote....

 

[HUKIT]

Yeah, it's very handy when doing your water changes. Also your lights now become remote controlled!!. I also use them around the house, lights, TV, Satellite/Cable box etc..
PS....They also come in single socket versions, up to 4 different sockets from one remote....

Correct me if I'm wrong but they don't reset when the power goes off? I used one for a brief time and ditched it as soon as the tanks temp dropped overnight as a result of a very brief power outage.

 

[Ian086]

Correct me if I'm wrong but they don't reset when the power goes off? I used one for a brief time and ditched it as soon as the tanks temp dropped overnight as a result of a very brief power outage.

You are absolutely correct. Thankfully power outage in my country is extremely rare. I think it's the built in surge protection, that resets them. I take your point though, probably not suited to people who have regular outages...
I have my heater connected to the wall socket directly....
Maybe they're are versions available without the surge protection, this might solve the issue???