Turning the Tank off?

[thresholdoftime]

I recently started a 30 gallon tank after being out of the hobby for years. It's a freshwater tank with some Tetras and Danios (for now). I'm running a 40 gallon out of the tank filter, also have a power head at the bottom of the tank with a pump attached to add oxidation. It's not that the tank makes a lot of noise, but the tank is right near my bed and I'm one of those types of sleepers that cannot fall asleep with one little noise around me. So I've been turning the tank off at night, with the exception of leaving the heater plugged in obviously. So I'm wondering if this is safe to not have the filter and powerhead running for around 6-8 hours?

Also one other question I have about the choice of other fish to add to the tank.. I really love African Cichlids and bought a couple books on em to get started. Even though I love all Cichlids.... Anyways, I can't find anywhere that says what speicies could be safe to put in with the tetras and danios...Some sections of the books state that there are peaceful species but it never mentions exactly what they are....

lol one more question...if I buy like 4-5 clown loaches will they mess up my tank? is 30 gallons too small for that? with a rocky environment? Thanks

 

[underdog5004]

I recently started a 30 gallon tank after being out of the hobby for years. It's a freshwater tank with some Tetras and Danios (for now). I'm running a 40 gallon out of the tank filter, also have a power head at the bottom of the tank with a pump attached to add oxidation. It's not that the tank makes a lot of noise, but the tank is right near my bed and I'm one of those types of sleepers that cannot fall asleep with one little noise around me. So I've been turning the tank off at night, with the exception of leaving the heater plugged in obviously. So I'm wondering if this is safe to not have the filter and powerhead running for around 6-8 hours?

Also one other question I have about the choice of other fish to add to the tank.. I really love African Cichlids and bought a couple books on em to get started. Even though I love all Cichlids.... Anyways, I can't find anywhere that says what speicies could be safe to put in with the tetras and danios...Some sections of the books state that there are peaceful species but it never mentions exactly what they are....

lol one more question...if I buy like 4-5 clown loaches will they mess up my tank? is 30 gallons too small for that? with a rocky environment? Thanks

African cichlids are mainly very aggressive and territorial. Here are the cichlids I recommend for tetras and danios:
Kribensis
Bolivian Ram
German Blue Ram

That's about all I know about, and also the ones I keep. Well, I keep 'em with powder blue Gouramis, Blue Flame tetras, and a couple of bettas...they all seem to get along pretty well.

 

[BigMike75]

lol one more question...if I buy like 4-5 clown loaches will they mess up my tank? is 30 gallons too small for that? with a rocky environment? Thanks

A clown loach can get up to 8 to 10 inches long. It takes a long time to get that long, and they are schooling fish. You really need a large tank for clowns, so I wouldn't try that.

 

[meegosh]

I would stay clear of other cichlids. They will most likely nip at your danio's tails. I have one clown loach that I got from a friend who was tearing down his tank. It has been quite a few months (6+ I think) and it has only grown about 1". Total the fish is about 3" long right now. He hides during the day mostly until I drop an algae wafer in our some flake food floats by him. My upside down catfish actually 'schools' with him. They are always side by side where ever they go.

As far as turning the tank off... I would leave your filter running. Your filter media should be submerged all the time in order for the beneficial bacteria to stay established. Killing the power to the filter usually makes the filter lose its prime and it drains into the tank. That means your filter media is drying up. I'm not sure how long the bacteria can survive in the air but that would be the only thing I could think of. Hope it helps!

 

[thresholdoftime]

I would stay clear of other cichlids. They will most likely nip at your danio's tails. I have one clown loach that I got from a friend who was tearing down his tank. It has been quite a few months (6+ I think) and it has only grown about 1". Total the fish is about 3" long right now. He hides during the day mostly until I drop an algae wafer in our some flake food floats by him. My upside down catfish actually 'schools' with him. They are always side by side where ever they go.

As far as turning the tank off... I would leave your filter running. Your filter media should be submerged all the time in order for the beneficial bacteria to stay established. Killing the power to the filter usually makes the filter lose its prime and it drains into the tank. That means your filter media is drying up. I'm not sure how long the bacteria can survive in the air but that would be the only thing I could think of. Hope it helps!

No my filter stays full of water while I turn it off... But thanks for all the suggestions. It helps.... I am really interested in getting a few rams. Are they hard to find? Expensive? Should I go by all the same rules that Cichlid keeping goes by? Same food? 1 male to two females? Okay thanks again.

 

[meegosh]

Well GOOD quality rams can be hard to find. You will most likely find Asian rams at your LFS which are doomed from the start. I bought two and they both died within two weeks. They are about $8 a fish. They are peaceful cichlids. I would recommend a pair or maybe two males. Give lots of cover and hiding places.

 

[thresholdoftime]

African cichlids are mainly very aggressive and territorial. Here are the cichlids I recommend for tetras and danios:
Kribensis
Bolivian Ram
German Blue Ram

That's about all I know about, and also the ones I keep. Well, I keep 'em with powder blue Gouramis, Blue Flame tetras, and a couple of bettas...they all seem to get along pretty well.

Okay also I just looked up Kribensis and I really like those... Now lets say I got a few for my tank and they started to breed. They get agressive when they start breeding so would it be smart to transfer them to a smaller tank if that happened? I do have a 10 gallon that is up and running and empty.. I kinda thought I'd save it in case any of my fish had babies. Although, I'm totally clueless about what to do when breeding fish.

 

[gzeiger]

You should take some steps to keep that 10 gallon cycled ("running" isn't enough). Read the article titled Fishless Cycling at the top of the Getting Started forum for background info.

Really the best thing to do if you plan on keeping the small tank in reserve for babies, medication or quarantine is to keep its filter running on the big tank that has fish in it. You don't need to keep water in the little tank, but you do need a source of food for its biofilter. Fill the tank and move the filter over and it will be good to go.

 

[mgamer20o0]

what kind of filter do you have? if it the hang on back type? is it the sound of water splashing or it just running? when was the last time you cleaned it?

 

[thresholdoftime]

what kind of filter do you have? if it the hang on back type? is it the sound of water splashing or it just running? when was the last time you cleaned it?

thanks that is interesting. The small tank had the fish that the big tank has in it now. They are much more happy now with a much more spacous activitiy area to swim around in. around a 700 dollar spacous activity area

It's actually an Aquaclear 50, hang on the back type. It got really great reviews on Ebay and thats why I bought it. And I gota say it keeps my water crystal clear, with the exception of a power head keeping good water flow as well... but it's not really that loud at all. I'm just one of those really picky sleepers that cant have the smallest little light or sound around me when I'm sleeping. The only real concern I have is if the tank will get properly heated with no water flow while I turn the powerhead and filter off.... I know it's getting into the summer now here in Michigan; however, when we get into the winter years here in MI it gets dangerously cold.

 

[brutus]

You do know that the filter is filled with aerobic bacteria and when the oxygen is used up they will begin to die.Once you turn the filter back on it will pump all the dead nasty stuff back in your tank.How long it takes to kill everything off im not sure but i would not chance it.You can put some foam or something in front of outlet to quiet the splashing sound.Or buy a canister filter and keep spray bar below the water level in tank.

 

[mgamer20o0]

with the aquaclear is what bothering you is the splashing of the water back into the tank or motor?

if its the water you can build with a old coke bottle a diffuser. basically just cut in half clamp it down to the tank. then you poke holes in it this breaks it up so it doesnt splash as much. also keeping the tank filled to the very top helps a lot.

if its the motor you prob want to invest in a canister filter. this goes bellow the tank and you can use foam and other things to help block any sound coming from it. i have a xp3 filter for my 120. its 2-3 feet from my head and it doesnt bother me. i dont hear it at all. i am the same way with sleeping... light sound and heat = sleepless night.

 

[thresholdoftime]

I went to a fish store yesterday and found out that I can trade all my community fish in there. So I might do that soon after I make the environment suitable for African Cichlids (dwarf)....since I don't have a terribly enormous tank.

I know cichlids are a lot more acceptable to little problems like someone was saying about the aerobic bacteria dieing in the filter.... so I'm going to try and sleep with the noise.. Idono actually I think the tank is REALLY quiet considering it is a 30 gallon, and my other 20 gallon was a lot louder since I spent "less" money on the equiptment for that one. I'm just picky I guess, and it is the buzzing that bothers me not the splashing cuz there really isn't any. If there was only a bit of splashing I think if anything that it would be more relaxing than anything, like a water fall or something lol. Okay I'm done with all of the complaining.

 

[7Enigma]

As others have mentioned, you need to keep the filter on at night. While you probably won't kill many bacteria, you are definitely not helping the ammonia levels in the tank. And without any circulation in the tank you can also run into oxygen depleted dead spots and temperature gradients. You could try some sound deadening insulation around the housing of the filter which would help, but you apparently have VERY sensitive hearing to be annoyed by the buzzing of the impeller. Home Depot sells Frost King self-adhesive insulation. Looks like aluminum foil but one side is sticky with a dense foam material. I used it to deaden the interior of my Trans Am a couple years ago and it works nicely.

I used to be like you and had a horrible time sleeping through the night. Every creak, rustle, etc. would wake me up and it took forever to get to sleep at night. Then I found the wonderful world of noise machines. We use a white noise (almost sounds like a continuous waterfall but there is no change in the sound) and it helps to block out everything. I would highly recommend you give one a shot, because if it works, you can drown out anything and sleep well.

And there's always earplugs!

 

[thresholdoftime]

yeah It looks like your have the same filter as me from what I can see in the picture. It's not bad really but yeah I do have those problems with falling asleep. I find that opening the window near my bed and listening to the sound of the wind, bugs, bats or whatever constant noise outside puts me to sleep. Maybe those Frost Kings will help to take away the buzzing. I guess it reminds me of a fly in my room or something like that. The water is okay though since it's more natural, unless of course the tank is 4 inches below the fill line and it sounds more like someone taking a pee.