Filters on/off - good or bad?

[thecoolguy]

alright, so a simple question in regards to water quality, bacteria life, and turning filters on and off....

1) internal filters (water polishing) - is it ok to turn them off for long periods of time? given these are only being used to polish water, and have no bio-filtration needs

2) cannister filters - is it ok to turn 1 off - given the remaining filters can handle the load? or will this result in bacterial die off's and blooms? lets say, turning off 1 cannister for 1 day at a time? although the cannister may harbor bacteria in it's media, lets say this cannister is meant for mainly mech filtration - so basically used to clean up the water every 2-3 days?

thanks for the help.....

i am leaning towards both being ok - although there may be die offs and blooms on occassion, i don't think they would be that dramatic?

 

[elevatethis]

Why would you want to turn them off?

 

[thecoolguy]

energy saving....

i know it isn't much - but everything helps..

i just think, if it is ok to do, and the water won't suffer - and they are being used just for mech and polishing - there is not need to have them running 24/7

 

[Kobeclone]

as long as you have your main bio filtration source running 24/7, I would say turning off your water polishing and mechanical filters would be fine if the water quality still stayed fine when they are off.

I hear yah on the electricity bill man.

 

[FishGoneWild]

energy saving....

i know it isn't much - but everything helps..

i just think, if it is ok to do, and the water won't suffer - and they are being used just for mech and polishing - there is not need to have them running 24/7

If you really want to save energy then you should look for ways to keep your tank warm so that your heater would not have to kick in for a long period of time. You could insulate the tank to retain more heat. Seal all cracks on doors, windowns, and any opennings that can have a light wind draft.

 

[elevatethis]

I was under the impression that beneficial bacteria colonizes all over all the media, whether it be your bio media or your canister for mechanical filtration.

In the absence of water flow and the stream of oxygen that it brings, doesn't that bacteria die off and end up being replaced by dangerous, anerobic bacteria?

I could have sworn I read something about this once....

 

[duke33]

A filter turned off very long can get nasty water inside.

 

[ziggy2]

Yes it will kill off the bb in a matter of time. It would start dieing off at around 12hrs.

 

[cichlid savage]

I wouldnt turn off the filters on my tanks regardless of their purpose. when you turn it back on youll be releasing stagnant water into your tank, more than likely doing much more harm than good. Jusy my .02.

 

[basslover34]

Seriously if your water quality is good when you shut the filters off then simply keep your polishing system in place and remove your extra mech filter, your really not going to save enough electricity to make it worth while though, if you are interested in saving money on hydro then simply do as the kid (fishGoneWild) says and switch to an alternative messure of saving, insulate your water heater in your house and hot water pipes, add insulation to your attic, adjust doors and replace weather stripping, replace the silcone around your windows... Change to electronic Thermostats, close lights in rooms that your not in, turn down the temp in your house 1 degree and you'll save enough on your energy bill to run your tanks filter all year. Ask for a solar panel for xmas and run your filter from that

I'll be doing a write up next year on the solar powered pond that I'm building in my garage, The plan is to keep it 100% off the grid...my first project of it's kind so I understand where your coming from with your energy concerns... filters isn't the way to accomplish this though ... IMO anyway.