Changing Water

[rowdyates]

I find it interesting that what should be simple tasks can create lots of questions, which leads me in nicely to...when doing a partial water change do people generally switch off both the filter and heater or should they be left switched on?

Thanks,

Keith

 

[debiasir]

switch everything off

as long as the water change doesnt last more than 1 or 2 hours everything will be fine

 

[laurasmithuk]

i dont really ever unplug filter unless im cleaning sponges. if you unplug it make sure iuts not for long as it kills beneficial bacteria also make sure you plug everything back in (i forgot to last week and tank has gone through a mini cycle)

 

[debiasir]

a few filters may burn out if water level gets to low so that is something to bare in mind

 

[Weaver]

I turn everything off.I am afraid of busting the heater and the bacteria in the filter wont be affected in the length of time it takes to do a partial water change
The one time I forgot to turn off the filter it made a real mess of my floating plants

 

[rowdyates]

Thanks for the replies, I think I'll switch off everything to be on the safe side and see how it goes.

Keith

 

[freddyk]

If the water is going down enough to empty the filter and force it to run dry, obviously we need to turn it off. If it's not, then obviously we can leave the filter running because it isn't running dry. If the filter is causing too much disruption with the lower water level, obviously we need to turn it off. If not, obviously we can leave it on. If the water level is down to the heater coils, obviously we need to turn it off to keep it from overheating. If the water level is not down to the heater coils we obviously don't because it's still being water cooled. This one is common sense.

 

[Bloo]

You really should absolutely always switch all equipmet off before doing water changes. For most of us it's only a flick of one switch as we run the filters, heaters, lights etc. etc. off a multi-socket extention.