Filter Shutdown At Night

[jaxx]

Hi all. My first post here after being an avid reader for many months.

While i am a seasoned aquarium/fish keeper for many years and would never dream of intentionally switching off my tanks filters i have a small dilemma.

I have recently added a 60l tank into our bedroom, which has started life with an air powered undergravel filter system, which gives the inevitable hum and sloshing about of the water on the surface uisng a Tetratec 150 pump. Ive done all i can to silence the noise of the pump itself. Its more of a fact of the noise you can still hear in the tank.

I have also added a Fluval U3 internal power filter to the tank (rated at 90-150l) as i would like to keep a couple of dwarf puffers in there, so over filtration being a must (after previous experience of DP's), and the U3 is nion silent and causes no noise problems.

My question is... i am safe to turn off the air pump for a period of 3-4 hours during the night? Through use of a simple timer plug? In which case the U3 will still be at full power?

This gives us ample time to get to sleep (the missues is a very light sleeper) and then it will re-engage a few hours later (tried and tested... it doesnt wake her up, no fish at the min, currently cycling).

Obviously i test regular for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate, and my problem is im worried about the bacteria breaking down in the under-gravel filter? Reading various sources, there are various opinions saying the bacteria will be dead between 30mins and 12 hours

Will i be safe to rely on the U3 during the air-pumps shut down period?

I dont want to loose the UG filter, as mentioned before i need it to be over compensated in terms of filtration, and i quite like the effect of the bubble stream, with the added bonus of surface aggetation.

Thanks

Rob

 

[england]

mate you do not need a pump if you have a filter....i have drawf puffers in a 2ft with a tetratec 1000 internal<only because it was only filter i had, its fine without pumps, ive had no pumps now for 5yrs as there not really benafical if tanks working correctly, good to use a fliter with the pump in breeding tanks but thats all i use pumps for, and the noise drives me up the wall

 

[alchemist]

Nelly - his filter uses the air pump to work.

Jaxx - Maybe you could augment your UG filter with a small internal. So have both in there and running - but only have the internal turned on during the night. Personally I would ditch the UG filter and put in some air-stones for the day and have an internal doing filter duties.

 

[england]

cut from above "I have also added a Fluval U3 internal power filter to the tank (rated at 90-150l) as i would like to keep a couple of dwarf puffers in there, so over filtration being a must (after previous experience of DP's), and the U3 is nion silent and causes no noise problems.

 

[iffles]

I'm no expert, but I have a 125 liter with a fluval u3 filter, so shouldn't it have around double the filtration needs for your tank (60l, right?)? I'd say it's probably ok, because even if the bacteria doesn't thrive in the UG, you have the Fluval U3, whose average rating is for a 120 liter. That should allow for the turning off of the UG and the extra filtration required for DP.
Also, you mentioned you read from different sources the bacteria will be dead 30mins-12hours, so only some of the bacteria will be dead, and maybe the bacteria will become tougher, and more resilient to switching off. With the fluval u3, you can set it so that it has bubbles and surface agitation, so IMO i would go for it, and turn off the UG as long as the u3 is cycled.

 

[jaxx]

mate you do not need a pump if you have a filter....

Im not following? A filter needs a pump of some sort to drive the water through it surely?

Jaxx - Maybe you could augment your UG filter with a small internal. So have both in there and running - but only have the internal turned on during the night. Personally I would ditch the UG filter and put in some air-stones for the day and have an internal doing filter duties.

Indeed, the U3 is my "small" internal, as mentioned previous though, the tank is setup and cycling now, i dont want to break it down and start again for the sake of ripping out the UG (example... http/www.premierpetsandaquatics.co.uk/p/...um-filter-.html )

I'm no expert, but I have a 125 liter with a fluval u3 filter, so shouldn't it have around double the filtration needs for your tank (60l, right?)? I'd say it's probably ok, because even if the bacteria doesn't thrive in the UG, you have the Fluval U3, whose average rating is for a 120 liter. That should allow for the turning off of the UG and the extra filtration required for DP.
Also, you mentioned you read from different sources the bacteria will be dead 30mins-12hours, so only some of the bacteria will be dead, and maybe the bacteria will become tougher, and more resilient to switching off. With the fluval u3, you can set it so that it has bubbles and surface agitation, so IMO i would go for it, and turn off the UG as long as the u3 is cycled.

Yes, my filtration will be huge for the tank size, but Dwarf Puffers are messy little creatures, that spend more time ripping stuff to bits rather than eating it

But thanks for the advice, i think it will be safe enough. The U3's bacteria should stay solid 100% of the time, ive even concidered using the lower nozzle, to blow water into the UG area when that powers down, however that may disrupt the surface rippling for a few hours, unless i fit the venturi at the lower point.

Thanks for your replys

 

[iffles]

good luck

 

[england]

what i mean is you have a fluval u3 internal im guessing......tank will be fine with this alone
if you have this i would shut down the undergravel filter totally, well thats what i did back in the day,getting rid of the pump for the ugf...

 

[dave_oddballs]

by pump they meen an air pump, which the ugf is powered by.
as nelly said, i have also never used air pumps, they aren't useful, unless used to power a filter, your us is more than capable of filtering the tank, as long as you have a decent amount of surface movement (the most efficient way to oxygenate your tank) then you will be perfectly fine.

 

[arobinson1984]

Agree with what has been said.

Rip out the undergravel filter, they are a pain to maintain.

The fluval u3 will be absolutely fine on it's own.

How many dp's you planning on? You should be aiming at around 4 for that tank.

Andy

 

[jaxx]

Ok, thanks for that. I assumed the U3 could cope on its own, with it being twice as efficient for the tank size. Ill rely on that for lookin after water quality overall, but i intend to keep the use of the airpump for asthetic and surface movement purposes, in which case i can get away with having it switch off for a few hours at night

Im planning on a max of 4 DP's, ill start with 2 once the tank has cycled and see how well it fairs with them, then increase by one at a time over several months.

Cheers for all the help

 

[england]

Hehe good luck with it, i have two males and a female dwarf puffer from another member on here, there great little things

 

[jaxx]

Thanks Nelly, im really looking forward to them, and the missus adores puffers!

I used to have a Porcupine Puffer, he was absolutely beautiful and was like owning a dog that lived under water! Could literally take him for a "walk" if i walked along the side of the tank, he would follow my along the edge of the glass

Sadly i changed my job which meant a lot of travel and at the time i had two custom built 450l tanks, one marine, one tropical, and they both started to fall into disrepair through neglect So i did the right thing and moved my fish on to new homes, sadly including my Porky Then foolishly sold the tanks

Now my job has changed again and im back in one place! So my aquarium hobby can be started up again. Just got my little 60l to start, and ill work on two new large tanks over the next year or so! Ill do my best to pop in here and report my progress, if anyone interested in seeing such

If im lucky i might get my Porky back too, as it went to live with a friend and is still going strong! If he will let him go