Water Change Question

[andyg81]

im about to do my first water change in 10 days (since getting my fluval 305 up and running) my stats have been perfect but obviously need to do a bit of hoovering in the tank etc, should I Turn my filter off to do this ? or just make sure the water doesnt drop lower than the input pipe ?

also if i turn it off will I need to re-prime it ?

I brought it second hand so havent got the documentation than should come with it

thanks

 

[DevotedToDiscus]

no need to switch it off, if you are not going to let the water level drop down to the intake pipe pick-up

 

[andyg81]

lovely thanks for that, the water level will drop below the output line though is this ok ?

 

[minnnt]

Make sure you know where the flow is going, because when it drops below the output level the water will be fired everywhere. lol. I speak from experience. I always turn mine off along with the heater.

 

[andyg81]

i always turn the heater off when doing a change,
if i do switch the filter off do I need to re-prime it ?

should be fun if water goes everywhere lol

doing the change tomorrow morning now as it happens as its a bank holiday friday the pub is calling me !! and as the water stats are ok the bit of dirt on the bottom can wait another 24 hours lol - does that make me bad lol

 

[minnnt]

lol, no.

You won't have to prime it mate.

 

[CezzaXV]

As long as no air is allowed in via the intake you shouldn't need to reprime it. There's also no need to turn the heater off as long as it stays submerged.

 

[minnnt]

Depends how long the heater is... When dealing with 300w heaters it's hard to keep them submerged. lol.

 

[CezzaXV]

Depends how long the heater is... When dealing with 300w heaters it's hard to keep them submerged. lol.

Depends on the size of your tank and the size of the water change. Also the position of the heater I deliberately have my heater at the bottom of the tank so I can do 80% changes without having to worry.

 

[minnnt]

Good idea. I wish the cable was long enough on mine to do that. lol. It already picks the extension lead up off of the floor.

 

[FishBlast]

I don't leave my filter's water pump to run on dry. Not because the water is thrown out, as it will still land in the tank, but because I'm scared not to burn the motor.

I do sometimes need to take the pump head to the surface to get some air though, because every time water level exceeds a certain level, it stops blowing bubbles. So getting it to the surface and back in restarts the bubble spray.

Although I have no idea how fluval works, I just have an internal filter.