# Do you switch filter off when feeding



## Deano3 (3 Feb 2022)

Hi everyone just a quick question i just turned my filter off to feed my fish as i always do and straight away 3 rummy nose tetras jumped 😔 i have put back in and they seem to be ok but think i will feed with filter on from now on as they are very skitish.

Dean


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## Nick potts (3 Feb 2022)

I turn mine off for 10-15 mins while feeding, I have a lot of flow and it would just go everywhere if I didn't.


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## Jaseon (3 Feb 2022)

If i have to go into a canister filter for some reason or turn it off for a WC they are always a bit finnicky starting back up so no id rather keep them running.


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## Ghettofarmulous (3 Feb 2022)

I do. Its handy as it has its own switch on the wall. I like to take a moment to watch everything and chill


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## hypnogogia (3 Feb 2022)

Filter stays on, but gyre is turned off.


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## Jaseon (3 Feb 2022)

Ghettofarmulous said:


> I do. Its handy as it has its own switch on the wall. I like to take a moment to watch everything and chill


That is handy, how did you manage that? I have set up 3 tanks for my farther in law who has MS. He can do very light maintenance / feeding, but couldn't imagine him having to unplug every feeding time.


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## MichaelJ (3 Feb 2022)

Hi @Deano3 I don't, I have 2 internal filters and 2 HOBs on each of my tanks...   I am just scared I get distracted and forget to turn them back on... which has happened in the past.  Ideally if there would be a timed switch I could press that would turn everything back on automatically after say 10 mins. I would use such a switch (like a dead-hand switch).   As I feed mostly frozen and dry food, I also think  (somewhat wishfully I suppose) that the fishes like the _chase_ when the food whirl around... and I feed in very small portions to allow the fishes to scoop up everything before it ends up at the bottom - my shrimps are fed separately so I dont rely on fish food waste for my shrimpies... they have their own diet and plate setting ... Yes, I know I am spoiling those guys 

Cheers,
Michael


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## Jaseon (3 Feb 2022)

I dont mind the food reaching the bottom dwellers, and any that gets lodged amongst the plants the shrimp/babies feast on. Of course i always drop a few wafers down there.


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## Ghettofarmulous (3 Feb 2022)

Jaseon said:


> That is handy, how did you manage that? I have set up 3 tanks for my farther in law who has MS. He can do very light maintenance / feeding, but couldn't imagine him having to unplug every feeding time.


It’s just has its on socket on the wall separate to Co2, lights, skimmer,heater. 




Doing a feed now so here is a sneaky pic😂


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## Ehcosbie (3 Feb 2022)

Filter stays on, but It has never occurred to me to turn it off.


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## Jaseon (3 Feb 2022)

Ghettofarmulous said:


> It’s just has its on socket on the wall separate to Co2, lights, skimmer,heater.
> View attachment 181581
> Doing a feed now so here is a sneaky pic😂
> View attachment 181582


LOL im crying laughing. Of course the socket switch...i thought you wired up its own switch up on a wall somewhere. Nice tank.


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## Ghettofarmulous (3 Feb 2022)

Jaseon said:


> LOL im crying laughing. Of course the socket switch...i thought you wired up its own switch up on a wall somewhere. Nice tank.



I’m not anyway handy with electrics😂 thanks for the compliment though.


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## castle (3 Feb 2022)

Can’t stand the thought of live foods getting a sucked into a filter, so they go off.

Also, not really wanting food decomposing in the filter.


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## Jaseon (3 Feb 2022)

castle said:


> Can’t stand the thought of love foods getting a sucked into a filter, so they go off.
> 
> Also, not really wanting food decomposing in the filter.


I have started using these lately.


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## castle (3 Feb 2022)

Jaseon said:


> I have started using these lately.


Some tanks I do use them too 👍


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## NotoriousENG (3 Feb 2022)

When I feed I hit the pause button on my return pump which shuts it off for 10 minutes. It's a super handy feature to have. In my previous tanks wirh HOBs I left them running as they could be tricky to re prime.

Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk


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## jamiepearson (3 Feb 2022)

A smart plug to turn mine off and the (in cannister) heater at the same time


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## Ajm200 (3 Feb 2022)

I turn the filter off for frozen and messy foods that would end up all over the tank.   After 10 mins I remove any uneaten food I can see with a turkey baster.

I leave the filter on for pellets like Hikari that are easy to clean up.  Most of the fish are full grown and swallow pellets immediately.


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## Wookii (3 Feb 2022)

Jaseon said:


> That is handy, how did you manage that? I have set up 3 tanks for my farther in law who has MS. He can do very light maintenance / feeding, but couldn't imagine him having to unplug every feeding time.





MichaelJ said:


> I am just scared I get distracted and forget to turn them back on...



You guys need a TP Link Tapo100 smart plug - you can turn it on and off from your phone without having to dig around in your cupboard, plus you can set up a permanently scheduled ‘on’ timer in case you forget to turn it back on manually. 

For example, I generally feed my fish at around 8pm, so the Tapo100 on the pump plug has an ‘on’  timer for 9pm, so if I forget to turn it back on, I know it’ll automatically do it.


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## Konsa (3 Feb 2022)

Jaseon said:


> I have started using these lately.


Hi
Keep an eye on  them as they are quite fine clog very easy(quite fast)
Regards Konstantin


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## John q (3 Feb 2022)

Used to turn it off but now leave it on, including the gyre or wave makers. 
I think my fish feed better when they activity chase food, I also like to see some of the food being driven down to the substrate for the bottom dwellers. 
I suppose a lot depends on the type of fish you have in the tank.


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## MichaelJ (3 Feb 2022)

Wookii said:


> You guys need a TP Link Tapo100 smart plug - you can turn it on and off from your phone without having to dig around in your cupboard, plus you can set up a permanently scheduled ‘on’ timer in case you forget to turn it back on manually.
> 
> For example, I generally feed my fish at around 8pm, so the Tapo100 on the pump plug has an ‘on’  timer for 9pm, so if I forget to turn it back on, I know it’ll automatically do it.


Hi @Wookii  That is just brilliant! Thanks!   ... are you from the future or something ?


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## Ghettofarmulous (3 Feb 2022)

I use the hive WI-FI plug for my Co2 and lights. Never fails me


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## Ajm200 (3 Feb 2022)

Wookii said:


> You guys need a TP Link Tapo100 smart plug - you can turn it on and off from your phone without having to dig around in your cupboard, plus you can set up a permanently scheduled ‘on’ timer in case you forget to turn it back on manually.
> 
> For example, I generally feed my fish at around 8pm, so the Tapo100 on the pump plug has an ‘on’  timer for 9pm, so if I forget to turn it back on, I know it’ll automatically do it.


We use smart plugs too.  All named so we can use them with Alexa or from our phones.  I have FX filters and they are set to go off at 8pm so that any maintenance I do doesn’t trigger  the auto stop/start when we aren’t around just in case they don’t restart.  

Also, there’s a sofa bed in the same room and guests don’t appreciate a 4am alarm call from the filter start up if I’ve been doing tank maintenance at the wrong time


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## Jaseon (3 Feb 2022)

Konsa said:


> Hi
> Keep an eye on  them as they are quite fine clog very easy(quite fast)
> Regards Konstantin


Funny thing.

I had a call from my farther in law this morning, and he was up all night trying to work out why the flow to one of his tanks was trickling. I turned up went straight to the intake took it off, and whoosh the flow was back. Ive only recently put one on there (a week), and he didn't think of looking there. I took the sponge off, and give it a rinse, but didn't notice much coming off it. I was confused how the sponge would reduce the flow like that. I do like the idea of a prefilter, but would opt for a courser sponge next time. Ill be keeping an eye on it.

I felt sorry for him, and he did look a bit sheepish. He had the canister filter out, cleaning  the impeller all sorts lol.


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## LondonDragon (3 Feb 2022)

Always turn mine off when I feed daily, prevents the food going straight to the carpet plants and gives the fish more time to eat.
Have all my stuff on smart plugs to I just press a button on an App or ask Alexa to do it 
I have 4-5 different time slots to turn the filter back on in the schedule of the smart plugs in case I forget to turn it back on after feeding, so max it will stay off is an hour if I forget!


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## hypnogogia (3 Feb 2022)

Konsa said:


> Hi
> Keep an eye on  them as they are quite fine clog very easy(quite fast)
> Regards Konstantin


That’s what I’ve found as well.  Had to clean mine today as flow was so slow.


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## hypnogogia (3 Feb 2022)

LondonDragon said:


> I have 4-5 different time slots to turn the filter back on in the schedule of the smart plugs in case I forget to turn it back on after feeding, so max it will stay off is an hour if I forget!


Genius!  I’m going to do that as I’m forever forgetting to turn stuff back on , especially the heater after maintenance.


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## KirstyF (3 Feb 2022)

Filter on as the fish seem to enjoy chasing the food about and it helps to spread it so that the tetras don’t hog it all. 
A few bits no doubt get to the bottom but most seems to re-circulate in the flow and by the time it’s had a couple of passes it’s been munched.

The Amano’s don’t get silver service like @MichaelJ ‘s though so they get to snack on anything the fish might miss, as well as competing with the SAE’s for veggies and wafers. I have seen my biggest Amano stroll off carrying a whole wafer mind you! 🙄


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## sparkyweasel (4 Feb 2022)

Jaseon said:


> farther in law who has MS. He can do very light maintenance / feeding, but couldn't imagine him having to unplug every feeding time.


I set up a tank for some-one with serious arthritis and used a product like this;
Plug handle
It helped in her case, and the family got a load more for all their plugs once they knew they existed.
Maybe they would be useful for your f-i-l.


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## NotoriousENG (4 Feb 2022)

Jaseon said:


> I have set up 3 tanks for my farther in law who has MS.



MS, now that's a scary one. I hope your father in law is doing well.

My mother has MS, luckily it hasn't yet impacted her mobility to an extreme degree. Since there is some degree of genetic link I really hope I never get it. 


Sent from my SM-G970U1 using Tapatalk


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## Jaseon (4 Feb 2022)

NotoriousENG said:


> MS, now that's a scary one. I hope your father in law is doing well.
> 
> My mother has MS, luckily it hasn't yet impacted her mobility to an extreme degree. Since there is some degree of genetic link I really hope I never get it.
> 
> ...


Yeah his wife died of cancer about 10yr ago, and he did manage to travel a bit on his own, and then got the news he had this. He cant perform anything fiddly with his hands, and his legs have gone. He can get into the kitchen with his walker, but its a struggle for him. Hes fallen a few times, and my biggest fear is he will be feeding the fish grab onto the tank, and well it dont bare thinking about. Hes a stubborn bastid, and i tell him he cant do the things he used to so let me help him which i do every weekend with his water changes. If it wasnt for his fish i think he would have given up by now. It gives him something to focus on, and he gets a lot of enjoyment out of it.

Hes always wanted a shoal of CPD so set up another tank for him which is his third (old pic). I said make this your last. I knew i shouldn't have said that as hes already looking around for space to fit another one lol.


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## lazybones51 (4 Feb 2022)

I always turn mine off during feeding. I say "turn off", but it actually has a "feed" button which pauses the filter for 10 minutes.


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## Jetpack_Badger (6 Feb 2022)

Yes. I want the shrimp to concentrate on algae first and foremost, not a banquet of fish flake and pellets 😁


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## Cris_thorn (8 Feb 2022)

Wookii said:


> You guys need a TP Link Tapo100 smart plug - you can turn it on and off from your phone without having to dig around in your cupboard, plus you can set up a permanently scheduled ‘on’ timer in case you forget to turn it back on manually.
> 
> For example, I generally feed my fish at around 8pm, so the Tapo100 on the pump plug has an ‘on’  timer for 9pm, so if I forget to turn it back on, I know it’ll automatically do it.


I use the same Tapo 100 for my light.  Also have the Tapo linked to the Alexa so if I want the light on at any other time its just a simple voice command.


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## CrazyCory42 (8 Feb 2022)

I leave mine on. I have a sponge over the intake pipe so the food doesn’t get sucked straight up and I feed at the opposite side of the tank anyway. I find if anything having the filter on helps to evenly distribute the food amongst everyone and stops the greedy harlequin rasbora from gobbling it all up.


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## ScareCrow (8 Apr 2022)

Wookii said:


> You guys need a TP Link Tapo100 smart plug - you can turn it on and off from your phone without having to dig around in your cupboard, plus you can set up a permanently scheduled ‘on’ timer in case you forget to turn it back on manually.
> 
> For example, I generally feed my fish at around 8pm, so the Tapo100 on the pump plug has an ‘on’  timer for 9pm, so if I forget to turn it back on, I know it’ll automatically do it.


Just got some of these plugs myself so thought I'd add a function I spotted while looking through the menus. There is a 'countdown timer' option. So I set the filter to off, set a countdown timer to turn back on in 5 minutes, feed and then that's it. The plug automatically switches back on after 5 minutes. I've forgotten to turn the filter back on several times so this function is fantastic.


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## Aleman (8 Apr 2022)

ScareCrow said:


> Set a countdown timer to turn back on in 5 minutes, feed and then that's it. The plug automatically switches back on after 5 minutes. I've forgotten to turn the filter back on several times so this function is fantastic.


I love the ability to set up scenarios  with my smart plugs ... "Alexa, run the RO", "Alexa, feeding the fish". Depending on the smart plug brand, the scenarios can be tricky to set up ... I use el cheapo ones from The Bay of E


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## ScareCrow (8 Apr 2022)

Aleman said:


> I love the ability to set up scenarios  with my smart plugs ... "Alexa, run the RO", "Alexa, feeding the fish". Depending on the smart plug brand, the scenarios can be tricky to set up ... I use el cheapo ones from The Bay of E


Although I work in a data analysis/AI/automation role, I don't really like technology. I believe Alexa is a portal directly to the underworld, Google is that know it all down the pub that never buys a pint and waits until someone has emptied their pockets into the fruit machine before getting on it and I, Robot is a future prediction not a film 

The smart plugs do make life much easier, so I maybe a convert but at the moment I like the way my tinfoil hat looks.


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## Garuf (8 Apr 2022)

I too like just turning it off at the switch for the 3 minutes I’m adding frozen food. 
My galaxies were smart, when the filter turned off they’d come looking for dinner.


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## si walker (8 Apr 2022)

Yeah I do. Give them all a moment to hoover up!


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## si walker (8 Apr 2022)

Jaseon said:


> I have started using these lately.


Where did you get these? 
Currently doing a DIY version for my Oase Thermo 100. 
Didn't want anything too big and bulky for my 35 LTR nano tank??

cheers


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## Jaseon (8 Apr 2022)

si walker said:


> Where did you get these?
> Currently doing a DIY version for my Oase Thermo 100.
> Didn't want anything too big and bulky for my 35 LTR nano tank??
> 
> cheers


Amazon

They work really well, but you need to squeeze them out once a week at least.


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