# Filter on a timer?



## K20A2 (Aug 12, 2006)

I got to thinking tonight while I was staring at one of my tanks.. 

I noticed that my filter was off. I had killed it earlier when I fed the tank bloodworm's. I don't like to waste them so I always cut its power when its worm time. 

I figured it had been two hours since they ate and when I noticed that the filter was off. That got me thinking that what if I ran the filter in increments of time..?

Say, instead of 24 hours straight, what if I had it on a timer to run for two hours, off for two hours and then on for 2 hours. You get the idea..

I guess the real question is: is it necessary to run the filter consistently or can the bacteria handle the down time in between runs? If it can this could be a way to conserve power, but how much?

Thoughts?


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## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

I would suggest you stop thinking.

The bacteria in a filter start to die in about 30-45 minutes if there is no water flow through the filter (canister filter, HOB can take longer because of gas exchange possibilities in the filter).

The other drawback is if the filter motor starts but the siphon has broken then your filter is running and just getting hot and that can damage the filter pretty quick.


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## Chuppy (Aug 5, 2007)

Agreed. IMHO, a canister won't be the 'top-of-the-shelf' filter if you were to do that... like the previous post suggested.....The Bacteria in the will completely die off in less than an hour.... they need constant movement of water in there for the bio-media to house all those good bacteria...Unless your concept was for it to be mechanical filtration...... If that is it..... you waisted a lot of good money buying the canister filter


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## Chuppy (Aug 5, 2007)

Oh another thing..... use it to the fullest by basically turning it off WHEN YOU ARE HAVING MAINTAINENCE...... otherwise.....


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

A major reason for running a canister filter is water circulation. We need constant good water circulation in planted tanks. So, shutting down the filter is a very bad idea.


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

I'm agreeing with everyone else here, that you should leave it up and running all the time. The only time i can see and understand unplugging it and shutting it down is when your feeding. I shut my filter down when i feed bloodworms or brine shrimp just so they dont blow across my tank and get sucked up into the filter instantly. 

I've also heard of Reefers put the filter on a timer, and then a pump to auto feed the tank when the filter was off, but right after the feeding is done. Back on the filter goes.


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## houseofcards (Feb 16, 2005)

I agree with the other posters that you should run your filter 24/7, simply because the upside isn't worth the downside, but whether it would cause problems really depends on the size of your tank and it's plant load, etc. There were several times when I forgot to restart my filter on my 72g and it stayed off overnite. The next day much earlier than usual I would have intense pearling and no other issues from the "dead" bacteria in the filter. I was surprised that I didn't have any problems and equally surprised by the more than usual pearling effect. The fact that I didn't have any water problems I likened to the fact that it's a big tank, heavily planted and the biofilter in the actual filter represented a small percentage of the "cleaning" capacity of the tank. 

The intense pearling was likened to (by several advanced hobbyists) as the fact that since the "oxygen consuming" bacteria in the filter had died their was more than the usual oxygen in the water thus the intense and earlier pearling.


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## K20A2 (Aug 12, 2006)

> I would suggest you stop thinking.


Never. Its whats separates us from them. 



> The bacteria in a filter start to die in about 30-45 minutes if there is no water flow through the filter (canister filter, HOB can take longer because of gas exchange possibilities in the filter).


I knew that death was imminent, but I did not know how long it would take. Now I do.



> I shut my filter down when i feed bloodworm's or brine shrimp just so they don't blow across my tank and get sucked up into the filter instantly.


Same here, which is how I began to think about this in the first place.

Well, I thank everyone for responding and laying it out straight. My reasons for wanting to do this were for conservation of power. I guess this isn't the hobby to be in if one is THAT concerned with power consumption.  Plus, I don't think my cannister filter is going to drive my electric bill up that high.


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## Jimbo205 (Feb 2, 2006)

> I'm agreeing with everyone else here, that you should leave it up and running all the time. The only time i can see and understand unplugging it and shutting it down is when your feeding. I shut my filter down when i feed bloodworms or brine shrimp just so they dont blow across my tank and get sucked up into the filter instantly.
> 
> I've also heard of Reefers put the filter on a timer, and then a pump to auto feed the tank when the filter was off, but right after the feeding is done. Back on the filter goes.


 30 minutes, 60 minutes? :scared:

I was under the impression that canister filters were very good at mechanical filtration (I haven't gotten a canister filter yet) but not actually very good at biological filtration. After all, I was told - tHAT is what the PLANTS do.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Jimbo205 said:


> 30 minutes, 60 minutes? :scared:
> 
> I was under the impression that canister filters were very good at mechanical filtration (I haven't gotten a canister filter yet) but not actually very good at biological filtration. After all, I was told - tHAT is what the PLANTS do.


A well planted tank doesn't need any biological filtration other than the plants. But, canister filters do provide biological filtration.


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## Dantra (May 15, 2007)

Rex Grigg said:


> I would suggest you stop thinking.


:rofl: ound: Rex you are hilarious!!!

K20A2 no offense intended... its just that Rex definitely has a way with words.


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## Muirner (Jan 9, 2007)

Jimbo205 said:


> 30 minutes, 60 minutes? :scared:
> 
> I was under the impression that canister filters were very good at mechanical filtration (I haven't gotten a canister filter yet) but not actually very good at biological filtration. After all, I was told - tHAT is what the PLANTS do.


I never suggested an amount of time. The total downtime on my filter is usally about 10 minutes, enough to feed frozen brine shrimp, bloodworms, and/or flake food. Then i restart it.

I seem to have no problems with shutting down my filter (and co2 at the same time) and i have fry up to adults in my tank... Not saying i'm doing something right, just it seems to work for me.


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## Chuppy (Aug 5, 2007)

But at the end of it all... this discussion leads to one thing...... turning off the filter for power conservation?NO lol just my 2 cents


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## K20A2 (Aug 12, 2006)

Chuppy said:


> But at the end of it all... this discussion leads to one thing...... turning off the filter for power conservation?NO lol just my 2 cents


Indeed.


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## A_Shea (Jun 2, 2007)

the amount of power that would be saved isnt too much to notice a difference in anything. Most canisters use around 15-20 watts, at about .3 to .4 amps. Some incandescent light bulbs burn more than that


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## Chuppy (Aug 5, 2007)

A_Shea said:


> the amount of power that would be saved isnt too much to notice a difference in anything. Most canisters use around 15-20 watts, at about .3 to .4 amps. Some incandescent light bulbs burn more than that


So true...... the only thing i know that really use a lot of energy (equipment wise) is those metal halide lamps(150w and 250 w(your choice) and chillers... IME...


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