8 hours a day without a filter?

A 100 litre fresh water tropical tank. Has 10 neons, 6 rosy barbs, a black
neon, a rummy nose tetra and a small bristlenose. Has some rocks, a large
peice of driftwood. My set-up is 2 years old, so its 'nitrogen cycle' is
stable.

Had a Whisper brand hang-on filter that worked OK, although needed some
'wiggling' to start up again if the power got shut off, and the 'biobag'
filters were becoming harder and harder to find, thus I decided to replace
it.

Having no idea of the capacity of the Whisper filter (my whole tank is
second hand), I asked the folks at the shop what I would need and they
recommended Aqua One that looked to be about the same size - 500L per hour.
Now that its up and running, the flow is much stringer than the old Whisper
filter, and it really disrupts the java moss.

If I turn the flow meter down, it makes a horrible rattle. My main
complaint, however, is the noise this new filter makes. The tank is in the
bedroom and the loud buzz the motor makes compared to the old pump makes
sleep difficult. I've tried to return it, but a) it works and b) I've used
it, so they won't take it back. I'm really not happy with it, but at $75 I
am in no hurry to rush out for another.

So, my question is: can I turn the thing off whilst asleep? I have tried to
block the noise with a towel wrapped around the outside of the filter, but
it still makes too much noise for my liking. The only other option seems to
be to turn the thing off whilst I'm trying to sleep. Would 8 hours per day
without filtering cause harm to the tank or am I just going to have to get
used to the racket?

Thanks,

Yowie

"Yowie" wrote in
:

So, my question is: can I turn the thing off whilst asleep?

Don't do it. Two reasons:
1. Fish need oxygen, and as you have quite many fish in that tank,
theymight suffocate if the filter isn't running and moving water.
2. If a filter is shut for more than 2 hours (about), the bacteria living
in the filter media start to die or try some desperate means to survive,
and when such a filter is again turned on, it might spill poisonous stuff
to aquarium unless it is rinsed clean.

It is some kind of hang-on filter? Does the noise come from the motor, or
does it vibrate against the glass? If latter, you could perhaps put
something between the filter and aquarium.

Or then just throw that thing away and get a totally submersive filter.
They are normally very quiet. I have had one hang on filter, and hated it
all the time. And probably at least 10 inside power filters, and all but
one have been very trustworthy and quiet.

Liisa

"Liisa Sarakontu" wrote in message
14...
"Yowie" wrote in
:

So, my question is: can I turn the thing off whilst asleep?

Don't do it. Two reasons:
1. Fish need oxygen, and as you have quite many fish in that tank,
theymight suffocate if the filter isn't running and moving water.
2. If a filter is shut for more than 2 hours (about), the bacteria living
in the filter media start to die or try some desperate means to survive,
and when such a filter is again turned on, it might spill poisonous stuff
to aquarium unless it is rinsed clean.

It is some kind of hang-on filter? Does the noise come from the motor, or
does it vibrate against the glass? If latter, you could perhaps put
something between the filter and aquarium.

Or then just throw that thing away and get a totally submersive filter.
They are normally very quiet. I have had one hang on filter, and hated it
all the time. And probably at least 10 inside power filters, and all but
one have been very trustworthy and quiet.

Liisa

Any recommendations for good submersive filter? I have a hang on filter, but
I stopped using filter cartridges in them a long long time ago - all they do
is circulate water. I vacuum the gravel (which is only a half inch thick)
weekly along with water change. Fish appear to be happy, but the hang on
filters tend to plug with algae frequently.

On Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:14:41 +1100, Yowie wrote:

So, my question is: can I turn the thing off whilst asleep? I have tried to
block the noise with a towel wrapped around the outside of the filter, but
it still makes too much noise for my liking. The only other option seems to
be to turn the thing off whilst I'm trying to sleep. Would 8 hours per day
without filtering cause harm to the tank or am I just going to have to get
used to the racket?

It's not a good idea to turn it off or to turn it down really, you need the
full flow for it to manage the tank properly. Can you silicone a strip of
glass or something to the inside of the aquarium under the filter outlet to
divert the flow?

Alternately you could just put it down to experience and get another Whisper,
the 30, from the internet:

http://www.aquariumguys.com/tetratec.html

I know that's in the US but I'm in the UK and Australian suppliers aren't easy
to search for.

I prefer cannisters personally and will be changing my noisy Fluval for a
Tetratec early next year:

http://www.aquatics-online.co.uk/cat...al-filters.asp

--
Regards - Rodney Pont
The from address exists but is mostly dumped,
please send any emails to the address below
e-mail ngpsm4 (at) infohitsystems (dot) ltd (dot) uk

"Liisa Sarakontu" wrote in message
14
"Yowie" wrote in
:

So, my question is: can I turn the thing off whilst asleep?

Don't do it. Two reasons:
1. Fish need oxygen, and as you have quite many fish in that tank,
theymight suffocate if the filter isn't running and moving water.

Fair enough - although they haven't died when we've had power outages.

2. If a filter is shut for more than 2 hours (about), the bacteria
living in the filter media start to die or try some desperate means
to survive, and when such a filter is again turned on, it might spill
poisonous stuff to aquarium unless it is rinsed clean.

The bacteria dies due to lack of oxygen?

It is some kind of hang-on filter?

Yes.

It is this one:
http://www.petshop-online.com.au/prod95.htm

Does the noise come from the
motor, or does it vibrate against the glass? If latter, you could
perhaps put something between the filter and aquarium.

The noise comes from the motor. The rattle when the flow meter is adjusted I
can only assume comes from the blades of the water pump or air cavitation in
the inflow pipe.

It is most definately not vibration against the glass as I have cushioned it
all to no avail.

Or then just throw that thing away and get a totally submersive
filter. They are normally very quiet. I have had one hang on filter,
and hated it all the time. And probably at least 10 inside power
filters, and all but one have been very trustworthy and quiet.

Liisa

Will have to check them out - thanks.

Yowie
--
If you're paddling upstream in a canoe and a wheel falls off, how many
pancakes can you fit in a doghouse? None, icecream doesn't have bones.

"Yowie" wrote in message
...
A 100 litre fresh water tropical tank. Has 10 neons, 6 rosy barbs, a black
neon, a rummy nose tetra and a small bristlenose. Has some rocks, a large
peice of driftwood. My set-up is 2 years old, so its 'nitrogen cycle' is
stable.

snip

So, my question is: can I turn the thing off whilst asleep? I have tried
to
block the noise with a towel wrapped around the outside of the filter, but
it still makes too much noise for my liking. The only other option seems
to
be to turn the thing off whilst I'm trying to sleep. Would 8 hours per day
without filtering cause harm to the tank or am I just going to have to get
used to the racket?


As a fish breeder, I can safely say that having no filter for part (or even
all) of the day won't have a noticeable impact on your tank in the
slightest. As one poster mentioned, there's quite a few fish in that tank
so there may be a problem with sufficient oxygen levels overnight. If you
leave the filter off for several hours, or have a power outage do your fish
start "gasping" for air at the surface? If not, don't worry about them.

As far as the bacteria goes, they'll be fine overnight as long as the filter
doesn't dry out completely. Even if it does you still won't wipe out your
cycle entirely due to the bacteria living on the substrate and the plants.

I raise fry in containers with absolutely no filtration or water movement
for the first couple weeks of their lives (water changes every other day),
the only thing I put in their containers besides water is java moss. After
the first few weeks, I move them to a 5.5 or 2 gallon tank with only an air
stone. They'll sit in this setup until they're large enough to go into a
tank with other adults or get sold, but the water gets changed with the rest
of the fish - once a week.

As far as different filters go, I prefer canister filters. My Eheim 2213
doesn't make any noticeable noise unless you press your ear up against it.
I'm also liking the "new" design of the Tetra Whisper hang-on-back filters
with the motor or whatever it is under the water on top of the intake. Much
better than the Aqua Clear filters I used to swear by, and no noise unless
it's rattling against the tank (which it does occasionally).

"Yowie" wrote in
:

Fair enough - although they haven't died when we've had power outages.

Luckily most fish are quite hardy, and I think that none of the species you
have there are high-oxygen species. Some river fish, like Siamese algae
eaters, might die (or jump out from the tank) quite soon after the oxygen
level starts going down.

The bacteria dies due to lack of oxygen?

Yup. Not all bacteria, but the ones living in a filter dealing with
nitrogen and fish waste live there just because they need quite high level
of oxygen.

It is most definately not vibration against the glass as I have
cushioned it all to no avail.

Okay, you have already checked it. Then my advice doesn't work.

Liisa

On Nov 13, 1:41*pm, Liisa Sarakontu wrote:
"Yowie" wrote :

Fair enough - although they haven't died when we've had power outages.

Luckily most fish are quite hardy, and I think that none of the species you
have there are high-oxygen species. Some river fish, like Siamese algae
eaters, might die (or jump out from the tank) quite soon after the oxygen
level starts going down.

The bacteria dies due to lack of oxygen?

Yup. Not all bacteria, but the ones living in a filter dealing with
nitrogen and fish waste live there just because they need quite high level
of oxygen.

It is most definately not vibration against the glass as I have
cushioned it all to no avail.

Okay, you have already checked it. Then my advice doesn't work.

Liisa

Try going a week without changing your Maxi Pad and see what kind of
bacteria and other creepy crawlers come out of hiding. I think your
brain is dead from Toxic Shock Syndrome . YOur supposed to take em out
every so often, nbot just shoving more up inside and letting them rot
you idiot.