Pumps on or off during feeding

mike27t

mike27t

Member
Hey everyone, new here and new to sw. Tank is aprox 2 months old now. I have a 50 gallon tank with 45 lbs of LR, 20lbs LS and 20lbs CC. The tank has built in filtration which includes wet/dry bioballs and a venturi skimmer.
More recently (1 week ago) I added two Koralia #1 pumps to each end of the tank and since then ive noticed my water has become cloudy. During feeding time (feed once a day weekdays, twice a day weekends) ive been leaving them on and ive noticed the food will get sucked through the fans blades. Could this be the cause of my cloudy water? Should I turn them off during feeding time?
 
alabama reefer

alabama reefer

Member
Food going through your powerheads will cause some small particles to float in your water. As new as your tank is the cloudy water is probably caused by some type of algae bloom but the new powerheads you added could be stirring up your sand bed causing the cloudiness as well. However there are several posts on here about cloudy water problems so do a search on those. As far as turning the pumps off while feeding--- my fish freak out, hide and get really nervous when the pumps or powerheads cut off so I never cut mine off except during water changes.
 
nordy

nordy

Active Member
I turn my pumps off when feeding and the fish (4 assorted clowns, 3 damsels) in my 55gal reef tank don't seem to mind. I do it so the food doesn't get drawn into the overflow or into the canister filter intake before thay have a chance to eat it all. They get so excited when I feed them that nothing stops or slows them down when it's dinner time. Kinda like my dog!
A couple of thoughts on your post: you might be overfeeding your fish, especially when you do it twice a day. What are your water test results? Leftover/uneaten food can cause problems, especially in a new tank.
I turn my pumps off (I have a couple of Koralia #2's, a canister, a wet/dry bioball sump and a canister filter) when feeding my fish and corals.
How is your skimmer working? My experiance, and that of others with similar systerms, seems to be that the built in skimmers in wet/dry bio ball sump systems do not work very well. You might want to consider upgrading to another skimmer.
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
I have a 29 bio cube. I turn the sump pump off but leave the in tank Koralias on. I too believe you may be feeding too much.
 
R

rcreations

Guest
I leave the pumps on. The fish like chasing the food around.
 
mike27t

mike27t

Member
Thanks for the responses guys.
tank param (tested every 3 days and are always consistant)
50gl
PH 8.2
Amon 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
Calcium 440
SG 1.024
temp 79-80
Stock list
2 false perc
2 damsel (will be leaving soon, suprisingly are not agreesive towards the other fish)
Spotted mandarin
Lemonpeel dward angel
1 cleaner shrimp
1 fire shrimp
1 dozen hermits
2 dozen snails
I feed once a day during the week, pinch of flakes (small pinch) and one frozen cube of either mysis, bryne, cyclops, and two other packages which i dont remember what they are (im at work so I cant read the package). Feed twice a day on Sat and Sun
 
mcbdz

mcbdz

Active Member
Could it be air? Sometimes if air is leaking in a pump you'll get that water that looks milky but if you take some out in a glass and let it set it will clear up.
 
alabama reefer

alabama reefer

Member
I am leaning towards the powerhead you added since it did start around the same time. Is it disrupting your sand bed or maybe picking up silt and blowing it around?
 
spanko

spanko

Active Member
Originally Posted by Alabama Reefer
http:///forum/post/2539772
I am leaning towards the powerhead you added since it did start around the same time. Is it disrupting your sand bed or maybe picking up silt and blowing it around?
This is a definite possibility. Make sure you are running some filter pad or floss to remove it if indeed it is detritus. This is a good thing actually to get it off the rocks and sand and out of the tank.
 
mike27t

mike27t

Member
Originally Posted by Alabama Reefer
http:///forum/post/2539772
I am leaning towards the powerhead you added since it did start around the same time. Is it disrupting your sand bed or maybe picking up silt and blowing it around?

Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2540195
This is a definite possibility. Make sure you are running some filter pad or floss to remove it if indeed it is detritus. This is a good thing actually to get it off the rocks and sand and out of the tank.
I think this may be it. Im sure the powerheads kicked up debris from the rock once I put them in. Well I did a 20% water change and the water is much much clearer. Ill do another 10% next week and I think I should be ok.
 
mike27t

mike27t

Member
As for my original questions. Thanks for the responses, I guess ill leave my powerheads on and see if the water gets cloudy again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top