Kashim

Most of the guides and manuals I've read about water changes/gravel vacuuming say to turn off everything, like the heater and power filter. Is that really a good idea? It takes me over an hour to remove decorations, vacuum the gravel, put the decorations back and then add new water. Wouldn't the biological filter get too dry in an hour and the bacteria on the filter die off? Once I turn off the power and start removing water, I can hear all the water getting drained from the filter. I assume this can't be good for the bacteria on my filter media. Can someone who's been doing this for years advise? Thanks in advance.

Steen16

They only say it as a safety warning because you could get a electric shock.
But I myself dont bother turning it off lol

Kashim

Yeah, I don't bother either. But the thing is, once I remove 25% or more water, my pump starts having trouble pulling up water and pushing it through the filter. I'm wondering if that's hard on the motor and if it might shorten the lifespan of my equipment.

ShaynaB

The reason for turning off the power is because the motor can burn up on the filter and the glass from the heater can shatter if it's out of water.

It takes you a very long time to do water changes! I just push my decor to to the other side of the tank, vacuum, then push it back. I do about half the gravel during each water change so I don't disturb too much.

Steen16

All my intake tubes and heater are lower than half way. So I dont have to worry about that stuff.

Lucy

I turn mine off even though the heater and intake stay underwater, but only because electricity and I don't get along well.

capekate

If you are going to turn everything off for awhile while you do your tank cleaning, and are concerned about the filter media going dry, you can always add some tank water to the holding side of the filter. enough to keep the media wet, but not enough for it to over flow back into the tank.
You really want to make sure that your heater is below the water level so that it does not break when not submerged. I also keep my heater turned on and under the water level while doing a water change. As the water goes down, I just push the heater farther down into the water, or push it sideways so that it stays under water. That works only if your heater is a submersible type.

mitch

i turn off everything when i change water. the last thing i plug in is the heater so it has time to adjust to the water first

Jess

I unplug the heater. I've had two pop on me. They are just too expensive to monkey around with. The same with the filters if the intake is exposed. I believe its tough on the motor and it could burn out. Something you don't want to keep buying.

pinkfloydpuffer

I only turn everything off if I'm doing a big water change that will be below the filter intake. Usually my waterchanges aren't that big though, so I usually don't.

welshalien

ditto!

Kelly

jdhef

That surprises me since you are so easy to get along with!

Lucy

Thanks, John
Two close encounters with lightening strikes (seriously even my family won't stand near me when it storms), various plugs and a nice zzzzzap from a dog collar say otherwise, by the way, they really really hurt so don't use them on your dogs. Oh and no lol I wasn't wearing it, I had it in my hand when the dog barked.... Guess he taught me!

I unplug with water changes

Steen16

WOW Lucy very bad run with electricity!
Yikes I have been zapped by a dog collar to but thats because my friends put it on my leg when I was sleeping! haha

pinkfloydpuffer

Wow, you've got some interesting friends...

Steen16

Yea never go to sleep before them is the best way to stay out of trouble HAhaha

cpk

I can say electricity and your hands in te water can lead to problems.I use gravel cleaner to do water change so hands not in tank.always make sure you do not expose heater above water level.when hands in tank yes turn off any powered device !! .so you need to lower your heater below your lower water change level and turn it off when you do this then put it back after to where you want it to be.Do not let fiter motors run dry either.if you wish to put your hands in your tank with things running supply everthing off an rcd (residual current device )this will prevent you getting an electric shock in the unlikely event of something going wrong .I hope this is helpful I would hate for any fl members to get hurt

juwanil

I leave my light plugged in so i can see what i am doing lol. without it i might crush one of my fish!!!!

Kashim

Good advice. When I turn off the power, all the water drains from the power filter. But after that, if I pour some water back into the area where the bio filter sits, the water doesn't drain again and keeps the filter submersed.

I have another question about my power filter. Should I be rinsing or cleaning the basin from where the water is being pushed through the filter (the area where the motor spins) at all? Today, after I was doing a water change, I poured some water into that basin a little too fast while getting the filter motor started again and it sent some debris into my tank. I guess some gunk builds up in there and I'm wondering if I should worry about it.

Jess

Every once in a while I take it all apart, impeller and everything that comes apart. I reserve all filtering media in a bucket of tank water. Then I scrub impeller and uptake tubes to get rid of the gunk. Sometimes the impeller can slow down with algae stuff wrapped around it. Once I found one of my long hairs wrapped around the impeller, must have dropped into the water, oops. So I want to make sure everything is functioning as it should. This is very time consuming so I only do this every few months.
I think some gunk is ok, but if its really messing up your water change, then its time to look a little closer at all the moving parts.