Do you turn off your filters and powerheads during feeding?

[jarrodaden]

I have problems with too much food getting onto the black sponge covers in my HOB overflow.

[imagirlgeek]

I use food that sinks. It used to drive me crazy when the food when straight into the overflow.

[FrontosaurusRex]

If you have to turn off filters just to feed your fish...you need new filters. I used to you HOB filters until I started having this problem. I switched to canisters and never looked back. Just my opinion though.

[imagirlgeek]

If you have to turn off filters just to feed your fish...you need new filters. I used to you HOB filters until I started having this problem. I switched to canisters and never looked back. Just my opinion though.

I think he's talking about food going into the overflow, not an actual HOB filter.

[FrontosaurusRex]

Ah. I re read it...my bad. I've never used an overflow...

[Dernial]

I don't turn off my HOB filters on my freshwater tanks, but I do turn off my Wet/Dry filter on my Saltwater. There's too much flow in that tank and the food is immediately sucked into the filter system before the fish even have a chance to eat any of it.

[jarrodaden]

The problem may be that I am pushing a ton of water through that overflow. I use a sinking food but occassionally the pellets don't sink right away. I also mix in some veggie flakes with spirulina which gets sucked into the overflow quickly.

[myjohnson]

If feeding flakes you might want to release the flakes under water.

I push a lot of water also and I don't have this problem with the above mention practice.

[jarrodaden]

If feeding flakes you might want to release the flakes under water.

I push a lot of water also and I don't have this problem with the above mention practice.

I have had mixed success with this. Not all food will readily sink even if you dunk it.

[nacra99]

Only if i am feeding flakes in the tanks with an overflow.

[wesleydnunder]

In your situation turning the filter(s) off for five minutes while you feed may be the easiest solution, provided restarting them isn't a giant pain. It won't hurt your filters to do so, but if your canister(s)' a little dirty it will sometimes puff out a cloud of mulm on restart.

Mark

[myjohnson]

I have had mixed success with this. Not all food will readily sink even if you dunk it.

Honestly, if you want no food at all to go into the filers, then feed a sinking pellet.

I feed NLS. I position my auto-feeder to dump food out right in front of my return line and all the food is pushed down before it goes into the overflow.

[fshfrk]

I put the flake and pellets in a plastic cup. Dunk it and fill it with water. Then dump it. All the fish get to feed and nothing goes into the overflows.