How long aquarium filter

Howbeit, the bigger-percentage of the power consumed within the year is spent by aquarium lights 45percent and heaters 35percent. Your fish tank filter will only take up about 12 percent of the power, which comes to 18KWh a year, give or take. Therefore, assuming you want to turn off your fish tank filter at night, electricity should be the least of your worries.

Because aquarium filters come in different shapes, sizes, and power ranges, the buzz or rattle you hear could be coming from anywhere. Moreover, not all the noise in a fish tank come from the filter and the only way to be sure is to isolate the sounds. In my experience, most filter units are generally quiet given the advancement in technology, but the splashing noise from the flow into the tank can be quite irritating.

The sound is usually worse if the intake nozzle is clogged with algae or other debris, which also compromises your filter functionality. To remedy the splashing noise, fill your tank to the top or maybe put a cover on the release area. To cover the outlet, place nylon over the outlet or add an extra filter sponge on the outtake to reduce the current. You can also choose to lower the water flow rate, which not only reduces the splashing noise but also cut back on any sounds made by the filter from working too fast.

A faulty filter will mostly make a rattling noise, especially if a component is broken, in which case, you will need to disassemble it to find out the faulty part. On the flip side, a component in the filter unit may be broken and need fixing or a replacement. DefenderRegina [Public domain] wikimedi commons. It is not a good idea to turn off your aquarium filter every night.

The filter plays a key role in the health of your tank, and shutting it down for hours at a time can eventually lead to problems. Of course, you probably know that the filter removes debris such as uneaten and decaying food, fish waste, and dead plant matter from your water. Getting that junk out of there is vital, but it is only one of the important duties performed by your filter.

Did you know that colonies of bacteria live in your tank, and they convert toxic chemicals in the water to safe chemicals? This is known as the nitrogen cycle. There are two reasons your filter is a key part of this process. First, the filter is one of the main places in your tank where those microbe colonies thrive.

Second, your filter helps to aerate the water. Oxygen is very important in your tank, not only for the fish but also for the microbes. Without it, they would perish. New aquarium keepers often install an air pump to create bubbles in their tanks, believing they are adding oxygen to the water.

If you turn off your filter, so that the water is no longer flowing over the elements inside, you deprive the microbes that live there of the oxygen essential for their survival.

Like your fish, the microbes in your tank are pretty hardy. But if you do it every night you are depriving your fish and the microbes of oxygen for eight hours out of every twenty-four, and that will eventually catch up with them. The final reason not to turn off your aquarium filter at night has to do with what happens when you turn it back on.

If you go through that every morning you are basically dumping all the garbage your filter removed from the tank the day before right back in. This is not only a good argument for keeping your filter running, but also for keeping up with good tank maintenance practices. Instead, I am going to guess it is because your filter is too noisy.

There are a few things you can do about that. You'll want to figure out if the noise is due to water movement or the filter mechanics itself. If it seems to be water movement, check the water level in your aquarium. Low water levels can cause a waterfall effect and an increase in gurgling noises.

With most filters, you will want your water level right up to the lip of the filter outlet be careful not to overflow your tank, of course.

This allows water to gently flow out without a lot of turbulence. Some filters have an adjustment knob that lets you change the flow rate, which can help reduce noise.

Sometimes the noise is caused by the filter components themselves. For the best experience on our site, be sure to turn on Javascript in your browser. We use cookies to help improve the experience you have on this site.

You can find out more here. Ideally, we have seen you need to run your aquarium filter all the time to maintain the health of the tank. Here are the principal reasons it is vital to have a running filter all the time. The beneficial bacteria are responsible for keeping the environmental parameters under control , which keeps all the aquarium inhabitants alive, healthy, and comfortable.

Keeping your filter on all the time makes it easier for the water heater to control the temperature of the water. Some fish types are more resistant to temperature changes than others. So, if temperature swings are too significant and frequent, some fish would become stressed and die prematurely. In a healthy tank, agitating the water is a necessary process, and the way you agitate the surface is by using filters.

It aids gas exchange when all this occurs. When carbon dioxide is released from the water, oxygen enters the system. This facilitates maintaining a healthy tank. Even though living underwater, live plants and your fish require oxygen. Some floating debris and organic materials are removed from the water by filters. Excess food and fish poop are the most common occurrence.