Questions....

**instinctloh** · 25th Mar 2014, 08:00

Hi all,

i have a few questions would like your assistance for a noob like me....

1) do I need to on my pump 24hrs or only during the day and let them have still and silent night?
A) a tank of shrimps
B) a 2ft planted tank with 3 guppies (currently the canister is working on a timer with my co2 tank.)

2) I will going on a tour in end may for 10days. I understand that there is a good timer that I can rely on when I'm not around but can we control the amount of food being release and I'm using pallet food that floats on water for the guppies. Can this food timer dispense it out ? How reliable is this food timer? (NOTE: I only have 3 guppies thus dun wish to dispense too much food. )

3) can the food timer dispense 1 pallet for the shrimp at 1 go cos that's the amount of food that I have them per time. Cos not a lot of shrimps. Dun wana end up feeding the worms.... U know what I mean?

thks

**thebaldingaquarist** · 25th Mar 2014, 09:52

Hi,
For question (1), if by "pump" you mean a filter then the answer is yes.

Food dispensers are a "you get what you pay for" thing. more expensive ones allow you to dispense using a electronic timer, each time controlling the amount... think eheim.

cheaper ones tend to depend on physical means as a timer. allows you to schedule up to 6 times a day, each time the amount of food is controlled by a latch that controls the "food gate", so if your feed varies in size, the larger ones might clog the timer.

For your case, if your shrimps and guppies are not sensitive to the feed given, you can opt to use those slow release feeds. such feeds slowly dissolve in the water, exposing chunks of food over time. i have seen such feeds last for as long as 7 days.

**instinctloh** · 25th Mar 2014, 09:55

Ok sorry my fault. My Q1 I'm referring to canister not a pump. So do I switch it on 24/7 or only in the day and leave it off in the night?

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**thebaldingaquarist** · 25th Mar 2014, 10:02

Originally Posted by instinctloh

Ok sorry my fault. My Q1 I'm referring to canister not a pump. So do I switch it on 24/7 or only in the day and leave it off in the night?

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you will need to switch it on 24/7.

Explanation : its because there are living organisms in your filter. bacteria that break down ammonia and ammonium. if the filter is switched off over night, there will not be water flow in the filter, hence the living organisms that depend on the oxygen in the water may not survive.

There are some bacteria that can survive without oxygen, but unfortunately those are not as efficient as the oxygen dependent ones.

**instinctloh** · 25th Mar 2014, 10:47

Ok noted. The fish won't be too tired as there is always some stirring around the water right ?

As for then ehiem food timer? It can be set as long as 10 days?

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**thebaldingaquarist** · 25th Mar 2014, 13:47

No need to worry about the guppies. They are not sensitive to water currents.
Eheim timers can be set to follow a periodic routine. Can search online for the manual for more information.

**instinctloh** · 25th Mar 2014, 13:49

Ok thanks.

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**tetrakid** · 25th Mar 2014, 20:20

Originally Posted by instinctloh

Ok noted. The fish won't be too tired as there is always some stirring around the water right ?

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Maybe your fish will not have the chance to dream at night. lol.

It is better to make sure the water flow is not too strong, since if the is strong current, the fish will not have any chance to rest but will always be swimming against the current 24/7. It's very tiring.

**tetrakid** · 25th Mar 2014, 20:21

Originally Posted by instinctloh

Ok noted. The fish won't be too tired as there is always some stirring around the water right ?

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Maybe your fish will not have the chance to dream at night. lol.

It is better to make sure the water flow is not too strong, since if the is strong current, the fish will not have any chance to rest but will always be swimming against the current 24/7. It's very tiring for them.