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From: ix426@sdcc6.UUCP
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
Subject: Re: turning the filter off?
Message-ID: <3517@sdcc6.ucsd.EDU>
Date: Tue, 1-Dec-87 04:14:09 EST
Article-I.D.: sdcc6.3517
Posted: Tue Dec  1 04:14:09 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 5-Dec-87 06:19:13 EST
References: <4381@ihlpg.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: ix426@sdcc6.ucsd.edu.UUCP (tom stockfish)
Organization: University of California, San Diego
Lines: 35

In article <4381@ihlpg.ATT.COM> dalka@ihlpg.ATT.COM (Ken Dalka) writes:
>I have a salt water tank and I would like to get some filter-feeding
>type invertebrates like anemones or scallops or both. I'm told that
>what you do is add some liquid type food for them to sift out of
>the water while turning the filter off for a couple of hours.

I would be very careful about turning off a filter when you have invert-
ibrates in the tank.  They are very sensitive to hydrogen sulfide, which
is a product of anaerobic processes.  Before I knew this, I killed an
anemone by running a (noisy) filter only when I was not home.  Of course,
I compounded the problem by closing the valve to the filter, which really
cranked up the anaerobics.  I think you will find if you put the liquid
food (like sea urchin eggs) in the water with the plastic part of a syringe
near the anemone that it will get plenty.

>I'm told that when adding trace elements and using the polyfilter

I haven't heard about adding trace elements, but one thing you should
know is that anemonae are extremely sensitive to copper.  If you have
ever treated a tank with copper, all the gravel and coral will forever
have enough trace copper to harm anemonae.  Commercially available
test kits for copper will
not reveal this as the anemonae are much more sensitive than the test.

>media instead of carbon you should turn the filter off or remove
>the polyfilter for a day or two until the trace elements "mix up".
>It recommends this on the polyfilter package. Anyway, I have a
>canister filter so its difficult to just remove the polyfilter
>so I assume I should just turn it off but won't the anerobic
>bacteria die if I turn it off for too long like 2 days?

Don't you mean the aerobic bacteria?  I would say that if you turn off
a filter for 2 days you should disconnect it from the tank and clean it
before reconnection.  In that time you could easily get enough H2S that
you could smell it.  This is very bad for invertibrates.