# turning filter off bad thing??



## Ringo (Apr 10, 2006)

i turned my filter off for a day, while i introduced my female bettas into my tank. then i just turned the filter back on and a whole bunch of junk came out.
i posted this on another website and two said that all i have to do is rinse the filter, then two other members said i will be getting ick on my fish and possibly a few dead. my guppy just had fry about 40 minutes ago so thats all i need to keep my brain nice and calm.

watcha guys think? am i safe. i can go to the petstore later tonight if i have to.

heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp


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## goodie (Sep 2, 2005)

you may need to rinse your filter pad. I would doubt that your fish will get ick just from your filter blowing out some stuff that has been in the filter already. Ya know.


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## PerculaClown (Apr 25, 2006)

i think you have nothing to worry about. I had the same in my tank and nothing happened. When the filter is running the trapped particles stay on the filter floss because of the water flow. When you turn it off the particles get suspended and empty into the tank when you turn it back on again. 

I never heard about fish geting ick from it, so im pretty sure you are safe, partly because i had that experience before.


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## Ringo (Apr 10, 2006)

whew that a relief, but ya never know with fish tanks...


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

This has happened to me several times when the power goes out. Since it was a one time thing you should be fine. I would not make a habit out of turning off your filter though. 
During long periods of time the benefical bacteria in the filter begins to die and when you turn it back on, it actually contaminates the tank. The way around this is to do a partial water change after turning your filter back on and change the media in the filter if the filter has backpumped into the tank allowing the filter media to dry out.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I'd be more worried about ick if the heater was off overnight.


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## Ringo (Apr 10, 2006)

filter.....


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## violet (Mar 17, 2006)

I have never had trouble with an hour or two but as fish_doc says, the beneficial bacteria do begin to die without fresh water bringing in O2. Even before they die ammonia will build up without O2. Plus anaerobic decay produces hydrogen sulfide and other very bad things you do not want in your tank but there usually isn't a lot of anaerobic bacteria in a happy filter. It's worse with a canister than a HOTB which does has a little exposure to fresh air. I do rinse the media and dump the water in the filter if it's been off for a little while. Like when the power goes out and an AquaClear doesn't restart...

violet


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