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Do you turn off your return to feed?

sendo

sendo

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Hey guys,

I had my return pump (Mag 5) break on me a few months back. The impeller broke, so I went to the LFS and they told me it is bad to turn off my return while feeding b/c it is hard on the pump. Is this true? I sent the pump back to Danner, since it broke a new impeller upon installation, but do you guys turn off your returns while feeding?
 
I don't... If your return pump creates a high turnover of your display tank it can certainly cause too much of your food to be sent down your overflow. In my case my circulation is slow ...though my flow in the DT is very high due to PH's. I do set my ph's to feeding mode when I feed.... which of course slows them down signifcantly. I feed two to three times a day so I imagine if I was turning my MAG 18 off and back on 2-3 times a day it would certainly cause a problem ...wear down and break quickly. There are ways to get around that though with some clever plumbing... keep the pump on just divert the flow right back to the drain chamber in your sump.
 
Well it is true that starting up a pump puts the most stress on it. I don't turn my pump off though.

If you really want your pump off, what you can do is plumb in a tee at the pump output, with a valve on the new tee'd off part that you can open full when you want your pump off, and most likely all the water will just recirculate in the sump rather than make it to your tank.
 
You turn off your return pump when feeding your fish or coral? If you mean coral do you mean sps or lps? Also what are you feeding?
 
I usually turn off the pump only when I feed my lps. I have been frozen brine and mysis as well as arcti-pods, and really the only reason I have been turning off the pump is to feed this chalice that I have. The feeding tentacles seem to only come out after the food has sat on top of the coral for a little while.
 
I never turn off my return to feed. probably why my pumps last more then 10 years :)
 
I don't turn off my main return to feed. I do have a sequence 5800 that goes off and on 4 times a day for the past 3 years or so.

Gresh - I'm gonna try call you this afternoon!
 
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