who turns off return when feeding?

authentic

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I have never turned off my return because it seems that it would mess with my skimmer and ATO
I can set everything on the apex,just wondering what others do?
 
I turn mine off because I don't want the food going down into the sump before it is eaten. Turning mine off doesn't mess with my ato because it actually fills my sump a little so the ato doesn't do anything. Also my sump only fills an inch or two so my skimmer just skims really wet when I turn the return off for 10 minutes.
 
I run DC pumps so shutting everything off for tens minutes is easy. Its nice to watch the tank with no flow while the food is floating around and everyone gets a chance to eat. When the pumps come back on they kick up any food that was missed and settle to the bottom.
 
I have an old school ReefKeeper 2 and have my return pump and all powerheads tied into one outlet. That outlet is "programed" to turn off with the pushing of one button. I can turn it back on when done feeding.....but it's also programmed to come back on after 15 minutes, if I forget.

Long winded, but yes, I turn off my return pump and powerheads when I feed.
 
I have never turned off my return because it seems that it would mess with my skimmer and ATO
I can set everything on the apex,just wondering what others do?

I only have bacteria, pods and rock flower anemones so I have to shut off the return pump in order to feed the anemones. Sometimes I turn the skimmer off and sometimes I don't but it doesn't effect the skimmer. Once the skimmer is broken in/formed a biofilm, it will work normally even after you shut it off for small periods of time.
 
I don't turn off my return pump because it's in the basement and a pain. I have a SeaSwirl hooked to it which spreads the food around for quite a while and keeps it from going over the overflow for long enough. I do have a Gyre that I put on feed mode anytime I dose additives or feed the fish, it has a feed mode and is easy enough.
 
:)
I turn off all the power heads too. Basically anything that creates flow is turned off. The only tank I dont do that to is the small rock nem one because their tentacles are so sticky and they eat so fast that theres no food that goes to waste.
 
My return pump, wavemakers and skimmer turn off when I feed. After a few minutes one powerheads turns on, a few minutes later the other. A few minitems after that the return pump starts. 30 minutes later the skimmer starts.
*Skimmer always sits in a constant water level regardless of return running or not
 
I don't turn anything off while I feed...they have to work for it! I figured, in the wild, the waves don't stop and they still eat! I consider it part of their daily work out program.
 
I don't turn anything off while I feed...they have to work for it! I figured, in the wild, the waves don't stop and they still eat! I consider it part of their daily work out program.
lol then I guess I baby my corals ;)
 
I turn the return off and set vortechs to feed mode.

After 10 mins the reef keeper powers the return back up. At 11 mins the skimmer kicks back on.
 
I don't turn off anything. I have a bad habit of overfeeding. I think the fish knows that the chase is on and the food won't be around long so they don't mess around at feeding time.
 
I turn everything off except for the light for 15 minutes. It's all run off my apex. I turn off the return, MP10's, heaters and my ATO ( my ATO and heater and skimmer stays off ten minutes longer after the return comes back on
 
i leave my return running but vortechs get slowed and skimmer gets turned off from apex...when I feed oyster feast or any target feeding of corals and what not everything gets turned off... still water!! love multiple feed modes in apex
 

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