captmicha
Members
Does anyone know how long it takes for filter bacteria to die when you leave it in the filter water but the filter isn't running anymore?
BB dying?
- Thread starter captmicha
- Start date
dogofwar
CCA Members
A couple days...probably longer if you open the canister and let it get air. Whenever we have an extended power outage, I open the canister so it doesn't get nasty / anerobic.
HOBs and sponges are probably fine forever without power.
Remember that the bacteria / archea that do the work are everywhere in the tank...not just the filter. And they're much, much tougher than we realize.
Matt
HOBs and sponges are probably fine forever without power.
Remember that the bacteria / archea that do the work are everywhere in the tank...not just the filter. And they're much, much tougher than we realize.
Matt
mchambers
Former CCA member
I'd guess two days, but I don't think anyone really knows. I agree with Matt Q's advice. I'd also consider taking out the biomedia and putting it in a mesh bag in a tank, with some circulation through it.
JLW
CCA Members
Accctually....
Never.
Your biological filtering bacteria can go dormant under poor conditions, including anoxia, dehydration, and lack of nutrients. They'll survive indefinitely as dormant spores. Then they can restart when conditions improve. Obviously, there are some upper limits to this -- and they may get destroyed by really bad conditions, or eaten by other organisms living in those conditions -- but, they'll rapidly reseed.
Never.
Your biological filtering bacteria can go dormant under poor conditions, including anoxia, dehydration, and lack of nutrients. They'll survive indefinitely as dormant spores. Then they can restart when conditions improve. Obviously, there are some upper limits to this -- and they may get destroyed by really bad conditions, or eaten by other organisms living in those conditions -- but, they'll rapidly reseed.
