How long can bb survive
- Thread starter Scorponok
- Start date
Bacteria start dying off in 20 minutes (sometimes less with poor water quality), the the filter will go anerobic and when turned back on may most likely poison and kill the fish.
Never just restart a filter that has been off for very long without cleaning it out first. Minimum clean the filter/bio-material in used tank water.
Dr Joe
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Never just restart a filter that has been off for very long without cleaning it out first. Minimum clean the filter/bio-material in used tank water.
Dr Joe
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Dr Joe;1389328; said:
Everytime I do a WC it takes over an hour draining and filling, and the canister is off for more than 20 min of course. Does that mean some if not all the bb has died and I am starting over every weekend after a WC?
I also planning to turn off the aquaclear 70 filled with ceramic rings at night due to noise issue and turn back on in the morning. I guess that will kill off the bb in it too then.
Scorponok;1389706; said:
My guess is that the Doctor is saying that the bb 'begin to die' after 20 minutes. He probably means that the oxygen in the cannister will be sufficiently depleted that the bb metabolism will begin to slow down and that they will start encapsulating as their own toxins become concentrated enough that they can no longer live in their normal state. They will start sexual reproduction and produce 'spores' that will remain dormant until more favourable conditions return.
Actual death will take considerably longer unless your water quality is beyond the pail, in which case you won't have any fish alive in your tank anyway.
Turning off your AC at night will not kill the bugs, merely slow them down as they consume all the available nitrogen products they use in your filter. They will wake up within an hour or two of restart.
I would advise restarting a cannister that has been powered off for more than a day or two into a five gallon pail of tank water and running it until the stench of anaerobic activity is gone, prior to running it in your tank. It wouldnt hurt to take advantage of the opportunity once it restarts aerobic activity to give it a cleaning if you havent done one for a few months....
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