What happens when you turn off filter for 4 hours?

[chachaman50]

My 55 gallon was cycling and was done cycling but I was still dosing ammonia because I had no fish yet.
I had to go for some time from the morning to night so I asked my dad to turn off the lights in my 30 gallon, but somehow he interpreted that as turn off the filters in my 55 gallon... did all the bacteria die?

 

[poppalina]

Chances are no restart filters and check parameters tomorrow, if fish are in the tank I would empty the water in the filters do not clean and then restart the filters and add some prime

 

[Tayler]

you should be fine

 

[skjl47]

Hello; Beneficial bacteria (bb) do not require operating filters to live and colonize. Some of my first tanks decades ago had no filters at all.
The bb will feed on the ammonia and live in other parts of the tank.
It is likely that a filter being off for a few hours did not adversely affect the cycle and as there were no fish you have no other issues.
While there is a good argument for filter media to house a lot of bb in an established tank, it has always seemed to me that they will colonize strongly on the other surfaces of a tank. Perhaps the only part of a tank with low numbers will be the water itself.

 

[projectile]

+1 actually very turbulent flow rate would encourage the bacteria to go else where.
I have been looking for the exact relationship between media volume vs water movement volume. Haven't found a satisfactory explanation yet!.

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[pyro40t]

When you find out the answer please let us all know

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[Stateofficer1984]

Nothing will happen, the Bactria can live as long as it has a food supply and oxygen, and four hours is not enough time for it to use up either!!! Thats why they say when your power goes out put your filter media into your tank with battery powered airstones, that way the fish produce the ammonia and the airstones produce oxygen!!!

 

[F1 VET]

Just did it switching tanks, as long as it doesn't dry out, for example I left my fx5 full of water for about 3-4 hours before restarting. 16 hours later ammonia 0 nitrite 0 no3 10-15ppm




Go S. Vettel #1 rb8

 

[fish042099]

the fish will be deprived of oxygen, even just for overnight. add in a bubbler if you turn off the filter

 

[jcardona1]

Hello; Beneficial bacteria (bb) do not require operating filters to live and colonize. Some of my first tanks decades ago had no filters at all.
The bb will feed on the ammonia and live in other parts of the tank.
It is likely that a filter being off for a few hours did not adversely affect the cycle and as there were no fish you have no other issues.
While there is a good argument for filter media to house a lot of bb in an established tank, it has always seemed to me that they will colonize strongly on the other surfaces of a tank. Perhaps the only part of a tank with low numbers will be the water itself.

No, but they don't need oxygen. Water in a stagnant canister filter will have no oxygen. I've read that bacteria can start dying off after about 5 hrs without oxygen.

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