Will the bacteria be dead?

[Ang]

One of my Fluvals was due for a rinse out last night after a water change. But of course, the cover to the impeller shaft was old and one of the snaps broke. (stupid plastic parts)

Anyways.

I couldnt run my filter since last night at 6 pm. I have to wait until 10 am to get the replacement at the LFS.
(i have 2 other canisters filtering the tank, so they have filtration)


My question is :

Will all the bacteria in that filter be dead by the time i get the replacement part?
It will have been like 16 hours.

If the bacteria IS dead, what should i do?

-Should I put in new media?

-Should I just keep the old media in there and rinse it really good in tap water first to get out any extra dead bacteria?

OR, Will there still be plenty of live bacteria left? And I should just replace the cover, and turn it on like normal?

 

[dookie]

a majority of the bacteria will die, if it's your only source of biological then just run it as soon as you can. If it's not then clean it out before running.

 

[SemperFish]

What have you done with the filter media in the meanwhile? I think that is the key. Im leaning towards dead bacteria at this point and cleaning or replacing your filter media.

 

[ar0wan]

My question is :

Will all the bacteria in that filter be dead by the time i get the replacement part? It will have been like 16 hours.
NO

-Should I put in new media?
NO, if kept wet, it's fine for days.

-Should I just keep the old media in there
YES.

and rinse it really good in tap water first to get out any extra dead bacteria?
NO, Do Not rinse in tap water.

OR, Will there still be plenty of live bacteria left? And I should just replace the cover, and turn it on like normal?
Dump the water and fill with tank water.


GL
HTH

 

[Ang]

ok. Yeah, i have 2 other canisters on it that are running.

it happened last night and i was tired and irritated and just left the thing hooked up under the tank. So its just been sitting there full of still water. I suppose i could have put the media in a tub of tank water and put in a powerhead, but I wasnt feeling that intelligent.

I'll guess I'll pick up some more media while i'm there. ::sigh::

 

[Ang]

My question is :

Will all the bacteria in that filter be dead by the time i get the replacement part? It will have been like 16 hours.
NO

-Should I put in new media?
NO, if kept wet, it's fine for days.

-Should I just keep the old media in there
YES.

and rinse it really good in tap water first to get out any extra dead bacteria?
NO, Do Not rinse in tap water.

OR, Will there still be plenty of live bacteria left? And I should just replace the cover, and turn it on like normal?
Dump the water and fill with tank water.


GL
HTH

Ok,. so you're saying the opposite. Ugh. Now i've got conflicting answers.

I thought the bacteria needed consistent water and oxygen flow to stay alive.

 

[ar0wan]

A tank water rinse should take care of any die off problems
the media is still cultured for sure, and will rebound 10x faster
than re-establishing new media amirite.

 

[knifegill]

Well, you've only lost 1/3 of your filtration since you've got two other filters. You should be alright to clean with tap and start over with that one, but if it doesn't smell dead, you're probably fine just starting it back up. Believe me, a container full of dead nitrifyers smells nothing like the nice, earthen living culture. I'd follow my nose on this one, since there are so many factors like surface area, temp, etc. that could have either sustained or killed your culture.

 

[Ang]

alrighty then.

Thanks

Thats a relief. I'll get the cover and just rinse off the media in tank water. Then i'll give it one last snif to make sure and i'll start it up.

Thanks again.

 

[vr6fan]

why would the bb die if the media was covered with water the whole time? doesnt make sense...does bb need water flowing through/over it to remain alive?..if thats true then everytime I service my canisters the bb dies since its just sitting in water????