HOLY CRAP

[severum mama]

I changed the water in 3 of my tanks last night, and the last one was my 20 gallon planted tank. Well, I didn't think to fill up the filters with water (even though I always do). I use an Aquaclear 150 and a Penguin mini and this morning my BF noticed that they were both running dry!!! 8O Now I know this is really bad for the filters and they will probably have a shortened lifespan because of it, but of course I am more worried about the fish in there. I didn't have any immediate casualties, thankfully, but because my BF was the one that filled them back up, I did not see whether the media had dried out or not. I do know that they were running dry for less than 12 hours, probably about 10 hours. Should I expect the tank to cycle again? I've got fish in there that I really really don't want to subject to that whole process. Has anyone else ever done this and if so, what happened? TIA

 

[savga]

Even if you killed all the bacteria in your filters, you should still have plenty in your tank which will quickly repopulate the filters. It is possible you could have a "mini" cycle. Just check the ammonia over the next few days and change the water as needed. I doubt you will see any spikes.

 

[Jchillin]

Actually, I'm surprised that it lasted so long. I did this once and the sound alone brought me running. I'd say it was for about 20 mins (the game was on...geez). Since I have the 70 model and it does make an irritating noise I wonder if yours made a similiar one. It's only "whisper quiet" when running properly.

I agree that you should have plenty of nitrifying bacteria in the tank to replenish the filter media.

 

[BASSNMAN]

When I turn off a hob, only about half of the water drains out, so half of the filter stays wet and the motor is cooled. I agree with the others, maybe a mini cycle , but probably not.

 

[severum mama]

Surprisingly, the filters didn't make much noise at all until this morning, and the Penguin was much louder than the AC. My house is really small, only 5 rooms (rental property here is so expensive), and I can hear all the filters all the time in the living room. I have 6 filters running on 4 tanks so they are kinda loud normally anyway.

I hope my fish are ok, they look all right so far.