Keeping bacteria alive??

[HiFin Army]

Hello again everyone. Another question here. I will put forward a scenario and want to see what you all think

Question - can you keep a bacteria culture alive, if so for how long

Scenario - i put a tetra 20 cartridge filter in a half gallon pitcher and filled it with tap water. I then left this tap water outside for 2 days planning to use it to seed a new aquarium. How long can i hold this out if this is possible. did the chlorine kill everything? The water still smells like the tank.


Is this possible

 

[Aiken Drum]

Beneficial bacteria will stay alive for weeks if kept wet and oxygenated. A few days if just kept wet. A few hours if allowed to dry out.

Chlorine kills off bacteria though. So if you allowed your filter to sit in chlorinated water its likely to have killed off any bacteria.