Bioload decrease effects?

[squirrilah fish]

My 10g QT tank no longer has any residents, but I plan to keep it running for emergency’s and eventually fry.

I haven’t done any water changes since I last had fish in there, and there’s a pretty heavy amount of Ammonia and Nitrites, (still cycling from setup)

My question is, once the cycle is finished establishing, will the BB stay around without any waste to fead on? I probably need to drop some food in there periodically to keep the cycle going, no?

 

[Andy Sager]

My 10g QT tank no longer has any residents, but I plan to keep it running for emergency’s and eventually fry.

I haven’t done any water changes since I last had fish in there, and there’s a pretty heavy amount of Ammonia and Nitrites, (still cycling from setup)

My question is, once the cycle is finished establishing, will the BB stay around without any waste to fead on? I probably need to drop some food in there periodically to keep the cycle going, no?

Yes, you will need to feed the bacteria bed or it will die off. Another option is to keep something live in the tank that is easy to remove when you need to use the tank. Keep in mind that the bacteria bed grows and shrinks based on the bioload. That means that if you have say, 1 little fish in the tank to keep the bed alive and you exchange that 1 little fish for say, 10 little fish, the bb will need to do some adjusting and the ammonia level can rise while that adjustment is being made. The time frame for the adjustment will usually be much faster than the original cycling process but you should keep an eye on the ammonia level when you add fish.
Hope this helps

 

[fishwonder]

Actually your bacteria will last for weeks or months as long as it stays wet and oxygenated.

Here are some interesting facts about filter bacteria…

Beneficial bacteria grow to the size of your filter media, not when they reach a certain food loading.

https://acrylictankmanufacturing.com/shocking-truth-nitrifying-bacteria-colony/ "Autotrophs can survive approximately eight months in this state, feeding off of their own nutritional reserves.”

http://www.tfhmagazine.com/aquarium-basics/columns/nitrifying-bacteria.htm

https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/fishkeeping-news/think-you-know-filter-bacteria-dream-on/

 

[Andy Sager]

Actually your bacteria will last for weeks or months as long as it stays wet and oxygenated.

Here are some interesting facts about filter bacteria…

Beneficial bacteria grow to the size of your filter media, not when they reach a certain food loading.

https://acrylictankmanufacturing.com/shocking-truth-nitrifying-bacteria-colony/ "Autotrophs can survive approximately eight months in this state, feeding off of their own nutritional reserves.”

http://www.tfhmagazine.com/aquarium-basics/columns/nitrifying-bacteria.htm

https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/fishkeeping-news/think-you-know-filter-bacteria-dream-on/

Maybe I missed it but I did not read in either of these articles that the bacteria was self sufficient and would not need some form of feed to survive over time. No, it will not need it immediately but time after time I have experienced " recycling" in established tanks that are overpopulated ( that's not to say too many fish but too many fish too fast) too rapidly after long spans of sparse life in them.

The arguments over what exact bacteria it is that is doing the work has been a fun one to watch over the years. ( I've been at this for over 50 years so I've lived through a lot of the old stories. lol) Does it really matter which bacteria is converting the ammonia/ammonium? Isn't it more important that there just is something in there doing it?
The movement to Beneficial Bacteria only being found in filtering material has also been a hoot. The truth however, is out there somewhere
These are some good articles but not really backing up your theory imo.

 

[Andy Sager]

Actually your bacteria will last for weeks or months as long as it stays wet and oxygenated.

Here are some interesting facts about filter bacteria…

Beneficial bacteria grow to the size of your filter media, not when they reach a certain food loading.

https://acrylictankmanufacturing.com/shocking-truth-nitrifying-bacteria-colony/ "Autotrophs can survive approximately eight months in this state, feeding off of their own nutritional reserves.”

http://www.tfhmagazine.com/aquarium-basics/columns/nitrifying-bacteria.htm

https://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/fishkeeping-news/think-you-know-filter-bacteria-dream-on/

I must add that I missed the article by acrylic tank manufacturing so I see where you are getting your 8 month time frame. However, they are talking about keeping their bacteria alive in a "dead" non oxidizing bottle for that period of time vs in an oxidized aquarium. In the bottle, the bacteria is in a state of hibernation. In the aquarium, there will be oxygenation so the bacteria bed will be active and adapting.
So we are talking about 2 different scenarios: in an inactive state vs an active state.