How long does bacteria live?

[Swimmer32]

I have at times have had power outages, probably have several yearly for a few hours at a time. The longest was just on 12 hours.

I know the consequences of not having circulating water and a running filter can have on the bacteria population in the tank, which is why I'm looking into a ups just to run the filter in such instances.

My question is, how long does the bacteria live in the filter without running water and oxygenation before they start to die off?

 

[rich311k]

You would have a couple of days, before you would have any problems, just don't let the media dry out.

 

[Swimmer32]

Oh that's not too bad then. I may not even bother then.

I was under the impression it only took a few hours before the bacteria turned nasty.

 

[hc8719]

your safe...twelve hours is a long time for a power outtage, but youe tank is safe, i wouldnt worry

i mean if you left a glass of water out for a couple 12 hours (mind you its not fish water though) would you really regret drinking it later, sure its old but you dont see bacteria colonies growing for days

my adf hated my old airator so i use to take it out for days at a time, it did take awhile (a week or even more) for his water to get stagnant

 

[TomK2]

Despite the weeks it takes to establish a nitrifying bacteria colony of adequate size, and all the aggravation and angst that goes with the wait, the bacteria are not all that fragile. Certainly less fragile than your fish. Your fish can suffer from decreasing oxygen, temp changes and such from a prolonged power outage more easily than your bacteria. For those troubled with frequent power outages, a battery operated air pump can keep the water turning over to improve oxygen exchange.

 

[Blazeherd2306]

Tom is right. During hurricane Francis, we lost power for 36 hours. My friend didn't have a battery operated air pump, and a couple of his fish died.

Each one of my tanks had one and I didn't have any deaths.

You can find them cheap at Walmart ($5 here) in the fishing section, because fisherman use them to keep their bait alive while fishing.

HTH