Keeping BB alive

[Karatepig]

Hey everyone. I just finished soaking a 20"-22" piece of driftwood, and I plan on putting it in my 20g, but I'll be pulling most every other decoration out to make it fit (twenty tall), but I don't want to kill all the BB, seeing as I'll be using it to seed a new 55g. Could I just put the rocks/sponge in a bucket and drop in some flakes every now and then to keep the BB alive? Thanks in advance.

 

[Greta1981]

You can definitely keep your BB alive that way, but I'm more concerned about how taking out every decoration may crash your current nitrogen cycle. Any chance you can hold off on adding the driftwood and do a more gradual removal of tank décor, so the cycle has a chance to catch up as each piece is removed? I'm not a cycling expert at all, but that's the first thing that came to mind when I read your post.

 

[Old Scales]

90% of your BB is in your filter. Removing your hardscape won't affect your nitrification very much. OS.

 

[gilpi]

I'm not sure what BB resides in any decorations.

 

[Khuligirl93]

Yes you don't need to worry. Most of the bacteria is in the filter so some dead on the decor won't hurt anything.
If you want to be extra safe though you could just siphon some water out into a bucket and place the old decor in there while you add the wood. You don't need to add any food source unless you think putting the wood in is going to take days.

 

[gilpi]

When the term "cycling a tank" is used, it's not the actual tank that gets cycled, it's the filter.
The BB thrives in the filter media and the water going through it provides the oxygen to keep it alive.

 

[trickshot3102]

If you do put the decor in a bucket, make sure to add aeration!!! The BB will quickly eat up the oxygen in a stagnant pool of water. Adding flakes is a great idea. Just make sure it is aerated and it will be fine

 

[Khuligirl93]

Honestly the bacteria will be fine in a bucket of tank water for a few minutes.. No need to aerate or feed.
Even if it did die, like previously stated almost all the bacteria is in the filter so it wouldn't have much of an effect at all.

 

[trickshot3102]

Honestly the bacteria will be fine in a bucket of tank water for a few minutes.. No need to aerate or feed.
Even if it did die, like previously stated almost all the bacteria is in the filter so it wouldn't have much of an effect at all.

My bad! I thought it would be for an extended length time! Sorry

 

[Karatepig]

It's just for a few days... I was mainly concerned about a sponge filter that I had in there; it was going to be the main piece to seed the 55g. Thanks for the replies.