Bought used filter with bacteria in it

[jinchi]

Hi everyone, I bought a used filter for a tank that I have not setup yet. There is a bacteria colony in it now with water.

My question is this: how long can the bacteria live outside of having a constant source of ammonia, to feed on?

Thank you all,

J

[mfdrookie516]

If you put it on a running tank, if its cycled, it will be fine, if not you will need to keep feeding it ammonia... If the media is not wet, it wont be live anymore...

[Zagz]

If it has been out of the tank with no ammonia source for more than a day, it will not be live anymore.

[An t-iasg]

Bacteria, like all living things, needs a food source to live. I wouldn't count on the bacteria living more than a day or two without a food source. If you're still waiting to set up the tank, the best thing to do is remove the media from the filter and put it in some dechlorinated water. Add flake fish food or a drop or two of ammonia every day to feed the bacteria. The fish food will decay, producing ammonia (for this reason you don't want to overfeed a tank!) Or you can buy pure ammonia, without any cleansers, to feed the bacteria and keep it alive until you're ready to set up the tank and the fish supply the ammonia.

[jinchi]

Everyone, I think I killed my bacteria, and now i gotta start it back up. I will try with flaked fish food to get it started again.

Thanks for all the responses

J

[An t-iasg]

That's a good idea - go ahead and give the flake food a try. The last remaining bacteria may bounce back quickly. Test the parameters (ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate) of the water that the filter media is in, or the tank water if you have set up the tank. When the ammonia and nitrite are 0 ppm, and the nitrate is between 10 and 20 ppm, the bacteria is ready to handle the fish wastes. You could see a spike in some of the parameters as the bacteria adjusts to the fish bioload. Do water changes as necessary to keep the ammonia and nitrite as close to 0 as possible as the bacteria finishes cycling.

[JPKeenan]

I was wondering that myself when I was setting up my daughter's tank.... if it completely cycled and I skipped a day or two feeding it a drop of ammonia how long could the bacteria live?

I did have some snail hitchhikers from decor and once in a while would give it fish food.

Wondering if I could get a multi-million dollar grant to do research on cycling a tank?

[mgamer20o0]

there already been lots of research out there. dr tim the guy who came up with bio spira

[JPKeenan]

Originally Posted by mgamer20o0

there already been lots of research out there. dr tim the guy who came up with bio spira

Bummer there goes my shot at big money.... there is always trying to get money to study cow farts *lol*.

[jinchi]

Update everyone, thanks for replying even after I though I killed the bacteria.

since my first post, everything is up and running except a heater. the filter i bought used with bacteria in it has been going. it is an ac110, I also put a used mag350 on it. I have been putting flake fish food in the tank everyday but do not get any ammonia or nitrites. today I tested for Nitrates and they are at 30ppm testing with an API liquid test kit. the tank is a 55 with a pc of driftwood in it with some flourite I bought used from another guy that was still a tad wet when I put it in the tank.

can someone tell me what all this means? By chance are there bacteria in the media that may have lived that are eating the decaying flake fish food? (as evidenced by the 30 ppm Nitrates?)

Arrgghh, I never did a fishless cycle, so a little nervous/anxious.

thanks

[spoonman]

If you have 0 ammonia and Nitrites and 30ppm Nitrates I would say you are cycled.

[jinchi]

Originally Posted by spoonman

If you have 0 ammonia and Nitrites and 30ppm Nitrates I would say you are cycled.

hey Spoonman, thanks for the reply.

I edited the post to say that the Nitrates are actually at 15 ppm. (I looked again)

[spoonman]

Still think you are cycled. In order to have Nitrates, the cycle is happening. Ammonia is being converted to nitrite and nitrite is converted to nitrate.

[jinchi]

Ok, thanks. Ill continue with feeding and testing and be back here with more questions (maybe)

[An t-iasg]

I would say the tank is cycled too. Some bacteria may have lived in the filter media and/or the flourite that you got still wet could have had enough bacteria in it too.