Swampman
Aquarium Advice Freak
Is the bio in the filter still living after a week of having it off while waiting for a part? It is a canister and have tank water in the body keeping material wet. Thanks
Filter
- Thread starter Swampman
- Start date
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Work in 3s.
If the media is allowed to dry out, 3 hours.
If the media is kept wet, but not oxygenated, 3 days.
If the media is kept wet and oxygenated, 3 weeks.
So if your filter media was kept in a closed canister filter with no flow of oxygenated water then a significant amount will have died off after a week.
If the media was kept in the canister, with water flowing, you will mostly be good after a week. If you removed the media into an open bucket of water and kept the water oxygenated with a airstone, also mostly good. Even just removing the canister lid and allowing gas exchange between the atmosphere and the water volume in the filter is better than just leaving the canister sealed up. O2 levels will drop off pretty quickly in a sealed container with no gas exchange.
The only way to know is to get the canister running, expose the media to ammonia (either dosed ammonia or fish waste) and see what happens with your testing.
If the media is allowed to dry out, 3 hours.
If the media is kept wet, but not oxygenated, 3 days.
If the media is kept wet and oxygenated, 3 weeks.
So if your filter media was kept in a closed canister filter with no flow of oxygenated water then a significant amount will have died off after a week.
If the media was kept in the canister, with water flowing, you will mostly be good after a week. If you removed the media into an open bucket of water and kept the water oxygenated with a airstone, also mostly good. Even just removing the canister lid and allowing gas exchange between the atmosphere and the water volume in the filter is better than just leaving the canister sealed up. O2 levels will drop off pretty quickly in a sealed container with no gas exchange.
The only way to know is to get the canister running, expose the media to ammonia (either dosed ammonia or fish waste) and see what happens with your testing.
Swampman
Aquarium Advice Freak
Very interesting. I'm glad you told me. It's been a week already.
Andy Sager
Aquarium Advice Addict
There is always the possibility that some of the microbes are alive so I would definitely consider tossing the filter material into a bucket with an airstone then 24 hours alter, test it with some ammonia ( either Dr Tims or any ammonia from the grocery that has no additives or fragrances. ) There is some info stating that the microbes can go into a state of dormancy for an extended period of time so it's always worth a try. The important part however is the oxygen.
