How long can an aquairum go without a filter?

I have a Marineland canister filter that started leaking yesterday. It caused our basement to flood and ruined our wood floor Thankfully, we have a 2 year warranty so we ordered replacement parts. The only problem is that they come in 2 weeks...

How long could my aquarium last without a proper filter?

The 75-Gallon tank has been running for 2+ years and is heavily planted. I have a 30/45-gallon sponge filter right now but I don't think it has any beneficial bacteria left (maybe I could use some from the canister filter water). So would the sponge filter be able to handle the filtration for a few weeks until I get the replacement parts?

 

Has the sponge filter been running in the tank for a while? If it has, it should contain a lot of beneficial bacteria. If you just added it when your canister filter failed, then it might not contain much. Your situation is an ideal example of the reason I always recommend having two filters in a tank. If one filter needs cleaning or fails, the second one will keep things under control.

Since you tank has been established for a while, beneficial bacteria should also be growing on the tank glass, substrate, plant leaves, etc. As long as your tank is not overstocked, you should be fine.

Minimize feeding of your fish until you get your new filter parts. Also check the ammonia and nitrite levels every couple of days. If you see the concentrations start to rise, do a water change. If necessary you could also add Seachem Prime to detoxify ammonia until the beneficial bacteria have a chance to multiply.

Also, if you have filter media in the canister filter, remove them and place them in a bucket of aquarium water. If you leave them in the canister for two weeks without water flow, anaerobic bacteria will flourish and aerobic bacteria will die. Keeping the media in an open container will help prevent that from happening. If you have an airstone you could put in the bucket, so much the better.

By the way, I suggest keeping some sort of shallow pan under your canister filter to avoid water damage due to leaks. Maybe others can open and clean a canister filter without spills, but I have never managed to do so. I keep mine in a cat litter pan about 6" deep. It won't hold enough to contain a major leak, but it will catch minor leaks.

 

Has the sponge filter been running in the tank for a while? If it has, it should contain a lot of beneficial bacteria. If you just added it when your canister filter failed, then it might not contain much. Your situation is an ideal example of the reason I always recommend having two filters in a tank. If one filter needs cleaning or fails, the second one will keep things under control.

Since you tank has been established for a while, beneficial bacteria should also be growing on the tank glass, substrate, plant leaves, etc. As long as your tank is not overstocked, you should be fine.

Minimize feeding of your fish until you get your new filter parts. Also check the ammonia and nitrite levels every couple of days. If you see the concentrations start to rise, do a water change. If necessary you could also add Seachem Prime to detoxify ammonia until the beneficial bacteria have a chance to multiply.

Also, if you have filter media in the canister filter, remove them and place them in a bucket of aquarium water. If you leave them in the canister for two weeks without water flow, anaerobic bacteria will flourish and aerobic bacteria will die. Keeping the media in an open container will help prevent that from happening. If you have an airstone you could put in the bucket, so much the better.

By the way, I suggest keeping some sort of shallow pan under your canister filter to avoid water damage due to leaks. Maybe others can open and clean a canister filter without spills, but I have never managed to do so. I keep mine in a cat litter pan about 6" deep. It won't hold enough to contain a major leak, but it will catch minor leaks.

The sponge filter was an established filter but I took it out of my 36 gallon because of an hair algae problem. It was lying around for a couple days and then my dad cleaned it so I don’t think it would have any bacteria left.
Thanks for the tips on the canister filter! I’ll keep the media inside it in open air as you said. I’ll keep feeding small amounts and I’ll try to dip the sponge filter into the canister filter water and use that until the new parts come.

 

Filter leakage is my nightmare. I would handle the tank like a fish in cycle at this point. Check parameters and do more water changes.
I most likely would add an airstone to the tank to keep oxygenation going. Hope you get your parts soon.

 

Here’s my current set up:

 

Also, if you have filter media in the canister filter, remove them and place them in a bucket of aquarium water. If you leave them in the canister for two weeks without water flow, anaerobic bacteria will flourish and aerobic bacteria will die. Keeping the media in an open container will help prevent that from happening. If you have an airstone you could put in the bucket, so much the better.

By the way, I suggest keeping some sort of shallow pan under your canister filter to avoid water damage due to leaks. Maybe others can open and clean a canister filter without spills, but I have never managed to do so. I keep mine in a cat litter pan about 6" deep. It won't hold enough to contain a major leak, but it will catch minor leaks.

If you don't mind me asking, why did you advise putting the filter media in a separate bucket instead of in the tank beside the sponge filter?

 

If you don't mind me asking, why did you advise putting the filter media in a separate bucket instead of in the tank beside the sponge filter?

That is just a good, maybe better.

What I was trying to avoid was keeping the media in an enclosed canister filter where the bacteria cannot get oxygen..