Will Beneficial Bacteria Stay Alive If Kept Wet?

Will beneficial bacteria live on an old media source from an established tank as long as its still wet ? or does the bacteria die after not using the filter for a while?
A friend has an old Filter with the media still wet/damp , but its been out of the tank for around a week, is it safe to say there is no more BBalive ?
Thanks in advance !

 

It’s probably not good any longer if it’s been out of the tank’s filter. The media needs to have ammonia to feed on to keep its cycle.

 

It’s probably not good any longer if it’s been out of the tank’s filter. The media needs to have ammonia to feed on to keep its cycle.

Thanks!! I suspected it wouldn't be good anymore, but thought maybe if it was still damp some of the bacteria would live.

 

BB can live up to a week or more if it's still wet.

 

Thanks!! I suspected it wouldn't be good anymore, but thought maybe if it was still damp some of the bacteria would live.

It could, but I’d get it into a filter ASAP. Are you doing a fishless cycle?

 

It could, but I’d get it into a filter ASAP. Are you doing a fishless cycle?

Nope, I certainly wish I was though. Looks like I made the common mistake of listening to employees at a LFS lol, funny thing was that it wasn't a chain store like petco.

Going to get in in ASAP ,... well right after I test my water and do a possible water change depending on ammonia levels ... Thanks everyone ! I love this forum already

 

We exchange fish, plants,snails and other things thru the mail.

I often thought about mailing cycled media through the mail. It should work. Never tried it however.

 

Here’s someone that will give you a lot of information on this topic Minnowette

 

Okay, tested water before putting in older filter media, and ammonia is higher than 0, which I knew it would be. between .5 and 1, and nitrites around .25 and .5 so I did around a 4-5 gallon water change ... the tank is 24 gallons .
I put the filter media in with my current media
I will keep on checking water every 24 hours

 

How many fish in the tank and what kind and welcome to fishlore.

 

Nitrifying microorganisms (i.e. our "beneficial bacteria") can survive for weeks/months without a source of ammonia or nitrite. This is well documented in the scientific literature, e.g. Bollmann et al. (2002), Bollmann et al. (2005), Ma et al. (2015), among many others.

An excerpt from Geets et al. (2006):

"It is clear that AOB [-oxidising bacteria] possess several biological traits that can be advantageous for their survival under conditions of variable and oxygen supply. Moreover, AOB possess a number of enzymological and molecular mechanisms that allow them to maintain the state of their cells under starvation such that ammonia oxidation can start within minutes and at high rates after or or oxygen depletion."

A more comprehensive answer (with excerpts from the literature) can be found in this post.

 

How many fish in the tank and what kind and welcome to fishlore.

unfortunately , 7 tiger barbs.

Nitrifying microorganisms (i.e. our "beneficial bacteria") can survive for weeks/months without a source of ammonia or nitrite. This is well documented in the scientific literature, e.g. Bollmann et al. (2002), Bollmann et al. (2005), Ma et al. (2015), among many others.

An excerpt from Geets et al. (2006):

"It is clear that AOB [-oxidising bacteria] possess several biological traits that can be advantageous for their survival under conditions of variable and oxygen supply. Moreover, AOB possess a number of enzymological and molecular mechanisms that allow them to maintain the state of their cells under starvation such that ammonia oxidation can start within minutes and at high rates after or or oxygen depletion."

A more comprehensive answer (with excerpts from the literature) can be found in this post.

[/QUOTE]

Thank you for providing some relief to my stress, hopefully this older filter can help speed the cycling process !
Just want these fish to pull through, no obvious signs of stress but I assume damage from ammonia and nitrites is not going to be immediately visible

 

Sounds like your cycle is getting there. Hopefully this media works. If it does I will no longer be hesitant to send cycled media thru the mail,

 

Sounds like your cycle is getting there. Hopefully this media works. If it does I will no longer be hesitant to send cycled media thru the mail,

I will be sure to keep you updated sir, I will test the water tomorrow at this time and post the results...and every 24 hours after that . Thanks for taking your time to respond !

 

No worries after a week as long as its being kept wet. Beneficial bacteria can actually live for months without being fed.

 

Sounds like your cycle is getting there. Hopefully this media works. If it does I will no longer be hesitant to send cycled media thru the mail,

Ammonia is between .25 and .5 , Nitrites 0, and nitrate is probably 0
I'm Using the API chemical test and its hard to tell what the nitrates are but going to assume its 0, I already did a water change earlier today and ill do another tomorrow afternoon and test again

 

Ammonia is between .25 and .5 , Nitrites 0, and nitrate is probably 0
I'm Using the API chemical test and its hard to tell what the nitrates are but going to assume its 0, I already did a water change earlier today and ill do another tomorrow afternoon and test again

Ok prime will lock up that little bit of ammonia. I wouldn't do a water change until ammonia + nitrite =2PPM. that way bacteria has a chance to feed and grow.
Remember prime can lock up up to 2ppm for 24 hours making it save for your fish.