Can I add beneficial bacteria to a vessel without a filtration system?

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kachibi

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I am currently quarantining a koi fish with pop eye disease in a big fish bucket made of canvas.

The bucket does not have a filtering system at this moment. But it has two strong oxygen pumps.

Without the system, can I add beneficial bacteria to the bucket to help clean the water?

Surely, I do regular water changes and add aquarium salt, dechlorinator, etc.

Note that the bucket does not have sand or anything at the bottom.
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What I do for my quarantine / hospital tank is take a sponge filter from one of running tanks which has been cycled. I run a hob filter and a sponge filter in my main tanks. It results in a near instant cycle in the quarantine / hospital tank.
What you could do for now is to soak a sponge with BB and float it in the tank. Might help a bit but long term get a sponge filter for your main tank and use it next time.
 
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I see. My first time to hear sponge filters and hob filters. Which one is better for my case?
 
What size are your main tanks? I run two filters (one hob and one sponge filter) in each of my tanks (35 gallon and 30 gallon). By running 2 filters in each tank, if one fails the other one will prevent a crashed cycle. And I can use the sponge filter in my hospital tank in a pinch to instantly cycle it.
 
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My main tank is about 300L.

But now I am referring to the above hospital "bucket" tank.

I wonder if it needs a simple filtration system and whether a sponge filter is something I need--a simple yet effective filtration system?
 
You only have the one fish in there, so biological filtration, whilst nice, should not be considered essential.
Basic live plants, such as Elodea, would help process any ammonia in the water...and give your fish some security (and nibbles).
...And, of course, water changes. ;)

@Fishmanic 's suggestion for a sponge filter is a fair one.
I have a tank running with a filter that has ceramic 'noodles' and an external sponge, both with beneficial bacteria.
If I needed to set up a hospital tank, I'd use a sponge filter like @Fishmanic suggests, with the old sponge replacing the new.

But again...this shouldn't be necessary in your situation and I'd be aware that some of your treatments might be harmful to any bacteria in the tank.
 
OK, I bought a sponge filter and I'd use it anyway, since some of you say including it is better.

Say, if I put the sponge filter inside. Can I right away pour some beneficial bacteria liquid to the bucket (with the presence of a fish)?
 
Say, if I put the sponge filter inside. Can I right away pour some beneficial bacteria liquid to the bucket (with the presence of a fish)?
Yes...but stick to the recommended dosages. More would be a waste*, less wouldn't do the trick.

*Overdosing on BB has whatever is supplied as a food source, quickly depleted. This can then cause a hiccough in the population growth.
 
This might be one of the few times I would consider using some sort of ammonia locking product.

If you don't have any "live" filter media to whip up some biological filtration and water changes alone aren't enough to keep the ammonia down then maybe something to lock the ammonia in a less harmful state may be an option.

I would only do that as a last resort though. I would be testing the water regularly to check for ammonia first and would only do it if doing large daily water changes didn't keep it in check.

Ideally some "live" filtration medium from an active tank used in a filter and a bunch of live plants would be the best option but you have to work with what you've got.
 
@xxBarneyxx
1) By "live filter" do you mean a cycled filter, including a cycled sponge filter?

By the way, some more questions:

2) I am using a sponge filter now but it is a bit noisy. Is there any way to reduce its noise but maintain its effectiveness?

3) On the other hand, I did a 1/3 water change per 3 days for my pop eye fish. So I have to add back all those salt, dechlorinator, pop eye powder, as well as beneficial bacteria proportional to the 1/3 water? Is there any worry that those things will still add up to an amount that makes the fish stressed?

4) I see that some medication (like the one I am using, it's yellow powder for pop eye disease) states that you have to use it like every 48 hours and continuously for 3 times. How about if the disease is still present, can I use it for another 3 times? It needs a water change first right? It does not make sense if I can only use a medicine for 3 times right?

Hope someone can answer the above one by one.
 
I see some so-called HOB filters which may be quieter, but I don't think I can mount it in a tall bucket (80cm) like the above? So I resort to using a noisier filter.
 

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