Closed Down Tank- Worried Filter Bacteria May Have Died

[fishnovice]

Need to set up a tank this weekend but worried my filter bateria are dead

Basically two weeks ago I emptied a tank with a built-in filter, planning to set it up again elsewhere a few days later. However since then I've had serious problems with sick fish I had to adopt and also work problems so tank is still empty. I put filter sponges in a bucket of tank water to keep bacteria alive. When I checked sponges today there was a horrible smell of sulphur.

• Does this mean the good bacteria in sponges are now dead?
• Can I just rinse the sponges in tank water and reuse them in the filter
• Have the good nitrogen processing bacteria been replaced by bad sulphur bacteria?
• If so, should I sterilise the sponges before using them again? how?

 

[SlyPolak]

If theres no waste for the bacteria to thrive on then yes, it dies. SORRY

 

[fishnovice]

So, do I need to sterilise the sponges before reusing them? How?

 

[Truck]

Did the sponges remain wet?

 

[OldMan47]

If your filters are still moist, some of the bacteria in them will have survived. Set the tank back up and get it cycling. It should take very little time if you have a decent starter colony in the filter. If you charged out and sterilized the filters, you get to start over from scratch.

 

[fishnovice]

Yes filters were kwpt under water but stank of sulphur. Gave them a good wash in tank water and replaced them in clean tank water