Exposing An Internal Filter To Air During Water Changes

[ZoddyZod]

I've had another thought about why am I now in week 9 of a fish-in cycle without any sign of the cycle starting.

When I perform my water changes as much as 60% of the internal filter is exposed to air (as the water level drops).

Initially I thought that this would be ok for the 10-15mins it takes to perform the change but now I'm thinking that it may be having a negative effect. I thought that it would still be 'wet' so would not be an issue for due to the short timespan.

Will the bacteria die off that quickly if exposed to air?

Should I be unhooking the filter and placing at the bottom of the tank during every water change?

 

[youngfisher]

10-15 minutes is fine. i think around an hour is when you will start to get die off.

YF

 

[silky]

i agree with youngfisher, ive kept mine out for 15minutes not realising. i think as long as the filter media doesnt dry out, you will be fine

 

[waterdrop]

agree with the above

--wd--

 

[ZoddyZod]

well that's good news then.

Another worry I can cross out from my List Of Reasons This Is Taking So Long

cheers all!

 

[raptorrex]

I would say, drop it to the bottom. and/or pour the water back into the tank, over the filter. i feel everyone is right 15 min, should not be a problem. but, as you are cycling, why add the extra strain to your, already, small bio mass? it underlines the benefit of "externals", as they never go dry during water changes.

 

[OldMan47]

When I clean my canisters, which are never dry, I do not worry about exposing the media to some air. Look at it realistically. In a few minutes, even a half hour, a wet filter will not dry out. It will be exposed to more oxygen than normal but that is not a bad thing. It is the principle that the wheel type filters use to get huge bacteria growth into a small space. By opening the media to free oxygen in air while keeping the media moist, the bacteria will flourish by getting more oxygen than they are used to getting. If you leave the media to dry out, that is an entirely different situation. In that case the dry out will kill off bacteria. Try to relax Zoddy. If this was difficult, little old ladies would have trouble doing it, not turn into great fish breeders.