Filter Switched Off

[Mbuna Dave]

Hi guys.

By accident last night i switched my tank off,lights,heater,filter.I meant to switch off the christmas lights and hit the wrong switch by mistake.

Everything else is unaffected when i turned it on this morning,the temperature has hardly dropped so no probs there but what about the filter,i am in the middle of doing a fishless cycle and was wondering if the filter being off for about 14 hours would have any effect on the process.?

Would the bacteria made be dead or is there nothing to worry about,i have been doing the cycle for five days now.Anyone got an answer?

Dave.

 

[Smithrc_work]

Hi guys.

By accident last night i switched my tank off,lights,heater,filter.I meant to switch off the christmas lights and hit the wrong switch by mistake.

Everything else is unaffected when i turned it on this morning,the temperature has hardly dropped so no probs there but what about the filter,i am in the middle of doing a fishless cycle and was wondering if the filter being off for about 14 hours would have any effect on the process.?

Would the bacteria made be dead or is there nothing to worry about,i have been doing the cycle for five days now.Anyone got an answer?

Dave.

the bacteria will have almost certainly taken a hit I'm affraid... All it'll do in you situation is legthen the process. At least fish arnt being stressed

 

[Mbuna Dave]

Thats too bad,Smithrc.

At least i have only lost a few days and can wait a little longer i suppose.

Thanks for the reply Smithrc.

 

[Mbuna Dave]

Another question regarding the filter being switched is that where i live we have the occasional power cut,about 5 a year and they can last up to 4 hours to get the power back on.

Would this short time affect my filter in anyway because if it does i`m buggered.

 

[Annastasia]

Yes, it can. We get frequent power cuts here too, because we're out in the country. The main thing is to keep your media wet. What I have to do is pour some water from the tank over the filter every 30 minutes or so. It will keep the bacteria going. I've been doing that for a long, long time now, and have never experienced any problems in doing so.

 

[Mbuna Dave]

Thanks Annastasia,we dont get too many power cuts but when it does happen it is a major pain.
I will follow your advice next time it happens.

Thanks again.

Dave.

 

[rdd1952]

The key thing when there is a power failure (or when you cut it off by accident) is that the media stays wet. As long as it does, you shouldn't experience much bacteria loss in 10 to 12 hours. True, you will lose some but there will be enough left that it shouldn't take more than a day (if that long) for the bacteria to catch back up. I've left mine off for about 10 hours on 2 different occasions (once on the 29 gallon and once on a 2.5 gallon) and had no mini cycle either time. One of these tanks has as HOB filter with a cartridge and the other had a hang inside filter with cartridge so the media was in water the whole time.

 

[Mbuna Dave]

That is much better news rdd1952,usually the power cuts lasts between 2 and 4 hours so that would be fine if your calculations are correct.

 

[blackguppy]

Dave, If the power cuts are that frequent, you could always consider hooking the tank up to a PC battery backup system. It'll shorten the time the filter is down.

 

[Mbuna Dave]

Thats a good idea Blackguppy,i`ll have a look into that.Thanks.

 

[hoarp001]

sorry to revive a dead topic, but id quite like to know weather pumping the priming pump on the fluval (something)04s and 05s would circulate water around the filter sufficiantly to keep the bacteria alive?

Were quite lucky round here, we hardly ever get powercuts, havnt had one for years.