Fish Life Without Filter?

[aleana]

my fluval 204 has stopped working. the water isn't actually pumping into the filter using the primer.

ive have tried what was suggested in the hardware forum regarding this problem and have basically come to the conclusion now that it is broken. so i'll be taking it back to get fixed.


but my big question now is how long will my fish last without the filter running? everything is closed until tomorrow - is this too long?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

could be, depends what fish you have and the sensitivity, keep testing the water conditions and do water changes to keep it going. bear in mind the filter bacteria will probably start to die off after about 12 hrs with no waste to live off, so if it's longer than that you may find the filter starts cycling again when you re-start it, obviously this can be detrimental to the fish good luck

 

[aleana]

could be, depends what fish you have and the sensitivity, keep testing the water conditions and do water changes to keep it going. bear in mind the filter bacteria will probably start to die off after about 12 hrs with no waste to live off, so if it's longer than that you may find the filter starts cycling again when you re-start it, obviously this can be detrimental to the fish good luck

tank contents = 3 clown loaches, 2 gouramis (1 silver, 1 blue), 2 silver sharks, 2 catfish, 6 lemon tetras, and 1 bristlenose catfish

i have a secondary small filter that i could run in the tank overnight if it would help, but it is only really enough for a 20-40litre tank and my tank even 1/3rd full is well and trully past that (i think is about a 250litre tank)

how often would you recommend doing water changes?

 

[diademhill]

Put the media baskets from the fluval in the tank & aim the small filter at them. This should keep most of the bacteria alive.
Daily testing & water changes accordingly until you get a canister up & running.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yes put the other filter on, some filtration is better than none, even if it's not enough for long term use.

I'm not sure how often you should change water tbh, personally I'd just keep checking the water stats as often as you can and as soon as you see something start to go dodgy, do a small water change to keep on top of things. Obviously you'd have to leave it over night, unless your prepared to get up every few hrs to check on it, so I'd make sure you do a fairly substantial change before bed. But then you also have to watch that your not changing too much of the water at once, that can be a shock to the fish. Bit hard to strike a balance

Sure someone else who knows a bit more about water chemistry can give you some more definate advice.

 

[aleana]

thanks for the help

will try what was suggested overnight and keep an eye on the water parameters until i go to bed.

fingers crossed i guess