How long can a filter be run without fish?

[kev_kb]

Hi all,

I'm going to moving some fish out of my quarantine tank in the next few days and then buying some more, but I need to know how long I can leave the filter in the tank without any fish before the bacteria will die off? The filter is fully cycled and I don't want to move it to another tank if possible.

Will it be ok for an hour or two without fish in the tank and no Ammonia being added?

 

[babyfish]

It'll be fine for an hour or two....

 

[ddm18]

If you wanted to be on the safe side, you could always supply the 'raw materials' yourself...

Maybe not...

 

[CFC]

Bacteria in the filter will begin to die off as soon as the ammonia source (fish) is removed, for a while they will feed of each other, as bacteria die off they become a ammonia source for the remaining bacteria until eventually there is not enough ammonia to sustain any bacteria and the filter will be biologically dead within a few hours.

 

[kev_kb]

If you wanted to be on the safe side, you could always supply the 'raw materials' yourself...

If you mean what I think you mean then there is more than pure Ammonia in that so it would be a stupid idea!

 

[kev_kb]

Thanks for the replies everyone, I'll try to keep it under an hour and hopefully everything will work out ok.

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

If you wanted to be on the safe side, you could always supply the 'raw materials' yourself...

If you mean what I think you mean then there is more than pure Ammonia in that so it would be a stupid idea!

There's more than pure ammonia is fish wastes also, so it's actually not as "stupid idea" as you make it seem.

Could you move the filter to the quarantine tank, or at least the media? that way their would be no chance for you to lose too many denitrifying bacteria

 

[kev_kb]

There's more than pure ammonia is fish wastes also, so it's actually not as "stupid idea" as you make it seem.

Probably so, but surely human waste varies a lot to fish waste? Else we would all be using it to fishless cycle with...

 

[ddm18]

I actually think that it would probably work! Using human erm... waste *ahem* for fishless cycling I mean! As long as you had a bit of a detox for the few weeks running up to 'production'.

Please please can we suggest it to the next newbie who asks how to set up a tank? All in the name of science, you understand...

We could let on before he/she actually put fish in the tank...

 

[yvez9]

Ugh
You guys are kinda of gross...

But still funny as hell at the same time!!!

lol

 

[Kittycat]

Hehe, I've heard of people peeing in their ponds to provide amonia

Anyways, do the "Few hours" take into account what amonia might be still left in the tank after the fish is taken out? Or can the bacteria eat up all that very fast?