Powercut! Eek

[Whitey_144]

Hi,

My mum somehow managed to turn off my 4ft fish tank this morning without realising. The temp dropped and I've turned it all back on and the temp is rising again and the fish seem fine.

I have two filters one external eheim and one internal eheim. I think the tnak was off for about 8hours, will the bacteria all be dead now? Or do they go dormant?

thanks,
adam

 

[Mikaila31]

They will be fine. 8 hours is not going to significantly affect the bacteria.

 

[Cazgar]

I would think it'd be ok, but test your water tomorrow just in case

 

[Blubble37]

nah mate.... they'll be fine... just watch the levels for a while


oh BTW... this is exactly why i have 2 UPS's for EACH of my 2 tanks!

 

[CezzaXV]

The bacteria die off at a rate of 10-12% every 24 hours, so the amount you'd have lost would be minimal.

Test your water for the next few days, just to make sure you don't go through a mini-cycle (though it's unlikely), and be prepared to start changing water if you do.

 

[FishBlast]

I've read somewhere that the bacteria can survive until temp reaches 0 degrees, where they just die.
Below 18 C they function at 50% capacity and at 10 C they start to hibernate. After that they start to die.
But I'm not sure about the reliability of that website.

Found a similar one.
http/www.bioconlabs.com/nitribactfacts.html

The temperature for optimum growth of nitrifying bacteria is between 77-86° F (25-30° C).

Growth rate is decreased by 50% at 64° F (18° C).

Growth rate is decreased by 75% at 46-50° F.

No activity will occur at 39° F (4° C)

Nitrifying bacteria will die at 32° F (0° C).

Nitrifying bacteria will die at 120° F (49° C)

Nitrobacter is less tolerant of low temperatures than Nitrosomonas. In cold water systems, care must be taken to monitor the accumulation of nitrites.