Bacteria Die-Off Period?

[dissimulo]

Hi all,

This afternoon, I conducted a 100% water change on my newly cycled 120L tank. I treated the new water with Seachem Prime, and I'm now waiting for the water to heat up to temperature and the cloudy haze (I believe to be as a result of substrate disturbance) to settle down.

The original plan was to purchase fish tomorrow afternoon, but I'm now unable to do anything of the sort until next weekend. So my question is, how long does filter bacteria survive when starved of Ammonia? Obviously, I don't want to be adding more Ammonia because I'll need to conduct another water change; but also, I can't add fish for another 6-7 days.

I look forward to your thoughts and I thank you kindly in advance.

Cheers,

Luke.

 

[Skittle]

As far as I'm aware the bacteria inside the filter will be fine, providing there is a current going through it. Once left out of the water, is starts to die off within around 20-30mins. I don't think it would die off from starvation of ammonia, and there are other types of chemicals it can feed off of, which will be present anyway.
If you've treated the water I should leave it for a few days to settle down again, and then give it a quick test before you pop any fish in
Hope that helps!

Skittles

 

[Skins]

Hello Luke,
the A&N Bacs can survive 24-48 hours before they start to die off. there is no reason why you could not lightly dose daily with ammonia and then check nitrate levels the day before adding fish, and do a water change accordingly.

Skins.

 

[ian]

It dies off at about 10% a day if starved of ammonia. I would dose some ammonia, to keep it going, if your gonna wait that long.

 

[dissimulo]

Thanks guys.

I deliberately extended my cycle by almost three weeks in order to have some sort of surplus, so could I get away with dosing every two days with the regular amount? At least then, the worst case scenario would be a die-off of approximately 20%.

Cheers,

Luke.

 

[dissimulo]

so could I get away with dosing every two days with the regular amount?

What do you reckon?

Cheers,

Luke.

 

[drobbyb]

To maintain that strong population it would be best to dose like you were when cycling. Inevitably there will be bacteria die off when you purchase your fish, but the die off depends on many things like number of fish, waste production, and feeding (there are other factors, but these seem most relevant). You can't strictly control the die off, so in my opinion it would be best just to dose as normal and perform a water change the day before you purchase your stock. Don't worry about the cloudiness too much, it's most likely particulate matter and it will disappear in short order and in no way harms your fish.

The main point here is you want as strong a population of bacteria as possible to ensure your fish will be homed in a healthy environment. As long as the temperature of the water is warm enough not to harm your fish, they can adjust to your tank's temperature when you acclimate them properly. After that your heater will slowly heat the water (slow enough that your fish can cope with the change) and you shouldn't have too much of a problem.