How Long Will The Bacteria Last In A Mature Filter?

[morganism]

I've just re-homed my fish and cleaned out my FW tank ready for a new planted tank in a couple of months.

I'm left with a very mature canister filter that is not hooked up to a tank.

How long will the bacteria last in the filter with no new fish waste or water flow etc?
I'm wondering whether to leave the filter as it is and then hook it back up to the new setup in a couple of months....

OR...

Clean it out completely and start again with new media etc when the new setup is ready.

Will the bacteria have died out by the time i hook the filter back up?

Thanks in advance.
Morgan

 

[SkiFletch]

With no food, I'd give them 2 weeks (if you keep them wet). The best solution would be to run the filter off of a small bucket of water and every day add a few drops of ammonia to the bucket to feed the bacteria.

 

[Rooster]

With NO flow, you are looking at hours - so its probably already too late !
I would bite the bullet and clean it out...

 

[Lateral Line]

With NO flow, you are looking at hours

Yup, it's not just "food" it's Oxygen. The filter will go anærobic quite quickly killing the bacteria.