Pump died!

[joanne]

My filter pump "died" a couple of days ago and it was off for nearly 24 hours before it was fixed. It had to pack it in on a public holiday of course, when everything was closed! I moved Lotle and Falkor to alternative housing just to be safe. The pump has been running again for a whole day and the water has cleared up since being filtered again.

Am just wondering if 24 hours without the pump working would have affected the bacteria in the filter to any great extent? I want to put my little ones back in their tank ASAP so would appreciate any advice on the matter before doing so . . .

P.S PH levels are normal (7.2)

 

[joan]

Joanne, filters are not essential in cycled tanks. It will not harm your axolotls at all if the filter dies and your tank has been established for a fairly long time. The bacteria in the filter will survive as long as they stay wet, so even if the filter wasn't working, it was probably still full of water.

 

[sharn]

you might have lost a small portion though, they still need oxygen to live (this is what ive read and the theory seems right).

 

[joan]

Sharn, bacteria use miniscule amounts of oxygen. Just because the water isn't moving doesn't mean there isn't any oxygen in it. I doubt the bacteria will suffocate after 24 hours of non-moving water. Dissolved oxygen can be diffused from high concentration (near plants, airstones, in the bigger part of the tank in general) to low (in the filter where it's being used, near the axolotls who are using it). I doubt Joanne lost enough bacteria to worry about.

 

[joanne]

Just a note of possible interest. I kept the filter "sponge and bag thingy" in a container of tank water as the filter case itself was lacking water.

Lotle and Falkor have been back in their tank for 24 hours or so now and seem quite content. Just quietly though, they are VERY impressed with the landscaping I did while they were on vacation

All's well that ends well! And thankyou Joan for putting my mind at ease.

 

[edward]

Actually, water that does not move does not readily transfer oxygen (if I remember correctly, the rate unit is something like mm/100 years). Totally aquatic animals can readily suffocate in still water if they do not have any method to move the water (hence the flicking of axolotl gills in still water).

Ed