# Filter down: Need Tips to keep fish healthy!!!



## Asterix (Feb 5, 2011)

Hi,

My filter is presently broken and I will only be able to fix it in 2-3 days. I have a 80 gallon tank with around 45-50 fishes (mostly small) and well planted.

What should I do until then:

1. Daily water change and siphon the bottom (30% or more daily?)
2. Cut down on food?
3. Should I limit light exposure (maybe more algea without water mouvement?)

Thanks......


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## bob123 (Dec 31, 2009)

1- Do not feed fish until filter fixed.
2- Turn off lights.
3- Clean filter media in aquarium water and then place in tank until filter fixed, 
this may help to keep bacteria alive in filter media.
4- Keep air on to circulate water.
5- I wouldn't change to much water but test daily.
6- Good luck.


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## Asterix (Feb 5, 2011)

Hi,

_3. Clean filter media in aquarium water and then place in tank until filter fixed, 
this may help to keep bacteria alive in filter media._

I do not really understand. Should I take the rocks, pellets of the filter and wash them in the aquarium? And then drop them (in a plastic bag I guess) in the aquarium bottom?

4. I have no air. The filter outake would usualy move the water around.

Are you sure about not changing the water? I thought that most of the bacteria will still be alive on the substrate, rocks, plants, wood pieces, aquarium glass.

I thought adding water would help bring oxygen....

Damn....this sucks.......


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

bob123 said:


> 1- Do not feed fish until filter fixed.
> 2- Turn off lights.
> 3- Clean filter media in aquarium water and then place in tank until filter fixed,
> this may help to keep bacteria alive in filter media.
> ...


Why do you need to turn off lights? It's a planted tank, so wouldn't turning off lights be detrimental to the plants?


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Asterix said:


> Hi,
> 
> _3. Clean filter media in aquarium water and then place in tank until filter fixed,
> this may help to keep bacteria alive in filter media._
> ...


I wouldn't worry about this too much. A lot of El Natural tanks don't use filters at all.

As for filter media, it's up to you. Most bacteria live on substrate and plants, but if you want to keep the filter media "live", you'll want to keep it in dechlorinated water. Not necessarily tank water, and as long as there's enough surface area for gas exchange (like a bucket), it should be fine.

You can do water changes if you want, but you only need to do it once at most since it's only 2-3 days. Don't worry about oxygen. Surface gas exchange should be enough, and plants provide O2 during lights on.


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## carmenh (Dec 20, 2009)

Where do you live? I have plenty of air pumps kicking around if you're anywhere near Burlington...


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## Y2KGT (Jul 20, 2009)

I personally think you need water movement for gas exchange. Why not just buy a cheap PetSmart air pump and an air stone? Or better yet get your filter working or buy a new one.

Don't feed the fish at all until you resolve the filter issue. They can go a few days without food no problem.

Keep the lights on the same schedule as normal.

This is why I always have 2 filters on each tank and a spare filter just in case one breaks down or something goes wrong while I'm cleaning the filter.
--
Paul


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

Erk ... what a mess. Why wait for 2 or 3 days This is a life and death emergency. Even if you managed to get a new filter 3 days later, there is no stopping the tank from going into a cycle.

If you didn't run an established UGF, most of the bacteria will not be in the tank wall or gravel, if it where, then all these time, the canister filter must have make a good decoration.

We've all been through this during the black out a few years ago. Make large water changes daily to keep the toxic down. Gravel vac like mad because you do not want the poop and decay food in your tank right now.

Water aeration will buy you time and a bit more oxygen.

DO NOT FEED THE FISH. Being hungry is better than being dead.

Leave the lights on, as the plants will help absorb some of the chemical.

All these things you're doing, are only buying you time from the inevitable.

This is one of those senario where those who goes under the 1" per gallon rules walks away safe and those who overfilter and overstock pays the price. The only thing you have going in your favour is the large 80G tank. Smaller ones will collapse faster.

Expect a cycle to kick off when you get your new filter going.

If you managed to get an air pump and sponge going first. Soak the sponge in a bucket of water with your filter media for 10 mins. Then get the sponge filter going. It'll buy you 1 or 2 extra days.

Addition:
From my experience, you have 3 days before the fish floats.

Good luck,

More addition:
I almost forgot, add 1 tablespoon of sea salt or epson salt to your 80G tank. Others might say more, but I'd prefer not to stress the ecosystem in the tank at this point.

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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

I don't know why you would need to add salt or Epsom salt, and one is not a substitute for the other. You can manually stir the tank up some if you are concerned about the air exchange, and do a water change if you like. That won't hurt, nor will the vacuuming. If you have a heater in the tank there will be some water movement caused by that. You should be able to get by for a few days, and yes every hard surface in the tank has nitrfying bacteria on it.


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

I agree with Bill if the fish are small you should be ok for a few days I would keep up the water changes there is very little bacteria in the water itself . Dont feed anything If they are not hanging around the top and swimming normal they are fine . If they start to hang around the top and look like they are gasping then they need oxygen if you tank is well planted you should be fine I have 10 guppies and 8 mollys plus some ghost ,vampire and amano shrimp in my 20 gal for the contest I have co2 but no filter.


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## Zebrapl3co (Mar 29, 2006)

BillD said:


> I don't know why you would need to add salt or Epsom salt, and one is not a substitute for the other.


Um, chemical magic? Lol, look under osmosis. Lowers stress = lower breathing = less ammonia release.



> ... yes every hard surface in the tank has nitrfying bacteria on it.


While true, it's not enough to make much of a difference when you are running a canister filter. When you go with a canister filter or a HOB, all the bacteria concentrate in your filter. The tank walls and gravels are starve of any significant bacteria. While there are bacteria in there, it's insignificant. The only exception is when you are running a stable UGF where the bacteria is propertly established in the gravel and tank wall.
Think about it, if there is enought bacteria in the tank walls and gravels, the HOB and canister filter would become completely obsolete. Why pay $100 - $300 for a these things when I can just buy a $20 - $40 power head, stick it in the tank and I am good to go?

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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

Actually there are people who do run their tanks without filters. Some use powerheads to move the water. Others like myself use sponge filters, that cost around $10 to filter tanks. I certainly wouldn't spend $200 for a cannister when I could assemble a brand new 75 gallon setup for that. So, you could say that cannisters are, if not obsolete, at least unnecessary, even for large tanks.
As far as adding salt, which has some prophylactic benefit, unlike Epsom salt, perhaps you should look up osmotic shock, which is a killer.


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## qwerty (Dec 15, 2009)

I agree with BillD for the most part.

Though at the same time I would also guess you probably have more fish than you would typically keep in a naturally balanced tank.

I agree with keeping the lights on. Algae wont hurt your fish. Algae is great for keeping water clean, and it will go away on its own once things are back to normal and in good balance. Plant growth will also help maintain water quality, and will provide oxygen. 

Since you do not have an air pump for oxygenation, I would be concerned about the potential for your plants to deplete the available oxygen if you left your lights off this whole time with no water circulation.

I have never come across any information to argue that a water change would be bad to do unless you've been modifying the hell out of your water parameters and you anticipate frequent water changes to cause massive fluctuations in your water parameters.

If it were me I would put the filter media in a mesh net or something and hang it in the tank, and I would either manually stir the water myself, or I would find some way of moving the water (power head, air pump, whatever).

I'm on the fence about the salt, but leaning towards the "don't bother". I'm on the fence because I don't have enough information to say with much confidence one way or another. I lean towards the "no" side because the salt will affect osmotic pressure, and the fish we keep do not encounter concentrations of salt like this in the wild, so it would not surprise me if this didn't have some effect on their organs, metabolism, etc, which they are not well adapted to.

But at the same time epsom salt (MgSO4) is very commonly used for dosing magnesium in planted tanks.

So of course I have no first hand experience or solid experimental data to back any of this up with, so take my opinion with a grain of... Uhhhh, well... salt, I guess. 

I would prioritize the filter though. Avoiding the crashing of your tank is probably worth the inconvenience of getting the filter sooner rather than later. I would also run a second filter, or at least keep a backup handy for the future.


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