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03-10-2019, 05:33 AM #1
how safe is water in filter if stood for a while
Just returning to UK and am told the pump to my bio filter has tripped so water hasn't ben circulating for 2-3 weeks from/to my pond. Fortunately its not my only form of filtration, so fish are okay. My bio unit hasn't dried out and the filter bed has been kept moving thru the air unit so wondering if the bacteria in it will still be alive and whether it'd be safe to be simply switch it bk on or whether I should drain it rather than mixing it bk in with pond water..? any suggestions ???
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04-10-2019, 06:39 AM #2
Hi Steve, some bacteria may be alive still, difficult to tell...is there anyway you can drain the unit to waste, not to pond, then immediately refill with fresh pond water and start up the pump? That’s what I would do if possible..
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04-10-2019, 09:12 AM #3
Hi Stev, I think you will be ok as no water has flowed into the bio,but as Scamp says I would drain it and and dump the pipe feed water to be sure,then fill from pond then top up pond.
Keep an eye on the ammonia etc,good luck mate.John
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09-10-2019, 06:27 PM #4
Whilst this thread is relatively old now I can say I had a similar occurrence and this was almost 4 weeks of no water passing through the bio tank, only air was still being pumped in to the K1 media, this was in August/September this year, I did not drain the bio and I finally got the system back up and running, all the koi survived without any ill effect, I carried out a water test showed no Ammonia, but a small reading for Nitrite 0.1 mg/l, within one week everything was back to normal, Ammonia 0 mg/l, Nitrite 0 mg/l, Nitrate 30 mg/l, PH 7.8, so I think the bacteria proved they had survived in large enough quantity's to keep the water test within reason, obviously this was in warmer conditions than now which would help bacteria multiply quickly.
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Running heater at low temp?
Covering the pond with polycarb should be enough to stop water temps dipping below 6C for the most...