# Bacteria & oxygen



## johnfranks (Jan 5, 2009)

Not sure where to put this but I was discussing the subject and not too sure of the answer. Obviously we need oxygen in our water for the fish but does the bacteria in your filter need oxygen?If their was no oxygen being created, would the bacteria survive?


----------



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

johnfranks said:


> Not sure where to put this but I was discussing the subject and not too sure of the answer. Obviously we need oxygen in our water for the fish but does the bacteria in your filter need oxygen?If their was no oxygen being created, would the bacteria survive?


Im pretty sure they need to convert food into energy as they are living too. It i think would be difficult to kill them by lack of oxygen as simple suface agitation will add more o2.


----------



## johnfranks (Jan 5, 2009)

sean-820 said:


> Not sure where to put this but I was discussing the subject and not too sure of the answer. Obviously we need oxygen in our water for the fish but does the bacteria in your filter need oxygen?If their was no oxygen being created, would the bacteria survive?


Im pretty sure they need to convert food into energy as they are living too. It i think would be difficult to kill them by lack of oxygen as simple suface agitation will add more o2.
[/quote]

But Im saying what if there isnt any oxygen, as in, no surface agitation.


----------



## No0dles (Dec 16, 2003)

there is still oxygen in the water just very very little! H2O is 2 parts hydrogen 1 part oxygen so regardless of surface agitation or not there is still oxygen in the water







but yes nitrosomas and nitrobacter bacteria (which is in our filters) need oxygen to thrive and if not provided they will die! there's a lot that comes into factor with your question. bio load, plants, lighting all have to be factored in when it comes to bacteria. lets say you have a 10 gallon tank with 2 tetras in it no surface agitation (no filter) no plants no lights then yes the bacteria will die and so there after your fish! lets say you had the same 10 gallon tank with 2 tetras no surface agitation and no filter but had some plants in there and they get light naturally then more than likely you'll be okay! highly not recommended but i dont see a major problem unless you never ever change the water or clean up their poop like your supposed to which eventually will overwhelm the bacteria and everything will die. now if you had a 10 gallon tank with 2 tetras no surface agitation but a filter then you might be okay as well cause you'd technically would have some agitation within the filter itself.


----------



## Guest (Aug 3, 2009)

Back when the 'Bio-wheel' filters came out, the subject of Oxygen and bacteria used to come up alot on this and other fish forums.

After some scientific papers were reviewed, it was concluded that fishtank water, under normal conditions, contains all the dissolved oxygen a bacteria colony needs. The limiting factor in beneficial bacteria growth was the steady amount of ammonia and nitrite available to them.


----------



## Dr. Giggles (Oct 18, 2003)

johnfranks said:


> Not sure where to put this but I was discussing the subject and not too sure of the answer. Obviously we need oxygen in our water for the fish but does the bacteria in your filter need oxygen?If their was no oxygen being created, would the bacteria survive?


Yes the bacteria needs oxygen, otherwise bacteria will die off. The water being pumped through a filter provides enough oxygen for the bacteria. For example if you threw established bio media in a bucket of water with no circulation and added an ammonia source the bacteria will still die off totally in about 3-4 days even though there is ammonia to feed off of.


----------



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

johnfranks said:


> Not sure where to put this but I was discussing the subject and not too sure of the answer. Obviously we need oxygen in our water for the fish but does the bacteria in your filter need oxygen?If their was no oxygen being created, would the bacteria survive?


Im pretty sure they need to convert food into energy as they are living too. It i think would be difficult to kill them by lack of oxygen as simple suface agitation will add more o2.
[/quote]

But Im saying what if there isnt any oxygen, as in, no surface agitation.
[/quote]
There doesnt need to be surface adjitation for o2 transfer, it only increases it. An open top bucket with water in it and no adjitation will still have o2, where as the same setup with an air pump will have more o2


----------

