Live sand/Bacteria.. dead?

[galina]

Why do people say that if your tank has no fish or life in it, the bacteria will die? Isn't all the bacteria that is necessary for your tank, in the sand bed?
So, why can live sand survive over a year of shelf life?
One more Q, my live sand was said to expire in 2003, and I put it in a tank that is in the middle of a cycle and two days later.. the trites are still waaay to high! It was a 30 gallon aquarium and it already had 20 pounds of live sand. I added another 20.
Thansk for any imput..
Galina

 

[fshhub]

we never had ls actually complete a cycle over night, maybe speed it up to 2 weeks or so, but not over night, hope this helps wiht your trite question
as for the other question, most of the bacteria you want is in the sand, on the filter and glass and rock, you can actually keep a tank alive for a period of time, without any fish, but if you do, i woudl resume stocking slowly(actually i would stock slowly in any case), just to insure you don't exceed your bio load capacity too fast
HTH

 

[galina]

Thanks for the info! How long do you think trites should spike for?
Galina

 

[fshhub]

too many factors t actually guess, but if ammonia is bak to zero and trites are falling, it shouldn't be much longer, but every tank is an individual, so guessing is just that .......GUESSING

 

[galina]

Originally posted by galina:
Why can live sand survive over a year of shelf life?
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[broomer5]

Pretty darn good questions galina
I've often wondered about the bacteria in a bag or bacteria in a bottle staying alive for long periods of time on the shelf - with no oxygen or food sources. I asked someone that I trust at a very large coral propagation and saltwater store in southern Michigan that question last weekend.
He said that bacteria can go dorment - and survive great lengths without food or oxygen. Live sand in a bag - he said was not his preferred way to go - that there are other ways to get your hands on good live sand - that has recently been harvested from the sea, or from a large live sand production tank - that will have tons more "living" active bacteria present. He even went so far as to say that much of the bacteria in "bagged" live sand with 2 year expiration dates is dead and will never come back to life. His words not mine
The stuff in a bottle - well he sort of shrugged his shoulders like the rest of us and said "who really knows for sure".
I know this doesn't really answer your question, and I'm still not convinced either, but it sounded like a possible answer for now. Or at least one persons viewpoint.
Same for a tank with substrate, bacteria and no fish or waste producers. I'd imagine that the tank would go somewhat dorment until waste was reintroduced for the bacteria to start doing what they do. Converting nitrogen compounds to other forms. But if up and running - it at least seems that these bacteria would have a supply of oxygen, and sufficient food sources in the water and substrate to continue to live and reproduce for some length of time.
I dunno - sounds possible - but I am certainly no expert on bacteria and microrganisms.
Any one out there no for sure about bacteria going "dorment" ??? Or heard such a thing ???

 

[kelly]

I have heard of it going dormant, but not the same bacteria that we are referring to. On PBS and other programs that I have watched, I remember different spots about bacteria that has been dormant for many many years.

 

[galina]

Well.. theres a big Question Mark..
Thanks for all the imput guys.. even though now I even have more questions, lol. Might as well wait and see what happens.
Galina