How long will BB be good from water squeezed from sponge filter?

[PattysAquatics]

So I have a random question, a work buddy is into reptiles and asked if I could squeeze my sponge filters into jar so he can use it to jump start the beneficial bacteria  for his bearded dragons bioactive (I have no idea what this is 😂) . My question is if I do this how long is the beneficial bacteria going to stay alive? Hours? Days? Just don’t know if I squeeze them before work it would still be good throughout the day or if he should come get it? Lol I know really random question 

[jwcarlson]

As long as it has some oxygen it should be fine for quite awhile.  There used to be a relatively active market for seeded sponge filters in which you would pay to have a sponge filter shipped to you.  I'm not sure if people still do that or not.  I *believe* LRB Aquatics used to sell a mulm bag or something like that, which I think was just squeezed sponge rinse water.  I would expect if you squeezed it into a quart jar and took it to work that it would be OK.  Might not be a bad idea for him to open it and give it a little swirl occasionally during the day.

This of course assumes it's kept at a reasonable temperature and not left out on the factory floor in some booth where it's 105 degrees all day.

BB is a bit more robust than we give it credit for, I think.  

All that said... I'm not sure what you would be providing to him would be of any benefit to his particular application.  But I'm no expert.  I don't think nitrifying bacteria from your aquarium is going to do much good for your friend's bearded dragon enclosure unless it's going to have a... water feature...?  I think bioactive setups usually have springtails and other larger critters like isopods.  That said... I don't think it would hurt anything.

Edited April 7, 2023 by jwcarlson