Saving benificial bacteria for friend

[michelliot]

A friend of mine, my back neighbor, just inherited an aquarium but has not set it up yet. I'd like to make his initial set-up as easy as possible. I've explained the cycling period as best as I could and I certainly enlightened him to the powers of this forum.

My question is:
This week I changed the internal cartridge of my power filter and I put it in a tupperware container floating in some of my original tank water. How long do you all think this cartridge could sit in this state before something begins to deteriorate and there's nothing benifical about it. I really don't know when they plan to set their tank up. Hopefully this weekend. How should I introduce the bacteria to their water besides just dumping the cartridge and its bath into it. Should I leave it in there for a while and should I keep it covered or not in its current bath?

Probably a lot of words for nothing major but any suggestions would be helpful. I'd hate to introduce anything detrimental into their tank.

THANKS IN ADVANCE

Elliot °¿°

[OrionGirl]

Without a food source, the bacteria will die off pretty quickly, so make sure to feed it in this tub--either ammonia, or add fish food in small amounts. A bit of circulation is needed to keep the O2 levels up as well. This will keep the bacteria going for quite a while.

When they setup the new tank, just have them use the filter--do not add any of the water. The bacteria they need are not located in the water column, so all it would do is introduce nitrates.

[Matt W]

The bacteria will die off within about 48 hours if it has nothing to feed on. That means it needs ammonia. Besides the ammonia, it also needs oxygen...