Power is OUT!!!!!

[jlk]

Hi Everyone! My power was out for almost 5 hrs this morning (just came back on TG!!!). The last time this happened was during hurricane Irene and our power was out for 3 days (my husband hooked a generator to keep the the tanks going). My question is does anyone have any idea how long my tanks/bb can be without power before there is a problem??? I moved all my filters into the tanks to keep them from drying out as a precaution. Any thoughts? Thanks!!

 

[NoFishingAllowed]

I have no idea, but this is my worst fear for my fishies!

 

[LyndaB]

The tanks can remain healthy quite a long time during a blackout.

You can swish the water around to mimic the movement a filter would create. It helps oxygenate the water.

Do not overfeed.

As you did, be sure to keep your filter media wet.

The fish are fine with no lights.

If it's winter, and you have electric heat, wrap blankets around the tanks to maintain temp as well as you can.

 

[jlk]

Hi Lynda! I know my fish would ok but how long would the bb survive without water circulation? A few hours? A day? If my power didnt come back on after 6hrs, i would be calling my husband to come & hook the generator! I think the fear of a power outtage is a valid concern for anyone on this site!

 

[LyndaB]

Swishing the water with your hand or a long handled plastic spoon will help aerate the bb, but it's your source of ammonia that keeps them alive. I've gone days without power and not a single one of our 4 tanks even went through a mini-cycle afterwards.

 

[HN1]

Battery powered air pumps... You never know when they can come in handy!

 

[jcolon]

Battery powered air pumps... You never know when they can come in handy!

First of +1 with HN1 on battery powered air pumps.

As for the BB ... as long as the media stays wet, they should be able to survive a few days in you filter without any new ammonia supply. So certainly 5 hrs is not enough time for them to starve.

 

[LyndaB]

But they would have an ongoing ammonia source in the tank, as it would have fish in it. So, no worries, right?

 

[HN1]

Fish are fine being fasted for 3-5 days for the vast majority of fish. Fry and growouts would be the only real concern. Better off to reduce the pollution until things are stable for a bit IMO.

 

[Reygan2]

Battery powered air pumps... You never know when they can come in handy!

The only one I could find at Walmart claims to only airate 8 gallons I think, that would still be better than nothing wouldn't it? Mine is 29 gallons, and we get a couple of good snows here, which inevitably knocks out power. My main concern is temp. How cold can tropicals get before it's dangerous?

 

[librarygirl]

Battery powered air pumps... You never know when they can come in handy!

Yes, a great investment. Even though I was still fishless cycling my tank at the time of Hurricane Irene I bought one at Walmart. My power was out for about 7 hours and so I threw the filter media into the tank and aerated it for about 15 minutes every hour until the power came back on. After I redosed ammonia that night and checked it the next day it was like nothing had happened (and I was sure conversion was going to slow a bit). I would have panicked more had fish been in the tank but now that I have the aerator I at least know I can keep the water circulated if need be.

 

[Dale_I]

Each specie is different, but I'm sure you could drop 3-4 degrees with no issues at all. After that, I don't think it would be catastrophic, but it really depends on what temp you keep it at.

Dropping from 81 to 78 wouldn't do anything. I would be more concerned going from 76 to 72.

 

[stingrays4]

Hi i insulate all my tanks on three sides. The two sides and back plus the tanks sit on polystyrene any how,so if you have a power cut{outage}then wrap the tanks in towels blankets and any external filters awsell. The tanks will lose heat quite slowly. You can use a camping gas stove to boil a kettle and then put some water in plastic bags and float this like you would when acclimatising a new fish - just don't put the water straight into the tank. Plus you can have a cup of tea or coffee!