Superstorm Sandy Effects

[aprlshwrs]

I live in PA and this past week, as I'm sure most of you know, we experienced a storm that although many of us were prepared some of us were still caught off guard. I am one of those people who were prepared but unfortunately...my 29g freshwater tank was not.

We lost power here for several days and it got really cold. With no heater or filter running in my tank and me not actually being able to stay in our home, my fish suffered. I lost all of my platies and my guppies. I still have 2 Cory cats left...which actually surprised me and was a welcome bright spot. The power had been off for 5 days.

Turning the filter back on was fine, the heater kicked back on but my bubble wall did not so I'm heading out to replace that.

Eventually, I'll need to restock but my first priority is making sure my cories are okay. Is there anything else I should be aware of after having power out for so long? Has anyone else gone through a power outage like this? I just don't want to overlook something that should be obvious.

Thanks for any and all feedback!

 

[Quest84]

I live in Jersey and went through the storm as well. It was really bad here where I live, but I was one of the lucky ones..my house had very minimal damage. I also had a generator that I ran during the day to keep my fridge, a light, small space heater, and fish tanks heated and filters running.

even though I had a generator running during the day my fish tanks were still dropping in temp. alot by the time I woke up in the AM. I covered the tank with 3 blankets before I went to sleep. I was lucky and didn't lose any of my fish but it was a challenge.

sorry that you lost your fish that stinks. In the future if you don't have a generator I would get 1 or 2 battery powered air pumps to circulate the water. you can even buy a small power inverter and plug it into the cigarette lighter in your car and run the filter or heater off that for a few hours. Also, wrap the tank in foil, and then cover it in a few blankets to keep the heat in

 

[aprlshwrs]

Thanks Quest84...

I did cover them with a blanket but the biggest problem I had was that I was not here to actually keep checking on them. We live in a trailer that basically has no insulation so our family was taken in by a friend until our power came back on early this morning. I didn't know about wrapping it in aluminum foil before the blankets and such. Thanks for that tidbit. For the future, I will have backups and battery operated equipment. They're going on my Christmas list.

Btw...I'm originally from NJ and I work there now. I haven't been at work all week because of no power. I hope you and yours are doing okay. My heart breaks for all who are there and for the devestation along the shore.

Again, thanks for the advice!

 

[Quest84]

no prob glad I could help and that you and your family are fine. everyone here is fine, thanks for asking As far as the jersey shore it is complete devestation. It will take weeks to get power up and running if their homes are still there. The beaches are gone, the boardwalks are ruined etc..gonna take a long time to rebuild

 

[Wroberson]

Glad to hear you are okay. I dumb as this sounds, I haven't read much online from people in the east. You are the first. I did what I could, but the 10 bucks I sent in will have to go to the next emergency. There's an aquarium in New York without power and the fish are suffering. Hope that gets fixed before it's too late.

Hope you guys get things in order and some decent checks in the mail.

 

[Wroberson]

Oh. Oxygen may have been lowered, but that bubble wall will fix that right up. My power went out a few times this summer and everyone survived.

You might want to look into building a back up system. it's easy but you do need the proper gauged wire. Basically a car battery or deep cycle battery, the wires, a lighter outlet and a power converter. You can pretty much use your car with a long enough extension cord.

 

[stingrays4]

Hi we see all about the storm on T/V over here in the U/K and felt for all you guys that suffered,the effects of the storm First thing is that you are all OK Fish are replaceable.
Things you can do to help a tank before a power outage.
1- feed minimul amount for a few days prior {If possible}
2 - give the filters a good clean {not too clean}
3 - under stock the tank
4 - have some carbon and polyfilter handy.
5 - battery air pumps
6 - wrap the tank in blankets,towels anything to help keep the heat in.
After the outage
1 - feed very little for several days
2 - do several small water changes
3 - put some carbon in the filter,also put in the polyfilter{you can do this prior to an outage}
4 - anything you have learned please do put on the forum to help others
Finally good luck in the rebuild of your tank and your home. That goes to everyone who suffered the effects of 'Sandy'.

 

[Quest84]

Glad to hear you are okay. I dumb as this sounds, I haven't read much online from people in the east. You are the first. I did what I could, but the 10 bucks I sent in will have to go to the next emergency. There's an aquarium in New York without power and the fish are suffering. Hope that gets fixed before it's too late.

Hope you guys get things in order and some decent checks in the mail.

that $10 bucks I'm pretty sure is going directly to people in need for food, blankets, water and shelter so thank you very much for your generosity.

that aquarium your talking about has been running off generators, but i think i heard on the news that they might start relocating the fish

My house wasn't hit that hard at all, I'm lucky. We lost power here in my town for 4 days but i had a backup generator. But like i said before the people at the jersey shore, Long Island NY, Staten Island, parts of Brooklyn, Queens..it's really bad. I've never seen this type of devastation after a storm here.

 

[maxwellag]

Hi we see all about the storm on T/V over here in the U/K and felt for all you guys that suffered,the effects of the storm First thing is that you are all OK Fish are replaceable.
Things you can do to help a tank before a power outage.
1- feed minimul amount for a few days prior {If possible}
2 - give the filters a good clean {not too clean}
3 - under stock the tank
4 - have some carbon and polyfilter handy.
5 - battery air pumps
6 - wrap the tank in blankets,towels anything to help keep the heat in.
After the outage
1 - feed very little for several days
2 - do several small water changes
3 - put some carbon in the filter,also put in the polyfilter{you can do this prior to an outage}
4 - anything you have learned please do put on the forum to help others
Finally good luck in the rebuild of your tank and your home. That goes to everyone who suffered the effects of 'Sandy'.

IMO there is no need for the carbon unless you are dosing a lot of chemicals or medications. A good thing to do after an outage would be a large water change.

 

[coolbeenes]

I too live in PA and was without power for a week. My tank went from 76 to 60. I only lost a Oto catfish. I was very fortunate because I could not get power to my tank.

 

[aprlshwrs]

I ended up doing a massive water change and things are looking a lot better. The tank was my main focus for today and I'm thankful to have been able to get it back up and running smoothly.

So many good ideas and suggestions! Thank you!

Now I can think about restocking it! I want to go in a new direction so I need to spend some time in research.

Is there a place somewhere that provides a list of things to do in preparation for a possible power loss and what to do afterward? If not, I think we have a good start here and we should expand on that and have it as a reference for aquarium advice members (and anyone else who happens to wander by).

Well, it's 1am here and I need to sleep! Good night, world!