How to survive a Power Outage?

[baron1282]

Being it's the Stormy season I am worried about power outages. I have a 55 gallon FOWLR saltwater tank. How can I make sure my tank will be fine if the power goes out? How long will it take before I really need to worry?

The longest I have been without power was 48 hours. Before I even had a tank! Being this is an issue for both fresh and saltwater tanks I thought I would post it here. Is their any differences between both tanks when power goes out? Any preparation that could be taken besides buying a power backup like for computers?

I hope to not have this issue, but I live out in the country and it does happen from time to time..

 

[Slade]

Aside from the obvious buying a generator, get some battery powered air pumps, keep lights off, dont feed, and do daily mini water changes. Ive heard some people wrap their tanks in a blanket to maintain temps. For a prolonged outage, you may want to clean your filter before running it when power is restored.

 

[Cactuspixie]

Aside from the obvious buying a generator, get some battery powered air pumps, keep lights off, dont feed, and do daily mini water changes. Ive heard some people wrap their tanks in a blanket to maintain temps. For a prolonged outage, you may want to clean your filter before running it when power is restored.

Thanks! That's some great advice.

 

[Alyxx]

Battery operated bubblers are great but if you can't find them in time for an outage take a cup and scoop water out of the tank and pour it back in a few times every hour or so to keep the water oxygenated. I'm sure a reef is a bigger pain in a power outage, but I kept my three tanks going for a week without power last year. One fish only salt tank and two freshwater tanks. A hurricane left me without power for about 8 days. I only lost some crayfish, their little 5 gallon tank just crashed after about four days since they are pretty sensitive to low oxygen levels in their water. I did small water changes daily with extra prime, too. Small changes since all we had was really cold water from the tap.