Preparing for power outages

[apotocki]

Now that the weather is finally starting to warm up a bit, and thunderstorms will become more frequent (and couple that with the fact that I live in an area that gets fairly frequent power outages), what can I pro-actively do to plan for power outages?
I have a 70 gallon FW tank with a XP3 canister (not sure if that matters) stocked with mainly tetra's, a couple angels, a couple clown loaches and a group of cory's.
I'm worried about what's gonna happen.....its not a matter of if it happens, but when.
Thanks
Alan

 

[megos1]

Make sure you have a generator on hand. I live out in a heavily wooded area and I have a 110 gal saltwater tank, if the power goes out, I lose everything. Good Luck, I'm sure you will be alright if it's not for an extended amount of time, esp if you have a little generator.

 

[electrocutioner]

I read somewhere that you should wrap a blanket around the tank,but disconnect the power so that the blanket doesn't cause a fire or anything when power is restored.

 

[Rach101]

Newspaper, blanket, anything that can be used to keep the heat inside. Also if the tank heat is starting to lower, dumping massive amounts of heated water is - BAD-.

 

[apotocki]

Ok - good points on making sure the tank temperature remains as high as possible....but....what about filtration (especially maintaining the bio-filter). How long would I have before the bio-filter would be affected?

 

[TomK2]

Battery operated air pumps can keep the water circulating and maintain surface agitation, so that the warm tank with all the blankets around it doesn't beome oxygen depleted. I have see DIY power systems using deep cycle batteries to power some tank filters and an air pump during power outages, but these are usually in SW tanks with big bucks on the line. The same principle as the sump pump battery backups for the house. Generators for SW tanks with $$$$ at stake are also done.

How long is a good question. I heard of hurricane victims last year going days without major losses with FW, so a few hours seems OK.

 

[electrocutioner]

There are all sorts of ups and power inverters on the market.You will have to balance price with the features you need.Ideally yould want one that would kick in when the service kicks out.