Tank Melt Down

[mitche8359]

I had a catastrophy over the holidays and have now just managed to deal with it. We were in the winter storm zone that hit the great lakes area the week of Christmas. Ended up loosing power on Thursday. We never lose power. It was out for 52 hours. With no heat we had to leave the house Chrismas Eve. I considered the tank a gonner. Even after power came back on I refused to look at the tank, out of dread. My wife looked for me. It was a disaster fish-wise, but surprisingly we had some survive. One of them will be a shocker...

We lost all the angels... some we've had for 8 years. the ram is gone as well, the siamese algea eaters, gone, the gold tetra gone, two black phantoms gone.

What survived? The pleco, the white high fin tetras, three black phantom tetras and an OTTO!!!! I was estatic when I heard the only remaining otto had survived.

I was grateful to the wife and three year old son. I couldn't drag myself to removing the deceased so they had a fishy funeral for me. I did notice within a week the snail population has taken over the tank, litterally. I'm wondering if one or more of the fish that died were controlling the snail population? Haven't really seen any of the deceased fish eat a snail. A friend said his red tetras attack snails with a vengence. They are mostly MTSs. Hundreds of them. They don't care about whether its light or dark, they are out 24/7. Started cleaning up the tank after several weeks of neglect. I need to get the snails under control. I'll go back and read other threads on snail control, but does anyone know of a natural control that's native to South America? I've tried the cucumber on a string before with little success.

Anyone have ideas on how to protect a tank when electric is out, other than a back up generator? I really didn't expect the electric to be out that long. I could have wrapped some blankets around the tank to try to insulate it.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Loaches generally are a great snail control fish, (a couple will clean that tank out in a couple of days) But I don't know if any are indigenous to south america, Clowns are Indonesian..

Sorry to hear of the problem.

a Battery backup would have bought about 2-3 hours of heater time, but the only way to keep that tank warm over 52 hours would be a generator.. perhaps a blanket over the tank with a battery backup could buy you some time.. (about 36 hours)

 

[mitche8359]

Yeah, a friend suggested yo yo loaches. I used to have a clown loach, but didn't realize that it was eating snails, since I didn't have any at the time. I'll have to see what yo yo look like. Siamese algea eaters aren't indigenous to SA either and I let them in the tank.

The more I think about it, a blanket might have really helped with the heat. I figure the room sucked a lot of the heat out of the tank, rather than the tank merely cooling. Not sure but I suspect the lack of oxygen might have gotten the angels.

I like the population in your tank.

 

[formanbob]

My power went out around 3:30 am or so, It lost 10 degrees before I worked on it.

I wrapped it with blankets then sleeping bags. I did many 5 percent HOT water changes, I added HOT zip lock bags to the water.

 

[shawmutt]

Sorry to hear about your losses.

I've brainstormed your problem. Sometimes people will sit their tanks on styrofoam to help level it out, which also doubles as insulation. That being done, a person could cut sheets of insulation to fit the glass panels, and one for the top, to make a sort of cooler for the fish. The insulation would keep in the heat, and a small battery powered heated could furnish enough heat to keep the tank warm--they could survive without light or even airstones for a while. Just a wacky thought, I hope I never have to try it.

EDIT: Another thought, when I was living with my family and we were poor and didn't have central heating, we used a kerosene heater. Just make sure, if you go that route, you also purchase a CO2 detector.

 

[mitche8359]

My power went out around 3:30 am or so, It lost 10 degrees before I worked on it.

I wrapped it with blankets then sleeping bags. I did many 5 percent HOT water changes, I added HOT zip lock bags to the water.

Ah a fellow central Ohioan. How large is your tank? How many days/hours were you outta power and did you lose any fish? I was thinking of all sorts of crazy ideas of heating rocks in the fireplace and putting them in the tank, but figured the rocks wouldn't help much. I figured I could exchange hot water since the hot water tank is gas, but was equally concerned about the lack of air in the tank. I figured that warmth alone wouldn't be enough that the lack of air would get the fish eventually.

 

[SerLunchbox]

Well, a few years back when Hurrican Juan hit the east coast of canada, i was without power for 4 days. I had no batter backup or anything for my 10 gallon. all my fish survived (no battery backup air or anything). I dunno .. i guess it is just relative to what you are keeping *shrug*

 

[Menagerie]

I'm wondering if one or more of the fish that died were controlling the snail population?

The angels and ram may have been helping with the snail population went they were tiny. Now that you have adult snails, get some yo-yo loaches to help out
Cheaper than a generator, is to have a battery operated air pump on hand. It won't help warm the water, but it will get the oxygen to the fish.
That was so nice of your wife and son. I would have done the same thing and sent in my husband. How are the water parameters?

 

[formanbob]

My power went out around 3:30 am or so, It lost 10 degrees before I worked on it.

I wrapped it with blankets then sleeping bags. I did many 5 percent HOT water changes, I added HOT zip lock bags to the water.

Ah a fellow central Ohioan. How large is your tank? How many days/hours were you outta power and did you lose any fish? I was thinking of all sorts of crazy ideas of heating rocks in the fireplace and putting them in the tank, but figured the rocks wouldn't help much. I figured I could exchange hot water since the hot water tank is gas, but was equally concerned about the lack of air in the tank. I figured that warmth alone wouldn't be enough that the lack of air would get the fish eventually.

I have a 90fw
I lost it for 36 hours
I lot some shrimp but that was due to hungry fish.

All in al I lost over 20 degrees,

I to was worried about air, but frozen fish can breath? BUT, when I added water I put the bucket on a ladder and let the water splash a bit.

 

[Bad Jeff]

A cheap (comparatively) alternative to a generator for short term use is to pick up a deep cycle marine battery ($100.00 or less for a big one) and a power inverter (again under $100 for a 700watt). A deep cycle battery can supply enough power to keep your heaters and even filters going for a long time. The higher the Amp hours rating of the battery the long it will supply juice.

 

[mitche8359]

. How are the water parameters?

I haven't ran them yet. I'm looking to get a new kit. The old ones have past the use by dates. Look at thatfishplace.com now to get a new one. LFS too much $$$ for exact same.

 

[Clown Monarch]

You can buy little battery-operated (2 "D" batteries) air pumps for about $5-$10 that will run for about 72 hours. Water is a pretty darn good heat sink and will hold it's temp for a long time - I'd just use blankets.

 

[mitche8359]

You can buy little battery-operated (2 "D" batteries) air pumps for about $5-$10 that will run for about 72 hours. Water is a pretty darn good heat sink and will hold it's temp for a long time - I'd just use blankets.

Ah I didn't know that. I've looked through several catalogs and never came across one. I'll have to look for it since I'm getting ready to place an order.

 

[Menagerie]

This is what you are looking for: http://store.yahoo.com/pet-guys/-015561107900.html

 

[Clown Monarch]

Here's one:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=46312&item=4348356985&rd=1


Sorry that happened to you. I'm fearing the same thing and am looking at options myself. In my area, if someone sneezes too loud the power goes out. It'll be a clear fall day, 75 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, suddenly the power will go out for 6 hours.

If you're electrically inclined, I read about how you can build a battery backup unit yourself for about $50 or so. I'll see if I can find it for you.
Money is an issue for me so I consider the cheapest options first.

 

[Clown Monarch]

Here it is. This one would come in handy if you weren't home at the time. Supposedly costs $35 to build, but some of his prices listed seem awfully resonable.



http://francis75.netfirms.com/

 

[Menagerie]

Wow, for the US, the Hagen battery operated air pump is $6.89, it's listed for 14.99 CAD and with the conversion, it is $12.26 USD :? This is from Big Al's.

 

[flipz]

Sorry to hear about your fish. :-/

I live in Springfield, about 30 mins west of Columbus. I was affected by the power outtage (clocks were reset), but I have no idea how long for because I was in Cleveland for 2.5 weeks. I was scared to even come home!!!

Luckily all was fine when I got here.

-brent

 

[greenfish]

I have the Silent Air B11 Air Pump from Penn Plax. You put batteries in it and plug it in to the wall. It only kick on when the power goes out. Simple solution cheap price.
Check it out here:
http://www.thatpetplace.com/Product...Pumps/T1/F02+0291+0045/EDP/9322/Itemdy00.aspx

 

[xray]

A cheap (comparatively) alternative to a generator for short term use is to pick up a deep cycle marine battery ($100.00 or less for a big one) and a power inverter (again under $100 for a 700watt).

You call that cheap. This would have been cheaper.

a Battery backup would have bought about 2-3 hours of heater time

and IMO with just the heater runnig on it, the battery backup would last alot longer than 2-3 hours. You could oxigenate the water just like he did by splashing. Besides hes got plants to help with the O2.