Emergency Preparedness for Our Aquariums

[KimeeBee]

With all of the natural disasters that we've seen lately, I've been pondering: "What could I do to ensure the survival of my fish if I were to be without electricity or heat for 2-3 weeks because of a hurricane or ice storm ???"

I know the most common response is going to be: "get a generator", but that is not always an option for everyone. So eliminating the generator option, what are some practical, but effective ways to protect our fish and the investment we've made in our beloved tanks so that we don't loose it all due to a prolonged power outage ???

 

[spiketooth]

Battery operated air pump. Only thing I can think of off the top of my head

 

[Cichlid ism]

You will need blankets or something similar to wrap it during a winter storm. And some ice in a bag during hot summer power outages.

 

[Cardex]

I lost power for 7 days due to a tornado a few years ago it was march so temp out side were swinging from 75 day to freezing at night (got to love Midwest springs) the fish I had at the time were Mollys in a 55 gallon tank and tetras of different kinds in a 44 corner tank, had battery powered air pumps and put a big bag of zeolite in each tank the tank temps cooled down to about 55 before power came back almost everyone made it alive but one thing I would strongly suggest if you do loose power for an extended time in the winter is unplug the heater when the power comes back on raise the air temp in the house slowly 1-2 degrees per hour and let the tank heat with the room it's far less stressful on the fish then to have the heater kick back on and try to bring it up 20 degrees in an hour and less likely to cause a fire

 

[KimeeBee]

Great suggestions everybody !

 

[wildroseofky]

Battery air pump, rechargeable batteries, and solar charger. Where I live we often loose power for extended times. Last time to a tornado. Got to love rural country living. I am becoming a prepper. Luckily still have a few older family members that remember living without electric and grocery stores.
For heat source I bought propane heaters that screw onto the bottles of propane you can buy anywhere. Survived several weeks without power in very cold weather last year with them. Also buy a kerosene heater. Just read up on safety when using these as heat sources.

 

[Cardex]

One thing I forgot was that I reduced feedings to once in the 7 days and that was a light one if one of the Molly's had not given birth I would not have given them anything but i wanted the fry to live

 

[FeldmansFish]

When I lost power/heat I covered the tank in towels and floated bottles with warm water at night to help maintain heat.

 

[patrickriley2010]

With all of the natural disasters that we've seen lately, I've been pondering: "What could I do to ensure the survival of my fish if I were to be without electricity or heat for 2-3 weeks because of a hurricane or ice storm ???"

I know the most common response is going to be: "get a generator", but that is not always an option for everyone. So eliminating the generator option, what are some practical, but effective ways to protect our fish and the investment we've made in our beloved tanks so that we don't loose it all due to a prolonged power outage ???

Battery back ups.