Powercut to aquarium, NOW WHAT ????

[Vyper]

Hi All

We had a power cut that lasted a good hour the other morning, and worse still during the power cut I had to get ready for work and effectivly leave the fish tank, without heaters, filters, pumps etc etc, I got so worried I booked the morning off just so I could keep an eye on my fish, but what do you lot do in such times when all electircty is off ??/?. Its a good job its summer otherwise the tank would have lost heat quickly.

I got so concerned about future power failures I've now got a UPS (uninteruptable power supply (normally meant for computers)) bolted onto the power supply to my tank so hopefully if the same ever happened again my fish tank would still get power for at least an additional hour. But as i said what do you people do in such events, and how well do fish cope in such cirumstances where ther is zero power to operate aquarium equipment ???.

[Holly9937]

Unless its more than a few hours I don't really worry about it... I might dump some tank water over the filter though just to rewet the sponges or other media with fresh tank water, I've never had any problems with power outages. Then again, the longest I've had to go was only 6-8 hours

[anonapersona]

I add Prime to the tank to handle any ammonia from fish or dying filter bacteria. My tanks have insulated backing to help maintain heat so temp changes are much less. Overstocked sensitive discus tanks have back up sponge filtration during power outage (run by $12 battery power air pump that comes on if electricity fails) .

[Vyper]

Thanks, that makes me feel a little better, still not sure though on leaving em for prolonged periods especally in the colder months where I imagine the temp would drop rapidally without a heater.

[WinterWind]

I've never had a power outage for more than a few hours, but I don't think it is too big of an issue if it is only a few hours. I would recommend doing a water change after or during the power outage to help reduce the toxins that might occur when the filter hasn't been running.

[RTR]

We have had outages lasting up to three days.

Do not crowd your tanks.

Keep the water clean.

Open canisters and similar devices where there is no access to atmospheric oxygen within 6-8 hours after power failures and transfer the media to shallow trays of water.

Don't feed the fish during an outage.

Have emergncy heating available.

Or simplest but most expensive, have a whloe-house generator and keep it tuned up in case of need.

[Slappy*McFish]

If I experience a power outage while I am home, I'll unplug the filters so when the power comes back on, dirty water isn't ejected back into the tank. This is also a good time to clean the filters if there is sufficient light.

[svtcontour]

I was thinking for myself, to get a refurbished APC like a 1000 or 1400VA and at least run a small powerhead so that there could be up to 8 hours of water flow. Even the smallest powerhead can move enough water to keep things alive for a while...

[SA14mars]

I was thinking for myself, to get a refurbished APC like a 1000 or 1400VA and at least run a small powerhead so that there could be up to 8 hours of water flow. Even the smallest powerhead can move enough water to keep things alive for a while...

That's a good idea, but keep in mind a larger heater (100-250 watts) will suck up a lot of power from a backups unit, although if the tank is large enough (30 gallons or more I'd say) the tempature isn't likely to change too fast unless its a major outtage. I would recommend buying a D-cell batery powered air pump (or better yet one that comes on when the power cuts out as anonapersona suggested) used for stock tanks in fishing boats (for the Americans out there, Walmart carries them for about $10 complete with airstone, weight, tube and pump in the Sporting Goods dept and I believe it runs upto 8 hours at least).

On another note, a APC unit may be helpful because it will let you know the power has gone out and you need to wake up and take care of business (it will squeal bloody murder until the power comes back on or the battery drains). Useful, except when it's 3:30 in the morning and you have an exam in 5 hours.....

[Blinky]

During the big blackout two years ago, our power was out for 3 1/2 days. We live in an apartment building, and they used the generators to operate water pumps for the first two days (day three and four we had no running water).
We knew the power would be out for a prolonged period, so I emptied the filters of water, kept the media damp in a bucket, and did some water changes. It was incredibly hot, so the temperature rose quite a bit in our apartment without A/C but the fish handled it well. Once the pumps shut off and we were without water, I crossed my fingers and cursed myself for not having a battery operated air pump.
When the power came back on, I did a large water change, started up the filters, and as far as I remember, everything was basically okay.
We lost about 1/3 of our fish (all the neons and harlequins) to neon tetra disease over the next couple weeks, presumably brought on by the stress, but everyone else came through just fine.
I think a UPS is a fantastic idea, along with a battery-operated air pump for backup in case of long-term outages.

[Vyper]

Cheers every1, just to let you know I did buy an APC Smart 1000 which has been tested and works for more than an hour and thats even with all equipment going for it, obviously if I was dealling with a few days outtage then thats another story but for the short term ones then a UPS seemed like an ideal solution, I manged to get if off ebay for £30 so for the relativly small investment I'm manged to protect my tank from blackout and any power surges which may occur, not that I've ever lost any electrical items to a power surge "YET".

The hardest part though was trying to find a six way plug exstention that would then allow me to plug this into an IEC (kettle lead socket) because obviously the average UPS has kettle lead sockets and not your average plug socket, but I even managed to get hold of one of these. As someone said earlier though wait till 3am and the next power cut hits and my UPS is bleeping away I'm sure that'll be fun, grin !!!!.

My only last wish was theat aquarium equipment came with USB sockets so my UPS could now power them down before the battery gives out, surely someone could make millions from selling USB powered aqaurium equipment, hmmmm then again.

[RTR]

I'm afraid that UPS are out of the question for multi-tank folks. That is generator or you take your chances.

[Visualeyes2]

Ahh, I don't mean to be too critical because I am a worry wart myself, but dude, you're too worried! :shark: Man, I'm just as bad sometimes though with worrying. Honestly though, it really does depend on the kind of fish you have in your tanks as to how long they can go without any power. This time of year in England, I wouldn't even worry for like days at a time. But in the winter, I would be very concerned. Temperature is more of an issue with most species than waste problems. Most species can stand several days of waste with no problem as long as temps are normal. Ideally, it's not good to do that, but on the other hand, a power outage generally doesn't last long at all. One thing I've had problems with in the recent past related to power is when there is a power surge, filters can get ruined so make sure you're using a surge protector. At any rate I'm rambling in to worry myself now and my point was: don't worry about it.

[SomethingFishy]

When the hurricane was coming last year (the first one) I'm have to admit I wasn't even thinking about the fish tank. I was too worried about securing my house, the parrot, the cat & myself. Husband (then FH) had to go in to work, so I went to my parents' house. Turned out I never lost power at my place. (I was in that lucky 1% of people in Palm Beach CO. that DIDN'T lose power) My parents lost it for nearly a week. My mom's lightly stocked tank did fine. I think all she did is pour some tank water over the bio wheel occasionally, and she only did that after I suggested it. If I had lost power here I do have a battery powered air stone I could've used. We do have occasional power outages here that last from a few minutes to an hour or so. I don't even worry about those. I've got my cannister filster on a surge protector, but that's it. Heater? I don't even run one on my tank, don't need it here. I only own one in case of ich treatment.