Powercut to aquarium, NOW WHAT ????

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

Prime

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) .

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.

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.

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...

svtcontour said:

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...

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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.....

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.