preparing for a 4 hour power outage

[Darwin]

I got a letter today from my electrical supplier that there is going to be a 4 hour power outage in about a weeks time. The outage is scheduled while I am at work. I got on to AC to get some advice about this and just noticed that there have been recent suggestions that an article on preparing for a power outage would be a good idea !! I agree, that's exactly what I hoping to find !! In the meantime, does anyone have any tips on what (if anything) I need to do to prepare.

I have a moderately planted 20G tank with 7 serpae tetras and 6 cories, temp 24 oC. The filter is built into the lid (AquaOne - AR620), a sort of trickle system with ceramic noodles. I have read that you should disconnect your filter from the tank because the water in it can get toxic when the water stops flowing and then it pumps all the toxic water into the tank when you restart it. I can't disconnect the filter because it is built in but I could try and get most of the water out of it before hand. Is toxic water likely to be a problem after 4 hours ?

Also, I don't have an airstone at all - there is plenty of surface agitation from the filter. Do I need to get one (battery operated) to ensure enough oxygen over the 4 hours or would the tank be o.k. for 4 hours ?

How quickly does ammonia build up in the system without the filter running ? Will I need to take the afternoon off work to change the water frequently while the power is off - or is that overkill ?

[mvigor]

If I had a tank like yours and received that letter during a temperate time of year I would just shrug my shoulders and not worry about it. I think the tank will be fine.

[mooman]

Agreed. A couple of hours is no problem. I actually left town for the weekend a few weeks ago. I had shut down the filter to feed some bottom dwellers and forgot to turn it back on. It was off for a full 48 hours. I did a WC just to be sure, but did not lose any fish or even see an ammonia spike. I'm not suggesting it's cool to shut your filter down for days at a time, but a few hours is nothing to stress about.

[DarkEntity]

If you are relaly worried then depending on what fish you have you could raise the water temp by 1 or 2 degrees prior to the power outtage thus giving more time before the water temp drops.

be advised certain fish do not like this, and i take no responsibility for any harm this may cause.

[jwddboy]

Um... dark... not such a great idea as that will mean the tank holds less oxygen. And for 4 hours the temp wont go as low as the oxygen.

[joephys]

This winter the power was out for eight hours. My house got below 60 degrees inside my house. I covered the tank with a blanket (and taped it on tight) and after 8 hours the temp went from 77-75 degrees. As far as ammonia spikes, I wouldn't worry too much about it. There should be enough bacteria in the tank to keep it from going very high.

[Darwin]

Thanks for the advice - I am relieved to know that 4 hours isn't a big deal. It is winter here, so I will heat the house up before the power goes out and that should keep the tanks warm enough.

I also have a 5G with a betta in it, I'll wrap his tank up in newspaper or blankets and hopefully he'll stay warm enough. I wasn't worried about lack of oxygen for him, and I figured since they're often kept without filtration, 4 hours without a filter wouldn't matter.

[patoloco]

i shut down my filter twice a day for 2.5 hours, making a total of 5 hours without filtration daily, with no aparent ill effects.

[Onikun]

I wouldn't worry about the cories not having oxygen, they can go up for air.

[DarkEntity]

Um... dark... not such a great idea as that will mean the tank holds less oxygen. And for 4 hours the temp wont go as low as the oxygen.

Ive never had a problem when ive had to do it for power outages.

[cherrypie]

Went through much the same this time last year, power company wanted to move the underground power from one side of the street to the other. Two ~6 hour outages and one ~10 hour outage in a week. I taped a blanket over my tank but left some gaps around the hood to allow for some gas exchange. Also raised temp a couple degrees C, vacuumed gravel (less decomposition consuming oxygen), topped the tank up to 1cm below the glass covers and aerated like mad beforehand.