# Power outage.. How you guys deal with it??



## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

It has been 7 hrs since power went out and I'm now really worried about my tanks.. How do you guys cope with this??

Lesson learned: get a battery powered air pump..


----------



## Canadian_Aqua_Farm (Apr 21, 2010)

I learned the hard way when we had a major wind storm in 2006 and went without power for several days. Now I have a gas generator.


----------



## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

I have several battery backups/UPS


----------



## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

PC ups on my tank


----------



## knucklehead (Dec 27, 2013)

How long does the ups power usually last?


----------



## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

I have a generator and UPS battery backup. Will probably order a few battery operated air pumps.

Anthony


----------



## knucklehead (Dec 27, 2013)

Temperature isn't too cold now but when it's winter how do you deal with it?


----------



## mike.m (Aug 5, 2010)

my xp4 leaked from gasket.... crappy day


----------



## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

knucklehead said:


> Temperature isn't too cold now but when it's winter how do you deal with it?


Make sure tank lids are tight. Since all you can do is limit heat loss. Maybe use foam board to cover the glass as much as possible.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


----------



## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

BC hydro just released estimated time.. IT'S NOT UNTIL 12PM TOMORROW!!!! I have 5 tanks ( 1 salt).. I'm in panic mode now... I just checked temps of all tank. They all around 80F now.. which one should I worry more? Temp or oxygenation? ?? Ahhhh!!! I hope my trophs, apistos, angels, corals gonna be ok

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


----------



## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

knucklehead said:


> Temperature isn't too cold now but when it's winter how do you deal with it?


Worse case scenario, I would take out potfuls of sw from my reef tanks and boil them on the burners on my 2 Weber Genesis bbqs outside and then slowly add the heated sw to my sumps to keep them warm. Make sure the container is made of inert materials (i.e. like ceramic corning ware)

However, I would just fire up my portable generator and plug in a couple of power bars for the tanks so each tank of my 3 main has at least one powerhead and a 100w heater going. I also have about 10 x 8'x2' sheets of styrofoam insulation sheets in my backyard storage area and would wrap up my tanks to preserve any heat energy. These extreme measures would only be taken if I knew it was going to be more than say 6 hours without power and could be a day or more. If its shorter, then the UPS would suffice.


----------



## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

jhj0112 said:


> BC hydro just released estimated time.. IT'S NOT UNTIL 12PM TOMORROW!!!! I have 5 tanks ( 1 salt).. I'm in panic mode now... I just checked temps of all tank. They all around 80F now.. which one should I worry more? Temp or oxygenation? ?? Ahhhh!!! I hope my trophs, apistos, angels, corals gonna be ok
> 
> Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


Most fish will die from oxygen deprivation way before temperature drops would affect them.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


----------



## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

tony1928 said:


> Most fish will die from oxygen deprivation way before temperature drops would affect them.


Agree totally. I read somewhere that somebody used a paint stirrer attached to his battery operated drill to oxygenate his tanks during a long power outage. Kept his batteries charging at home nearby where power was on, while using the charged batteries sporadically to keep his tanks going.


----------



## So_lil (Feb 12, 2014)

Uhhhh doing same as you all just woke up to refill gas gen set. Extension cords running all over the place. Best wishs to everyone hoping we all weather this storm the best we can


----------



## hi-revs (Nov 3, 2010)

Went for 9+hrs without power yesterday.
Did a 50% WC about 4yrs in, and everything turned out fine. No losses.
Luckily I've cleaned all my canisters about a week ago so they're all relatively clean.


----------



## dino (Aug 29, 2011)

But a battery operated air pump 10.00 online


----------



## AbeDC (Jan 17, 2015)

What I did was I grabbed a bicycle pump and attached it to my air tubes and started pumping for 10-30 minutes every hour or so. Was getting paranoid after the 10th hour when my rainbows stopped moving around and I ended up sleeping beside my tank pumping air continuously till I passed out ( I know they were probably going to be fine but I was paranoid haha)

Yeah I should get a battery air pump too


----------



## WetOne (Nov 14, 2014)

Power has been out 26hr now. I would have been hooped were it not for my backup generator. 

Wishing everyone the best of luck.


----------



## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

I keep a couple of these plugged in ready to use all the time.
Motomaster Eliminator 800A Powerbox | Canadian Tire

they are on sale right now


----------



## jhj0112 (Jul 30, 2013)

Power came back on early this morning.. everything is ok except flame angel in my saltwater tank.. 
Are you guys all ok with your fishes?

Sent from my SM-G900W8 using Tapatalk


----------



## Longimanus (Apr 21, 2010)

My tank went 24 hours with nothing. No oxygen, no heat. I was very surprised to not lose one fish. My 55 gallon is overstocked, I would have thought there would be losses for sure. I ran out and bought battery powered pumps and while I was installing them and doing a water change the power came on lol!!


----------



## rich16 (Mar 25, 2011)

I was lucky enough NOT to have my power go out...I admit I was paranoid about it, as I`m really not prepared for any extended outage...


----------



## Hammer (Apr 22, 2010)

I have a medium level of stocking and medium level of live plants. I wrapped my tank several blankets and it held at 71 degrees... low, but not deadly.

When I raised salmon fry I used styrofoam insulation duct taped around the tank to keep the tank cool. I imagine that would buy you some time. I would guess that during winter time temperature drop would be the most critical factor. There is some passive exchange on gas on water surface, this is increased if you agitate the surface. This why you get additional results from an airstone. I think a little battery powered pump would be quite effective. If you had a heavily planted tank and well stocked tank, the oxygen may become an issue after awhile. Did anyone notice stress from oxygen deprivation?


----------



## Kimrocks (Aug 30, 2011)

USD $6.99 each (incl Tax) - Worth grabbing a couple for emergencies

Blue Ribbon Pet Products Blue Ribbon Vibra Flow Portable Battery Air Pump Aquarium Air Pumps


----------



## Lars (Jul 22, 2012)

My Power didn't go out, but I wouldn't have been prepared for it at all. I just bought a gas powered generator as an insurance policy. If we get an extended power outage, it's not just my fish, but also all the food in the fridge and freezer.


----------



## am3ience (Jul 21, 2014)

My power was out for 24+ hours. I never did anything special to my tanks. Didn't have to retain heat or anything. I have a 55 gallon over-stocked heavily planted community tank with no casualties, and a saltwater tank with just CUC and some coral, with no visible casualties. I kind of just let my tanks go, and nothing happened.


----------



## outsider (Jan 13, 2015)

I lost power for 2 hours last Tuesday night. (Which was surprise consider most people lost their power during the weekend.) While I didn't lose any fish, my fishes were about to die as all the tetra's color have faded and some even turn pale. I think the problem power shutdown while co2 was running, while I do have solenoid on my regulator but I think there were too much co2 in the water and plants start to used up oxygen once light went off. 

I should have doze some h2o2 in the water before I left home for brighter place. =/


----------



## Hammer (Apr 22, 2010)

I think t
If you had co2 running and no light or means of gas exchange (aeration, agitation, flow etc) you might be in trouble as it seems you were. I am surprised your fish showed stress signs so quickly. Must have lots of fish and lots of co2


----------



## Dietmar (Dec 15, 2011)

My power only went out for 5 hrs. I was one of the lucky ones.
I use a penn plax B11 a battery powered air pump. Its plugged into 120V and when the power goes out, the pump starts automatically. I don't have to be home.

I found this:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/8/aafeature


----------



## outsider (Jan 13, 2015)

Hammer said:


> I think t
> If you had co2 running and no light or means of gas exchange (aeration, agitation, flow etc) you might be in trouble as it seems you were. I am surprised your fish showed stress signs so quickly. Must have lots of fish and lots of co2


Ya.. I have close 100 fishes in my 45 gallon. (All small fish thou. Galaxy rasbora, harlequin rasbora, neon tetra, green neon, cardinal tetra, rummy nose tetra, pygmy cory, oto, cherry shrimps, albino cory, peacock goby, neon goby and lone SAE ) Biggest fish in my tank is lone SAE which is about 4 inch.

My tank is heavy planted and co2 was running somewhere close to 3 bubble/sec. The power went out before my usual shut down time. The regualor did shut down after power went out but there are still a lot of co2 left in the co2 tube. I think the strange thing is that fishes didn't surface for air, however their color just faded like crazy. Good thing BC hydro was able to restore the power and everything back to normal next day. To be honest I am not sure if I lost any fish since my carpet and back ground plants are too dense to see any corpse. It seems I am missing one harlequin rasbora but I can't remember when it went missing and I never see any corpse anyway.


----------



## shift (Dec 21, 2012)

I feel so bad for you guys dealing with that. You did however inspire me to order a battery powered air stone just incase


----------



## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

Another bad wind storm came through. Those not effected, who don't have a battery powered air pump, should grab one (for $20 it's worth the potential to save your fishy's lives). Power was only out for 2 hours this time (in Campbell River), but at least we had 2 days notice. Heard it wasn't so great for some lower mainland residents too.


----------



## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

Yeah especially important for bottom dwellers like plecos. I've lost my fair share of plecos when a powerhead failed for a day. 

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk


----------



## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

There's another wind warning for Vancouver Island I overheard. Don't know if it'll effect the lower mainland as badly again, but you might want to check into the weather network.

This is one of the few times where not having a fish tank is actually stress relieving.


----------



## cpat83 (Sep 1, 2015)

I have a generator, but if I'm not home then things could definitely go sideways.


----------

