Hello, I had a power outage for 1h30min so I am very worried about my fish and a lot of them turned almost white. I would like to know what I could have done better. I took the filter media, put them in the tank and then took a blanket and put it on the tank with a "emergency thermic tent" to keep the tank warmer (it was 19°c in this room). Also I am scared that this happen while I am not home. I live somewhere power outage can happen quite frequently in winter so what if I am not there a weekend or an entire week and there is a power outage so my filter media dry, my tank gets cold (I don't think my heater turned on so I unpluged and repluged it), and my fish don't get oxygen. How should I prepare myself for that?
🌟 Exclusive Amazon Black Friday Deals 2024 🌟
Don’t miss out on the best deals of the season! Shop now 🎁
power outage
- Thread starter Meg0000
- Start date
-
- Tags
- power outage
I've always been home during an outage. I wrap the tanks in bubble wrap and blankets to keep the heat in. Now I dont have to worry about it because I'm on the same power circuit as the federal prison down the street as well as the hospital, so theres always a team waiting to put the power back on and theres a backup. Good luck!
You're very lucky!
I know! My old house had outages all the time. One was even 14 days long
Did you have a tank at that time? I hope not.. I don't know how you survived that, we had a power outage this winter for 2 days and it was horrible!
I didnt luckily
lazarusthefishboy10
Fish Crazy
Wow! You're very lucky! the longest I have had a power outage with all my aquariums would be for 1 MINUTE!
But, when you do go away, make sure there is a friend of yours who will check in on the fish every few hours! I know it is lockdown, but you should for sure be able to get someone to keep an eye on your fish. I get my friend to feed the fish while I'm gone, and frankly he quite enjoys it. This is probably the best way to go. Then when there IS a power outage while your gone, your friend/fish-sitter can ring you and you can tell him/her what to do. Just make sure you have everything you'll need prepared somewhere in the house! Hope this helped you out!
But, when you do go away, make sure there is a friend of yours who will check in on the fish every few hours! I know it is lockdown, but you should for sure be able to get someone to keep an eye on your fish. I get my friend to feed the fish while I'm gone, and frankly he quite enjoys it. This is probably the best way to go. Then when there IS a power outage while your gone, your friend/fish-sitter can ring you and you can tell him/her what to do. Just make sure you have everything you'll need prepared somewhere in the house! Hope this helped you out!
Stick polystyrene foam on the back and sides of the tank. You can have an inch or two of foam to insulate the bottom, back and sides.
Have a 5 or 6mm thick coverglass on top of the tank. The thicker glass will help hold heat in better.
----------------
If the power is off for an hour or two it's not a big problem for fish or filters. As long as the filter remains wet it will be fine for that length of time.
If the power is off for more than 3 hours, then the beneficial filter bacteria can die off.
If you have a hang on back (HOB) style filter like an AquaClear, you can get a bucket of tank water and pour it into the filter case every 30-60 minutes. This will keep the bacteria alive.
If you have an external canister style filter, put the outlet hose into a bucket and let the bucket fill up. Then put the outlet hose back on the tank. Pour the bucket of water into the tank. Do this every 30-60minutes and it will keep the bacteria alive.
----------------
Most fish can tolerate a slight drop in temperature and I wouldn't worry about the odd power failure unless it runs for a long time. If there is going to be a long power failure, put a blanket or towel over the tank to help insulate it. Make sure the towel doesn't get water on it from the tank, because it can wick the water out of the tank.
Have a 5 or 6mm thick coverglass on top of the tank. The thicker glass will help hold heat in better.
----------------
If the power is off for an hour or two it's not a big problem for fish or filters. As long as the filter remains wet it will be fine for that length of time.
If the power is off for more than 3 hours, then the beneficial filter bacteria can die off.
If you have a hang on back (HOB) style filter like an AquaClear, you can get a bucket of tank water and pour it into the filter case every 30-60 minutes. This will keep the bacteria alive.
If you have an external canister style filter, put the outlet hose into a bucket and let the bucket fill up. Then put the outlet hose back on the tank. Pour the bucket of water into the tank. Do this every 30-60minutes and it will keep the bacteria alive.
----------------
Most fish can tolerate a slight drop in temperature and I wouldn't worry about the odd power failure unless it runs for a long time. If there is going to be a long power failure, put a blanket or towel over the tank to help insulate it. Make sure the towel doesn't get water on it from the tank, because it can wick the water out of the tank.
All my filters will come back on and continue pumping after a power failure without the media getting dry. Obviously some bacteria will die if it is off for an extended period but even after 24 hours I would expect enough bacteria to survive to re-establish the filter very quickly. I have enough plants in my tanks that loss of 50% of the bacteria won't be catastrophic. Canister, internal and sponge filters should cope with this. For my HOB I use a Seachem Tidal which has the pump inside the tank so the same applies.
If your tank is covered you should be fine for 24-48 hours in a room at 19C. I once had a heater fail on Christmas day and it was 3 days before a replacement arrived. By that time the tank had only dropped to 20C. Most fish will be fine with this for short periods - I never lost a single one. The temperture will drop more slowly f you insulate as @Colin_T suggests. If you are really concerned you could get something like this and attach it to a sponge filter https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01KTOECAU/?tag= (can't guarantee it will be quiet)
If these frequent outages are only a few hours in duration you will be fine as long as the filters and heaters come back on without intervention when power is resumed. Naturally you will have to look at alternative ideas if the outages tend to last for days rather than hours.
If your tank is covered you should be fine for 24-48 hours in a room at 19C. I once had a heater fail on Christmas day and it was 3 days before a replacement arrived. By that time the tank had only dropped to 20C. Most fish will be fine with this for short periods - I never lost a single one. The temperture will drop more slowly f you insulate as @Colin_T suggests. If you are really concerned you could get something like this and attach it to a sponge filter https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01KTOECAU/?tag= (can't guarantee it will be quiet
)If these frequent outages are only a few hours in duration you will be fine as long as the filters and heaters come back on without intervention when power is resumed. Naturally you will have to look at alternative ideas if the outages tend to last for days rather than hours.
Next time I go somewhere for a long period I will ask my neighbor to tell me if there is a power outageWow! You're very lucky! the longest I have had a power outage with all my aquariums would be for 1 MINUTE!
Ok thank youAll my filters will come back on and continue pumping after a power failure without the media getting dry. Obviously some bacteria will die if it is off for an extended period but even after 24 hours I would expect enough bacteria to survive to re-establish the filter very quickly. I have enough plants in my tanks that loss of 50% of the bacteria won't be catastrophic. Canister, internal and sponge filters should cope with this. For my HOB I use a Seachem Tidal which has the pump inside the tank so the same applies.
If your tank is covered you should be fine for 24-48 hours in a room at 19C. I once had a heater fail on Christmas day and it was 3 days before a replacement arrived. By that time the tank had only dropped to 20C. Most fish will be fine with this for short periods - I never lost a single one. The temperture will drop more slowly f you insulate as @Colin_T suggests. If you are really concerned you could get something like this and attach it to a sponge filter https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01KTOECAU/?tag= (can't guarantee it will be quiet
If these frequent outages are only a few hours in duration you will be fine as long as the filters and heaters come back on without intervention when power is resumed. Naturally you will have to look at alternative ideas if the outages tend to last for days rather than hours.
My power outages only happen from time to time...
Make sure to unplug your filter, because when the power comes back on, it will run it dry. (I have had this happen to me before)
Make sure to unplug your filter, because when the power comes back on, it will run it dry. (I have had this happen to me before)
It shouldn't.
If you have a HOB filter, the only reason that will run dry is if the water level in the aquarium, is lower than the pump on the filter.
If you have a canister filter, it shouldn't run dry at all.
I was speaking from the perspective of someone who only uses internal filter. (Like me)
You have to pour water into the top of the filter when you first start it out in a new tank. It sort of "primes" the filter.
Similar threads
Most reactions
-
284 -
256 -
202 -
176 -
175 -
146 -
143 -
125 -
124 -
106 -
91 -
91 -
89 -
81 -
81