Scheduled Power Outage... What To Do?

[JasonMichael]

Hi guys,

We received a letter from our electricity company informing us of a scheduled power outage on Friday for 6-8 hours... is there anything I should do for my tank/fish during this time?

Thanks.

 

[deftuch]

Hi guys,

We received a letter from our electricity company informing us of a scheduled power outage on Friday for 6-8 hours... is there anything I should do for my tank/fish during this time?

Thanks.

try to hook your filters up to a generator. 6 to 8 hours is way too long i had a 2 hour cut and my filter and tank was fine. im not sure how much bacteria you will lose in 8 hours! could be all of it, im unsure. there may be a way round it by dosing your filters with pure ammonia to keep the cycle going but again im unsure. anyone else think that will work?

 

[ColR1948]

Dosing the filters with Ammonia!!! Are you sure about that? I have read on forums where people have done water changes and forgot to plug the filter back in and the bacteria has been OK after many hours, I think as long as it stays wet it will last a good while.

 

[creeker]

I had an unscheduled power outage last year for about 12 hours. My tank ( a bit overstocked at the time) was fine. Those bacteria are pretty tough. There was no measureable amount of nitrite or ammonia when I tested it the next few days.

 

[deftuch]

Dosing the filters with Ammonia!!! Are you sure about that? I have read on forums where people have done water changes and forgot to plug the filter back in and the bacteria has been OK after many hours, I think as long as it stays wet it will last a good while.

only thing is if the filters arent recieving ammonia the bacteria will die off. if you turn a filter off it still has waste in there that will waste away creating ammonia and the cycle continues. when that ammonia is used up, the bacteria dies off, so its questionable how long a filter will last with no power. and as for dosing it with ammonia i dont see ( if done correctly ) how it would be any different from the filter sucking in tank water with ammonia in it, converting to nitrite then nitrate ect and pumping it back out. the key thing is that the bacteria need a consistent supply of ammonia to function. if you cleaned your filter out, got it waste free but left all ceramic rings bio balls containg bacteria and media, everything apart from waste. how long would that filter last without power??

Dosing the filters with Ammonia!!! Are you sure about that? I have read on forums where people have done water changes and forgot to plug the filter back in and the bacteria has been OK after many hours, I think as long as it stays wet it will last a good while.

only thing is if the filters arent recieving ammonia the bacteria will die off. if you turn a filter off it still has waste in there that will waste away creating ammonia and the cycle continues. when that ammonia is used up, the bacteria dies off, so its questionable how long a filter will last with no power. and as for dosing it with ammonia i dont see ( if done correctly ) how it would be any different from the filter sucking in tank water with ammonia in it, converting to nitrite then nitrate ect and pumping it back out. the key thing is that the bacteria need a consistent supply of ammonia to function. if you cleaned your filter out, got it waste free but left all ceramic rings bio balls containg bacteria and media, everything apart from waste. how long would that filter last without power??

lets just say a filter would be fine after 12 hours. when you turn it back on the water its sucking in will have far more ammonia in that usual. after 12 hours would the bacteria still be able to cope??? ammonia spikes and nitrite spikes are a potential problem!

 

[fluttermoth]

I've seen a lot of people quote 10 to 12% loss of bacteria every 24 hours, so 6 or 8 shouldn't cause you any problems.

Most of us have forgotten, at some time or another, to switch filters back on after maintenance; I certainly have and haven't experienced any problems.

As always, with any 'major' upheaval in your tank, feed sparingly (if at all) and test often for a few days before and after.

 

[ColR1948]

Adding to this would a water change BEFORE the power outage be beneficial, I'm asking this for the OP by the way?

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, it would,

Don't feed for the two days before, if possible, and do a big water change; preferably not the day before (in case of any problems; you don't want to have to deal with that with no electricity!).

 

[Essjay]

We had a planned power outage for 8 hours in spring. I almost did as fluttermoth says, I gave the fish about quarter of what they would normally have for a couple of days before and after. I kept an eye on my ammonia and nitrite levels for a few days and never saw a trace of either. And since you are in Australia, keeping the tank warm in December shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Yanks15]

I added a battery operated pump with an air stone to keep some aeration in the water column. Once an hour I poured some tank water through the filters to have a little flow. Luckily I was home at the time and I have HOB's. Had no problem with die-off but was only out of power for 4 hours.


Thanks,
Steve

 

[deftuch]

I added a battery operated pump with an air stone to keep some aeration in the water column. Once an hour I poured some tank water through the filters to have a little flow. Luckily I was home at the time and I have HOB's. Had no problem with die-off but was only out of power for 4 hours.


Thanks,
Steve

off topic, what type of rock is that in your tank?

 

[Yanks15]

It's lace rock. I didn't really research enough to know what type to use for a natural Mbuna setting but really like the way it looks. It has more of a Marine look to it so a little off base for them. So far I've had no issues with the fish hurting themselves on it so I guess it will be fine. It does make for some nice caves for them. I would like to change over to a more suitable rock for them at some time.


Thanks,
Steve

 

[CezzaXV]

I've forgotten to turn my filter back on after a water change and not remembered until the following morning, probably a good 12 hours later. Everything was fine, no worries.

If you have an external filter with a priming pump, prime it a few times during the outage to get "fresh" water through it, but I really wouldn't worry. In my experience the filter bacteria are nowhere near as delicate as some people claim they are.

 

[deftuch]

It's lace rock. I didn't really research enough to know what type to use for a natural Mbuna setting but really like the way it looks. It has more of a Marine look to it so a little off base for them. So far I've had no issues with the fish hurting themselves on it so I guess it will be fine. It does make for some nice caves for them. I would like to change over to a more suitable rock for them at some time.


Thanks,
Steve

i think it lookds good. ive got lava rock, ocean rock and a few others i have no idea what they are. i admire the way you have piled them up creating as many caves and territory as possible. cant stand people who only buy a few rocks and arrange them in such a way that it looks amazing but is bare minimal in caves and territory

 

[Yanks15]

Appreciate that

Not meaning to steal the OP's thread...... but I am planning to upgrade to 75gal and will decide then if I keep the rock and add to it or replace it with more geographically correct rock.


Thanks,
Steve