Banafish
Fish Fanatic
I had never thought about this before, but today my power went out for 2 hours because of construction. I don't have any inhabitants in my tank yet which is a relief, but in the future what should I do?
What to do if the power does out
- Thread starter Banafish
- Start date
If the power failure is only for a few hours, don't worry.
If the power failure is going to be half a day, then buy a battery operated air pump, some airline and a plastic multi-coloured airstone. Run the airstone in the tank while the power is off.
If the weather is cold, insulate the back, sides and base of the tank with 1-2 inch thick sheets of polystyrene foam. You should do this anyway to reduce power consumption.
Have a coverglass on top of the tank. Use glass that is 4, 5 or 6mm thick, rather than the 2 or 3mm thick coverglass sold in pet shops. The thicker glass insulates better and is less likely to chip or crack.
You can cover the tank with a towel or blanket if it's really cold. Make sure the towel does not come in contact with the light unit or water because you can drain a tank through capillary action where the moisture climbs up the material of the towel and goes over the edge and onto the floor.
-------------------
If you have an external canister filter, take the outlet (return) hose out of the aquarium and put it in a bucket. Let the bucket fill with water that has gone through the filter. Then put the outlet hose back in the tank and pour the bucket of water back into the tank. Do this every hour or two during the power failure.
If you have a HOB (hang on back) style of filter, get a bucket of water from the aquarium and pour it into the filter. Do this every hour or two during the power failure.
If the power is going to be off for a day or more, take the filter media out of the filter and wash it in a bucket of tank water. Then put the media in the aquarium. Wash the filter case and impellor unit under tap water and let it dry. When the power comes back on, reassemble the filter and get it running asap.
-------------------
If you know there is going to be a long power failure in the next few days, do a big (75%) water change and gravel clean the substrate a day or two before. Clean the filter as well.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
On the night before the power failure and the day of the power failure, do not feed the fish. This will reduce the ammonia produced by the fish during the power failure and keep the water cleaner for longer.
Short power failures (a couple of hours) are nothing to worry about.
Power failures that go for a day or more are an issue and a battery operated air pump will make a huge difference.
If you can't find a battery operated air pump (available from most pet shops or online), get a power inverter from an auto shop. These plug into a car's cigarette lighter and convert the car's 12 volt battery power into 220/240 volt (or whatever the voltage is in your country). You then plug an extension cord into the outlet of the power inverter and run it to the aquarium. Plug the filter into the inverter and let it run.
If you get a battery operated air pump, get one of the bigger models because they work better.
If the power failure is going to be half a day, then buy a battery operated air pump, some airline and a plastic multi-coloured airstone. Run the airstone in the tank while the power is off.
If the weather is cold, insulate the back, sides and base of the tank with 1-2 inch thick sheets of polystyrene foam. You should do this anyway to reduce power consumption.
Have a coverglass on top of the tank. Use glass that is 4, 5 or 6mm thick, rather than the 2 or 3mm thick coverglass sold in pet shops. The thicker glass insulates better and is less likely to chip or crack.
You can cover the tank with a towel or blanket if it's really cold. Make sure the towel does not come in contact with the light unit or water because you can drain a tank through capillary action where the moisture climbs up the material of the towel and goes over the edge and onto the floor.
-------------------
If you have an external canister filter, take the outlet (return) hose out of the aquarium and put it in a bucket. Let the bucket fill with water that has gone through the filter. Then put the outlet hose back in the tank and pour the bucket of water back into the tank. Do this every hour or two during the power failure.
If you have a HOB (hang on back) style of filter, get a bucket of water from the aquarium and pour it into the filter. Do this every hour or two during the power failure.
If the power is going to be off for a day or more, take the filter media out of the filter and wash it in a bucket of tank water. Then put the media in the aquarium. Wash the filter case and impellor unit under tap water and let it dry. When the power comes back on, reassemble the filter and get it running asap.
-------------------
If you know there is going to be a long power failure in the next few days, do a big (75%) water change and gravel clean the substrate a day or two before. Clean the filter as well.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.
On the night before the power failure and the day of the power failure, do not feed the fish. This will reduce the ammonia produced by the fish during the power failure and keep the water cleaner for longer.
Short power failures (a couple of hours) are nothing to worry about.
Power failures that go for a day or more are an issue and a battery operated air pump will make a huge difference.
If you can't find a battery operated air pump (available from most pet shops or online), get a power inverter from an auto shop. These plug into a car's cigarette lighter and convert the car's 12 volt battery power into 220/240 volt (or whatever the voltage is in your country). You then plug an extension cord into the outlet of the power inverter and run it to the aquarium. Plug the filter into the inverter and let it run.
If you get a battery operated air pump, get one of the bigger models because they work better.
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Personally I have my under filter air pumps, sponge filter pump and heater all connected to a computer type battery backup. I don't worry about the lights.
I have multiple tanks and a battery backup unit but can't run the heaters on it. Heaters pull way too much power. So I only run the HOB filters and air pumps. If it goes over two hours and is going to be longer then four hours I will most likely be pulling out the gas powered generator not only to keep the air flow running in the tanks but also to keep all my refrigeration and freezers running and to run a portable A/C unit if it's hot.
We've had more then one occrance where power goes out for extended peroids so the generator is needed.
We've had more then one occrance where power goes out for extended peroids so the generator is needed.
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