power being shut off for the day

[miked78231]

my apartments just sent me a notice saying that CPS is going to be shutting off everyones power through out the day. will my fish be ok without a filter, skimmer, and powerheads?

[Reef69]

..No, they need oxygen to live like any aerobic creatures in the planet.

[Dozer]

I would highly advise something like this http://www.petco.com/Shop/Product.aspx?R=5726&sku=144100&redirectURL=%2fShop %2fSearchResults.aspx%3fNav%3d1%26N%3d0%26Ntt%3dba ttery%2520pump&Nav=1&N=0&Ntt=battery+pump

I have two of these- one for the display and one for the fuge. The one that I have will automatically kick on when the power goes out (it plugs into the wall), so all I need to do is keep decent batteries in there and if I'm gone and the power goes out at least the livestock will get some oxygen. Lack of oxygen is probably the biggest concern for a tank when power goes down.

[miked78231]

well i dont have any money to just run out and pick one up. whats the worse that will happen? i talked to the aparments and they said that it will be on and off all day.

[JimD]

Without proper ammounts of O2, looks like your tank is doomed if the power goes out for any length of time. Youre lucky, most people dont have the luxury of knowing when the power is going to go out.

[Reef69]

..Yeah..poor fish..maybe someone has a battery operated pump they can let you borrow..

[Richard]

In a pinch you can either spend a little time stirring the water surface to get more o2 in it. Probably 5-10 minutes every hour or so will do. Or you can just watch the fish and if they start breathing fast then you know it's time to start agitating the water.

Even better siphon out 5 gallons into a bucket letting it splash as it goes into the bucket and then pour it back in.

Of course that means you have to spend the day babysitting your tank.

[carlinsa]

you can go to walmart in the fishing department and get those battery powered airstone for only 5$ WITH THE BATTERIES

i put 4 in my tank when the power went off and didnt loose anything

[NaCl_H2O]

Even better siphon out 5 gallons into a bucket letting it splash as it goes into the bucket and then pour it back in.
Great advice, do it!

[LoneStar]

whats the worse that will happen?


EVERYTHING WILL DIE! Trust me, on my old 45 gallon we had the power go off over night and I woke up the next morning with all the fish dead. Lots of money wasted. Although now I have a extremely large UPS connected to my skimmer and return pump.

[ratboy]

In my many tank moves I've lost several hawkfish (seem most susceptible to suffocation) after periods with no airation from the trip to the new tank. Buy/borrow a battery powered pump (also 5$ @ academy). I can loan you one but I'm in Austin...

[miked78231]

nope the problem is solved Ace was cool enough to come drop one off to let me borrow. everything worked out perfect.

[Darth-Tater]

awe ace is so nice :P way to go hobogato you have fooled another unsepecting soul tricked. :shades


David

[Ram_Puppy]

glad to hear everything worked out well. those battery powered airpumps are awesome.

I was recently reading an article in some new reef mag that CBpets carries (sorry, don't remember the name) that reccomended several strategies for keeping your tank alive during power outages.

The sanest thing they reccomended is that everyone have an 'emergency kit' for just this eventuality.

Kit should include a battery operated air pump and D cell battery replacements.
Space blanket - (for cold weather environments) apparently this mylar blanket is incredibly effective at holding heat in tanks.
air stones - for pump incase they clog

The cooler and more expensive options:

A power inverter for your car so you can hook power heads and pumps up, just run an extension chord out to your car/truck, and start the engine.

A generator obviously...

one of the more uniqe things this guy did to keep to large reefs alive over a 3 day power outage, was to use a battery operated drill and a paint stirring attatchment. apparently all the fish are smart enough to head into the rock work when it first goes off, and it drives air into a tank apparently, like no ones business.

all handy little tips. :)