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So we had a power outage last night. First time in awhile. Realized I’m woefully unprepared for this eventuality. Ended up being due to “scheduled maintenance” of course the customers are the last to know. I was in the middle of water changes when it occurred so nothing says Nerm like water changes by iPhone flashlight. 
Would appreciate some of your thoughts on how you prepared for these types of events. Should I have battery powered pumps on the ready? Slap down serious cash for an APS? All feedback and thoughts appreciated!93A6D8D3-1D54-418A-8B87-36BFEC7CC9B7.jpeg.d9454fcafe85a4702d28ffb1cbf1550d.jpeg

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I have two 20 gallon tall tanks that sit next to each other. They each have an airline run buy a Tetra Whisper pump to their sponge filters. THEN they both have a corner air driven bio filter (could be another sponge filter for all I care) driven by a plug in filter that is also a lithium battery. I live in an old neighborhood with above ground power lines/poles. It happens a lot- typically my power blinks off then on which is irritating because I have to reprogram my lights- HOWEVER when the power does go off for whatever reason, the battery takes over from that plug in pump and they both have at least 1 filter going. 

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I was just thinking about this myself. All my tanks are planted and have lots of places for beneficial bacteria to grow outside of the filter. I think I could go quite a while without a filter.  I’m thinking of getting a few more Coop USB air pumps for added piece of mind. I figure they’ll provide some flow in addition to the air. 

Edited by Patrick_G
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Plug in air pump's with built-in lithium batteries are great. They will work for several hours into a power outage. Battery-operated air pumps are necessary for longer outages. Mine run on C batteries (flashlight batteries). Keep several batteries on hand. When the power goes out, batteries will be hard to find in stores.

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@HH Morant and @xXInkedPhoenixXany recommendation on which pumps to purchase. Looking at Amazon and Google there are tons. I just don’t trust Amazon reviews anymore. 

@Patrick_G I have the coop airpumps and love them. However, I’d have had to have an APS to power them in this scenario as they don’t have a battery. I suppose I could have pulled out my usb power supply I use for road trips. 

Also thanks so much for the thoughtful replies! 

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I have one of those lithium-ion packs that jump start car batteries. It has a usb port on it so in an outage I connect the nano air pump to it so my sponge filter is still going. Of course it won't last forever but so far it's worked well.

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