Power outage!!

[Idontknowwhattoputhere]

My power went out this morning and I have a heated fish tank. We keep the tank at 78°F and the temperature has gone down to 77-76°F. Will it harm my fish if the power stays out for longer? I dont have anything in my tank that's battery powered everything is plugged into the wall sockets (airstone, filter, heater, and my light.) 

[eatyourpeas]

Gradual temperature changes won't harm the critters. You can always do a water change and use that to create some bubbles and help oxygenate the water, as well as stabilize the temperature.

[Patrick_G]

Oh man, that sucks. From what I’ve learned watching Corys’s videos on his Amazon trips the water temp in the wild does fluctuate quite a bit and many types of fish can tolerate temps below their ideal range. 
 

[lefty o]

just like people, fish can tolerate something of a temperature swing. based on the temperature you keep your tank at i would surmise the fish you keep can handle getting deep into the 60's.

[Odd Duck]

Go find a battery UPS at any big box or electronic store ASAP.  That will at least keep your air pump and sponge filter running.  If you still have hot water, you can put some into water bottles and put them in the tank.  Plus wrapping your tank in blankets will help hold in the heat.

I now have battery UPS on all tanks running only the air pumps on sponge filters.  We had massive power outages all over the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex this February.  Some people were without power or heat for 2 weeks or more.

I was incredibly lucky and live near a fire station and I think they funneled power to first responder portions of the power grid.  We had only a single flicker in our electric, but it was a massive wake up call for me.

So I’ve gotten the biggest battery UPS I can afford and have air operated sponge filters in all tanks along with the sponge packed HOB’s with their sponge prefilters.  I figure the air pumps don’t take nearly as much electric to run as the heaters and HOB’s.  If only the air pumps are on the battery back up (other stuff is plugged into the surge protector part), they should stay running for several hours.

We also have a small generator we can run if it’s going to be a longer power outage.  It’s enough to run the air pumps, HOB’s, and probably a single space heater.  I’m also going to consolidate most (maybe all) my smaller tanks into a single fish room.  I’ll put my extra UPS into series on the large air pump once the tanks are all in one room except the 2 living room display tanks.

My grand plan is a whole house generator with fuel in 55 gallon drums for longer term survival.  That’s not likely to happen this year, but maybe in 1-2 years.

Edited November 9, 2021 by Odd Duck

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

I don't run heaters in my tanks. They run anywhere from 74 to 81 and fluctuate throughout the day. All will be well. 🙂 I do however run lithium battery backed air pumps to keep sponges running during any power interruptions.

Edited November 9, 2021 by xXInkedPhoenixX

[Idontknowwhattoputhere]

Update:

Power is back and fish are doing good 👍

Temperature is back to normal and everything is running normally

[Wingman12r]

It's going to be fine. During the Texas freeze this past February I had no power for a 24 hours and my gas heater has never worked. My tanks got down to high 50s with no issues. 

I did warms water changes and used a cup to pour water back into the aquarium and keep movement over the filters.

[Patrick_G]

My mother in law just bought a largeish lithium battery “generator” and about 800 watts worth of photovoltaic solar panels. It’s spendy, but it’s a good option if you don’t want to mess  with a gas/diesel/propane generator. Goal zero is the Cadillac of these things but Amazon is filled with decent off brand ones. 

[StevesFishTanks]

Air pumps on battery backups with sponge filters is a great idea.  If you are into DIY and are looking to build your own I made a post about the one I built for my central air pump.