Power Outage-Please Help!

[ReNae]

I just received notice from my electric company that there will be a 9 hour power outage scheduled for my address next week. I have 8 tanks all over my house (2 10-gal, 3 20-gal, 1 75-gal, and 2 125-gal) that run on 5 HOB filters and 4 canister filters. Would it be best to get some battery powered air pumps to run sponge filters? Will my BB survive the outage? I'm fairly new to the hobby so I want to try to prepare the best I can. I appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance!  

[Cory]

I think most of all the bacteria would survive. If stocking levels are light. Then I'd say you probably don't have to do anything. But you could use a couple of battery air pumps to move around a bit to make sure there is enough oxygen.

[Baphijmm]

Nine hours isn't a whole lot; out here where I am, we've had regular outages upwards of 48 hours before. My biggest suggestion would be to yes, get a battery-powered air pump; whether or not you use that on a sponge filter is up to you, but in my case I've had fish die within the longer span when I didn't have air pumped into the system. In my opinion based on my experiences, that is far and above the best use of money. (But yeah, sponge filter's not a bad idea either.)

[Tihshho]

Air is the most important part for them as long as the temps are not going to drop crazy low. Battery air pumps are always a great thing to have on hand, so getting some now wouldn't hurt. 

[lefty o]

will probably be okay even without the air pumps depending on how heavily stocked the tanks are.  can never go wrong with having air in the tank though. if concerned over holding temp, one can drape a towel or blanket over the tank for the hours the power will be off.

[Odd Duck]

All of my tanks have air-driven sponge filters and the air pumps are on large battery UPS.  If I expect a longer than 8-9 hours outage, I would get the generator running with extension cords to tanks.  I have too many tanks and fish to not have something set up as back up.

[ReNae]

On 4/18/2022 at 7:11 PM, Cory said:

I think most of all the bacteria would survive. If stocking levels are light. Then I'd say you probably don't have to do anything. But you could use a couple of battery air pumps to move around a bit to make sure there is enough oxygen.

Thanks for the reply! I will definitely get some battery air pumps and I know a great place to get them from!😉

On 4/18/2022 at 7:11 PM, Baphijmm said:

Nine hours isn't a whole lot; out here where I am, we've had regular outages upwards of 48 hours before. My biggest suggestion would be to yes, get a battery-powered air pump; whether or not you use that on a sponge filter is up to you, but in my case I've had fish die within the longer span when I didn't have air pumped into the system. In my opinion based on my experiences, that is far and above the best use of money. (But yeah, sponge filter's not a bad idea either.)

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to get some battery air pumps!

On 4/18/2022 at 7:18 PM, Tihshho said:

Air is the most important part for them as long as the temps are not going to drop crazy low. Battery air pumps are always a great thing to have on hand, so getting some now wouldn't hurt. 

Thanks for the tip! I'm hoping the temps won't drop too low because I have a tank of discus.

On 4/18/2022 at 8:14 PM, lefty o said:

will probably be okay even without the air pumps depending on how heavily stocked the tanks are.  can never go wrong with having air in the tank though. if concerned over holding temp, one can drape a towel or blanket over the tank for the hours the power will be off.

Thanks for responding! I will probably be checking the temp on my discus tank throughout the night!

[ReNae]

On 4/19/2022 at 8:59 AM, Odd Duck said:

All of my tanks have air-driven sponge filters and the air pumps are on large battery UPS.  If I expect a longer than 8-9 hours outage, I would get the generator running with extension cords to tanks.  I have too many tanks and fish to not have something set up as back up.

Thanks for answering my questions! I'm going to get some battery air pumps for now and think about a generator in the near future.

 

[nabokovfan87]

On 4/18/2022 at 7:07 PM, ReNae said:

Would it be best to get some battery powered air pumps to run sponge filters? Will my BB survive the outage?

The main thing is to (easily) control your air and your heat. If the room gets cold, that can be bad. If you have the ability to run air..... you can absolutely do that but it's not a stress.

One big thing I would do. is stop feeding 3-5 days before it happens. Let the fish settle down and produce less waste the day of it happening.

 Cory had a recent power outage video, super helpful. Hopefully someone can find the link to it and post it here.

I have my tank setup with an airstone / gang valve so I can always just have a battery pump hooked up in a pinch. We have a lot of power outages happen here due to wind. The goal being, to last for the length of the outage, not to panic, and to trust that the fish won't overheat or won't freeze.

Checking check valves is another great tip.
 

 

Edited April 19, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[Torrey]

On 4/19/2022 at 1:02 PM, ReNae said:

Thanks for the reply! I will definitely get some battery air pumps and I know a great place to get them from!😉

Thanks for the suggestions! I'm going to get some battery air pumps!

Thanks for the tip! I'm hoping the temps won't drop too low because I have a tank of discus.

Thanks for responding! I will probably be checking the temp on my discus tank throughout the night!

For your tank of discus: NC has always had problems with power outages during hurricanes. We added a foil like window/insulated shade to our emergency supplies when we were breeding (battery operated air pumps were not a thing yet, so I would pour in water to add surface agitation and increase oxygen saturation).

Discus are a bit more sensitive, so yes, I would add sponge filters now and if there is a risk of a temp drop, invest in a couple of the mylar emergency "space blankets" to help keep the heat in your tank stable. I would probably drop an air stone in the canister filter for the Discus as well, just to make sure you don't end up with a dead spot.

Most fish don't notice a 9 hour outage. Sturdy discus won't notice, either. But you won't know if you have sturdy discus, or sensitive discus until you see them reacting, so better to prepare as if you have sensitive ones.

[Tanked]

Having recently survived an outage of nearly 9 hrs.  I found temperature to be a bigger concern.  All of the tanks dropped into the low 60s.  There were no casualties.  Most of our fish are heartier than we know,  The outage will be more stressful for you than the fish.

[ReNae]

On 4/19/2022 at 12:55 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

The main thing is to (easily) control your air and your heat. If the room gets cold, that can be bad. If you have the ability to run air..... you can absolutely do that but it's not a stress.

One big thing I would do. is stop feeding 3-5 days before it happens. Let the fish settle down and produce less waste the day of it happening.

 Cory had a recent power outage video, super helpful. Hopefully someone can find the link to it and post it here.

I have my tank setup with an airstone / gang valve so I can always just have a battery pump hooked up in a pinch. We have a lot of power outages happen here due to wind. The goal being, to last for the length of the outage, not to panic, and to trust that the fish won't overheat or won't freeze.

Checking check valves is another great tip.
 

 

Thanks for the tips! I did everything to prepare as best I could! Would you believe the power only went out for a whopping 5 minutes!!!!!! Oh, well! I am prepared for anymore in the future!

[nabokovfan87]

Sometimes that's just the way it goes. Glad everything worked out!

Here's Cory's video.