Power outage recovery plan suggestions

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

I am learning some new lessons up here courtesy of a significant spring snow yesterday May 11th. Spring snow being wet and heavy has resulted in tons in the region remaining out of power now 25 hours on. I have exhausted battery airpumps, uninterupted power supplies, and battery backups. No isses so far with fish. 

The main issue I expect is the bacteria die off.  I dont use canister or hang on back filters currently so that should be limited with all bacteria having the access to the volume of water in the tanks. 

My plan is:

Fritz ACCR to limit ammonia spike

Some liquid bacteria starter to offset any loss of bacteria 

Anyone have other suggestions ? 

Power is rarely out longer than the air pumps and uninturrupted power supplies can cover, the power stations are normally insurance and not used,  so this is really a first here.  To be better repared in the futire I have added another large battery power station to the supplies for next time.... but that doesnt help me today since i cant charge it up:)

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Personally, and I realize you probably have quite a few, I'd charge some of my devices via my car. 

[AllFishNoBrakes]

This weather has been nuts! I’ve lived here my whole life, obviously not at the altitude you’re at, and the amount of rain we’ve gotten in these lower altitudes has been crazy. Supposed to continue as well. Hope you stay safe up on the mountain!

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

Yeah its a first for us and we have been here for 11 years and this is the first outage that has gone 28 hours and counting.

Just watched powerline contractor trucks prepping "in town" at the divide grocery store though and a helicopter inspecting lines at basicslly tree top levels. Hopefully pretty close to restoration. Tanks are 65⁰ currently which seems fine for all but the L169 pleco project so far

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

Ugh, I hope everyone in your tanks makes it!! 

I also wanted to mention besides the lithium backed airpumps I have one bubble box that is D cell powered (I always have Ds on hand for my maglites) Sometimes old fashioned batteries are a great backup in times like these. 

[Cory]

Battery backups, like the 20,000 milliamp batteries on the air pumps help. Recharging in your car or buying a solar power setup. I find you can get some battery banks/cheap systems that recharge batteries.

Generator is another good idea. You can run your fridge/freezer for a while and recharge pumps/batteries.

As far as heat goes. I've never had to do it yet, but my plan is propane heater that run off the propane tanks for a bbq.

I wouldn't add beneficial bacteria until you have good aeration again as bacteria uses lots of oxygen.

My battle plan goes like this:

Nothing for the first 8 hours. Then I get air going.
Then on Day 2, I try find a family member or friend who has power. I bring my rechargable stuff there, phones, battery banks air pumps. Hang there for a couple hours get warm etc.

Day 3. Repeat day 2, but break out a generator and/or propane heater.

[Odd Duck]

I think if you can keep your tanks warm enough you should be OK.  I have a generator ready to use as back up if an outage goes longer than about 10 hours or so.  My UPS will cover about 8-9 hours currently.  They are only running my air pumps, not the HOB’s and I have no canisters.  My HOB’s are all only packed with 20-30 ppi foam and many have emerse plants that have window light so shouldn’t get toxic, I hope.  If need be, I will pour water into the HOB’s hourly if I’m home (which I should be if power’s out for more than 10-12 hours).  Once I have the generator going, it will be enough to run all electrics to the tanks.

As far as keeping tanks warm, apply bubble wrap to the outside, smooth side in and stick it on with water.  Cover with blankets.  Float hot water in bottles (do you have a fireplace or camp stove to heat water?) don’t boil the water but rotate the warm bottles to gradually warm the water, especially for more critical fish.  You don’t need to dechlor the water, it’s inside bottles.  You can put very hot water into bottles or boiling water in pans under any enclosed stands to help add heat from underneath.  If your blankets cover down to the floor, they will help hold that heat under the stands.  The more you can make stacked tanks into a unit (cover the entire stack when possible) the larger collective water mass will help form a more stable temp vs wrapping each tank individually.  Clothespin the blankets together over the top so they hang to the floor over the heated water.  Cover whole banks of tanks together if possible.

During and after the Snowpocalypse in Dallas/Ft. Worth in February last year, I latched onto everything I read about how to keep tanks warm.  I was very lucky and share grid with a nearby fire station, so I wasn’t directly affected, but I tucked that stuff away in my brain for “just in case”.

Good luck and keep us posted.  We care!

[Streetwise]

If you ever have to move a UPS to power other devices during an outage, don’t turn it off!

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/12/2023 at 8:13 AM, mountaintoppufferkeeper said:

The main issue I expect is the bacteria die off.  I dont use canister or hang on back filters currently so that should be limited with all bacteria having the access to the volume of water in the tanks. 

Biggs has a pretty unique setup and it might work well for your specific setup.  Details are here on how he keeps things going. 
 

The main thing I would have is a "kit" so to speak for your most valued tanks.  Blankets and straps to wrap the tank.  2 battery backups PER TANK with a single airstone drop and the USB style pumps.  I ran mine for 4.5 days straight on a single battery.  I have a ziploc with tubing cut that sits next to batteries and my stack of portable pumps.  I have 4 on hand, 1 extra just in case one of them is faulty. 
 

Something like the ACO pumps I have not tested, but the main issue is to avoid the AC-->DC battery conversion and to keep things as DC-->DC (usb powered).  This is also used in the saltwater side of the hobby and was demonstrated/reported by BRS for the major battery backup series for reef tanks.

The D-Cell air pumps are also a bit more juicy and would be able to run sponges or stones for you.

@Cory Maybe this works for a future ACO pump video idea.  Is there any way you could run one of the small green nano pumps side by side with the newer style ones (battery backup) on the same airstone and the same 20,000 mAH style usb portable battery and give us a time that it lasted?  The batteries themselves will all drain based on cycles and age, but I just wanted to mention is for your own product bragging rights as well as a means to get this information to the consumer.  I can run tests when I have one on hand, but I currently don't.  I will once that Farmer book is available! 🙂

This was my setup and a single charge lasted 4-5 days.

On 5/12/2023 at 8:25 AM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

Personally, and I realize you probably have quite a few, I'd charge some of my devices via my car.

Great advice!  I like to have 2, one in use (whether it's D-Cell or Lithium Ion) while the other is charging.  Once it's done, then I have a backup ready to go in case need be!

Edited May 13, 2023 by nabokovfan87

[Mac Jank]

 

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

Much thanks everyone for the responses. The outage was a one off of arguably epic proportions lasting from 909am on the 11th to 1243pm today the 13th of may. Not the most fun for humans or fish. I plan to gather the lessons learned and post any update next Sunday once i figure out how everyone made it through and what lessons learned I will improve on moving forward.

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

On 5/13/2023 at 4:55 PM, Pepere said:

Just remember, if you have a 100 year storm it doesnt mean it will be another hundred years before you see a repeat.  Essentially it means there is a 1 percent chance every year of seeing it.  You could have 2 in 1 year and no reapeat in 200 years and still keep the percentages…

Absolutely ....the spring storms are the most concerning up here (20s for overnight lows until late may). I lose around 10 degrees per 24 hours.

Summer storm outages are less concerning( 50s for overnight lows)

I plan to update fully by saturday ....

I have added a 2nd large battery powerstation backup and multiple solar panel options for recharging each battery station and hopefully assuring i will never lose power again 🙂

[Galabar]

Maybe having a few really low wattage air pumps might be handy.  I'm assuming the Aquarium Co Op mini ones don't draw much power...

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

On 5/17/2023 at 6:42 PM, Galabar said:

Maybe having a few really low wattage air pumps might be handy.  I'm assuming the Aquarium Co Op mini ones don't draw much power...

Yes I run live plants and coop battery air pumps they are great

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

I got 52 hrs out of a usb nano air pump connected to a 20000 mAh power bank.

On 5/17/2023 at 8:42 PM, Galabar said:

Maybe having a few really low wattage air pumps might be handy.  I'm assuming the Aquarium Co Op mini ones don't draw much power...

It’s like a half a volt.

On 5/13/2023 at 2:21 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

The D-Cell air pumps are also a bit more juicy and would be able to run sponges or stones for you.

Awful with the noise though. I couldn’t stand it.

And in a power outage that’s the only sound in the house you’ll hear… 😑

Edited May 20, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[nabokovfan87]

On 5/20/2023 at 6:31 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Awful with the noise though. I couldn’t stand it.

I was waiting for you to put a box over it. 😂

I don't think mine is that noisy, but it's fine... it's the noise of fish surviving!

[mountaintoppufferkeeper]

What happened recap:

My fishroom is 9,100 feet in altitude, 30 minute drive from "town", and a 2 hour round trip from the closest city. I am generally out of range of fishroom assistance. We recieved an early may spring snowstorm up here that dropped a foot of heavy snow and significant wind that knocked down trees and dropped more big branches than ive ever seen down in the past 10 years. 

We lost lines in multiple circuits that feed our house. It turns out one of the power lines those trees and branches destroyed that we rely on was in difficult terrain and took multiple crews and a helicopter a few days to restore.

On the fishroom end we lost power for 52 hours from 909am on May 11th to 1243pm on May 13th. The last 36 hours of the outage having no air running. 

This outage also fell right before and did not return until we were  36 hours into a family trip. We returned from that trip 6 days after the power came back. 

I shut down my autofeeders before I left, dosed Fritz ACCR, similar to how i use it when a med may kill beneficial bacteria, to hopefully limit ammonia buildup when everything balances back out.  I relied on the wifi timers to start everything going again and my cameras to monitor once it came back on. 

First the no loss setups:

Mekong River Puffer: Pao palustris, (F1 m/f spawning pair ------- 20 gallon high tank // box filter off coop airpump & Sicce Shark PRO 500 Internal Filter // coop 100w heater at 77⁰F // light sand substrate light amounts of subwassertang and brazilian pennywort 

Hairy Puffer: Pao baileyi ( wild caught colony) three 6 to 8 inch  adults------- 75 gallon tank // box filter off larger diaphram airpump & Sicce Shark PRO 900 Internal Filter with venturi running //  300w heater at 77⁰F run through controller //  sand substrate heavy subwassertang carpet down low and floating cover of duckweed and brazilian pennywort 

Spotted Congo Puffer: Tetraodon schoutedeni ( wild caught colony) 4 adults------- "43 breeder" tank // three 6" cube sponge filters off larger diaphram airpump & Sicce Shark PRO 900 Internal Filter //  100w coop heater at 78⁰F run through controller //  light sand substrate  subwassertang carpet and floating cover of duckweed and brazilian pennywort 

Red Eye Red Tailed Puffer: Carinotetraodon irrubesco ( wild caught colony) 5 adults 2 male 3 female------ 40 gallon breeder tank // Sicce Shark PRO 700 Internal Filter spraying acfoss surface//  100w coop heater at 78⁰F run through controller //  sand substrate heavy subwassertang carpet down low heavy floating cover of duckweed and brazilian pennywort miscslaneous plants in center. 

Cuban Limia: Limia vittata +/- 200 ------ 40 gallon breeder // box filter off coop airpump & Sicce Shark PRO 700 Internal Filter with venturi //  300w heater at 77⁰F run through controller //  sand substrate heavy subwassertang carpet down low and floating cover of duckweed and brazilian pennywort 

Cuban Limia: Limia vittata +/- 100 ------ 20 gallon high // box filter off coop airpump & Sicce Shark PRO 500 Internal Filter with venturi //  100w cool heater at 77⁰F run through controller //  sand substrate floating cover of duckweed and brazilian pennywort 

Krobia xinguensis (wild caught colony growout) +/- 10 at 3" ----- 40 gallon breeder // box filter off coop airpump & Sicce Shark PRO 700 Internal Filter with venturi //  100w coop heater at 77⁰F run through controller //  sand substrate heavy subwassertang carpet down low and floating cover of duckweed and brazilian pennywort

The one tank that did not so well:

Panaqolus sp.  L169 Gold Stripe Panaque (wild caught colony) six adults----- 50 gallon // 2 box filter off coop airpump & Sicce Shark PRO 700 Internal Filter //  300w heater at 79⁰F run through controller //  sand substrate light amount of subwassertang down low. 

In my guesstimation the temperature drop was too fast and knocked out some of my older colony members. I had those since 2018. I lost all the L169, and a group of Atabapo Dwarf Pike that were weeks away from spawning and had males actively courting females.  

The aftermath..... it wasnt great to deal with after driving home. 

This tank is clearing up with the population of ramshorns and assassin snails growing quickly off the nutrients in the tank. 

 

Slight update for 5/27/23 on this tank. 

I also had 5 sterbai .... a pair was still in the tank once it "re-cycled" and stabilized. That pair of sterbai corydoras seem to have come out of the experience as well as can be expected. The assassin snail is pointing to a portion of a large amout of sterbai eggs throughout the tank. 

 

Current lessons learned: 

1. My fish in my setups in my fishroom can handle down to about 68 water temps for 2 days and no feedings for 10 days. (Better than expected on the temperature drops)

2. Live plants and dosing A.C.C.R https://www.aquariumcoop.com/collections/water-care/products/fritz-a-c-c-r-water-conditioner right before I left probably helped save  fish.

3.Temperature drops are likely the biggest risk for me up here. 

4. I can never have too much battery backup

5. And probably the biggest takeaway is live plants saved some of my fish by cleaning the water of excess nutrients when air was not available to drive box and sponge filters. 

 

Edited May 27, 2023 by mountaintoppufferkeeper