Hemali Posted January 26, 2021 Share Posted January 26, 2021 How do I keep the bacteria alive in my fluval fx4 canister filter during a power outage? I have a battery powered bubbler I can split between the filter and 55gal tank. The power can go out for 30mins to (rarely) 12hrs. Also, will cooler temperatures around 47 kill the filter? I have those emergency blankets for the Aquarium and a blanket I was going to put over the tank. Will that keep the tank temp high enough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT_ Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 I don't know many bacteria that die at cold temperatures above freezing so you're probably good there. As for insulating your tank, everyone's conditions are different so I think the best way to figure it out is empirically. wrap it up and cut the heater (and your house heat) and measure how fast it cools with a digital thermometer. You can stop the experiment early at whatever you think your minimum safe temperature is. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChemBob Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 I wouldn't sweat 30 minutes. 12 hours is quit a bit of time. If it happens frequently, you can look into a uninterrupted power supply (UPS). This is basically a big battery backup. They can be quite pricey, so just know that going into it. I now run a sponge filter with a USB air pump in my tank as well as the canister. I can run the air pump but not the canister filter. If I lose power for a long time, I hold back food for a few days then feed lightly for a while. It helps allow the beneficial bacteria build back up. This method worked for me during the spat of hurricanes we had last year. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted January 27, 2021 Share Posted January 27, 2021 Sounds like you've got your basics covered. We run sponge filters, so bacteria colony is loaded in the aquarium already. Irene (Girl Talks Fish / A Gamer's Wife) made a video about surviving a power outage in cold weather that is helpful: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemali Posted January 27, 2021 Author Share Posted January 27, 2021 1 hour ago, Fish Folk said: Sounds like you've got your basics covered. We run sponge filters, so bacteria colony is loaded in the aquarium already. Irene (Girl Talks Fish / A Gamer's Wife) made a video about surviving a power outage in cold weather that is helpful: I completely forgot to mention I have a sponge prefilter on my intake. 😅 Also, thank you for the video! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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