Prepping for power outages in large tanks vs. smaller tanks

[StephenP2003]

I am fortunate to live in an area where power outages are few and far between. I don't have a piece of wood big enough to knock on; otherwise I'd tell you how long it's been since a power outage. But August has me thinking, the worst hurricanes to affect Louisiana tend to come late August/Early September, and that's when the multi-day power outages become a real possibility.

For my smaller tanks, I have an arsenal of USB air pumps, sponge filters, and backup batteries. Plenty of ideas to cool down the tanks thanks to yesterday's stream. But then there's my 90-gallon with a fluval fx6 full of seachem matrix, and if the power goes out, I'll have a bucket of nitrate gumbo for 2-3 days, unless I run maybe a UPS backup, which would probably only run it a few hours at best. What are you all using to prep for an outage in your heavily-stocked tanks of varying sizes?

[Ariel S]

Hi Stephen, 

I also live in southeast Louisiana and have personally experienced returning home from a week long evacuation and realizing I had made gumbo in my fish tank. So terrible! 
 

I don’t have the $$ for a giant generator, but I was able to snag a smaller one from Home Depot last year. It can only run a few things at once- but definitely enough for my tanks. When my power went out back in July, I was able to just run a chord out of a tiny gap in my window to the generator and my fish all survived. I also have a tiny window a/c that I was able to also connect to the generator to keep the tanks (and myself) under 85 degrees during the day. 
 

That’s not really a fix if you were to evacuate, but if you’re staying home during the power outage, this has worked for me. 

[StephenP2003]

Well, I better come up with a solution quick. 

[Mr. Ed's Aquatics]

I keep a portable generator under my big hexagon tank and 4 100' contractors extensions under the tank next to it. 

When the power goes down, I roll the generator out to the back deck and run the cords to each fish room. Unplug the power strips from the wall and into the extensions.

It is weird during power outages that all my fish tanks and the refrigerator work but nothing else. 

[Brandy]

I don't know what your water situation is, but if there is a way to get unpowered water, you can do water changes daily, feed very little or nothing, and use some prime, if you are not evacuated. The tank will make it. Treat it like a giant fish in cycle, and disconnect the filter so it doesn't putrify and then blast that into the tank unexpectedly. An airstone would be nice if you can run it. Growing up in the middle of nowhere, I have had to low tech survive a lot of power outages.

If you don't have unpowered water access, stockpile as much as you can asap.

[Alesha]

I live in FL. 'Nuff said. 😁

I purchased 2 of these from Amazon. They have both plugs and a USB port (which can be used for an Aquarium Co-Op air pump!) They work really well with our many outages. Our electricity has at least brown-outs during every thunderstorm and during the summer, that's every afternoon. They click on immediately and then go off when the power comes back on. In fact, I hear them click before the lights dim sometimes. That's really impressive.

I also bought an older one before these 2. It had 2 USB outlets on it, but it's no longer available for a good price. But I've been really impressed with it too. They are handy little tools to have. 

I've not needed them during an extended outage before, so I can't speak to how long they run the air pumps. I will definitely unplug lights and heaters should that situation happen. 

Hope that helps. 🙂 

[johnjohnjohn87]

USB air pump (1/3 watt) + good sized UPS should get you quite a bit of runtime for not that much money. You could then pull the bio media from the canister and stick it in the tank with the bubbles underneath. I think that should get you quite a bit of time if there is a longer outage and keep the bio media alive.