Martin Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Hey all, the winter freeze has knicked out our power. As such, filtration is out and so is temperature regulation. My tank has 10 tetras, 2 nerites, and 5 ghost shrimp in a semi-heavily planted tank. Can anyone give any low-tech method to help until power returns and also how long a 10-gallon tank will last oxygen-wise? I've been distyrbing the water on a regular basis but nit sure if I'm doing enough. Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Ah! Bummer... here’s a few videos: from QuebecCichlides: from Irene / Girl Talks Fish / A Gamer’s Wife: from The Aquarium Co-Op: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra the fish rookie Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Hi @Martin, oh man.. well, I live in hurricane ally (AKA North Carolina), and since flow now have a whole home generator (7 days without power, and 100 degrees.. no thanks) BUT before that, I purchased these Anker Wireless USB chargers (sold on Amazon). when a storm was coming, I would have them charged up and ready to go. However, I have to wonder if they exist for the use of powering regular plug ins. I also use the Air stones and filters sold on Aquarium co op which are all USB. If you have that, then when you lose power you could easily use the Anker wireless USB to keep your tanks filters/air stones going! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 In summary... (1) do not feed fish (2) oxygenate water (3) use sponge filters with battery-powered air pumps (4) preserve bio media if possible (5) heat packs under tanks (6) cover tanks with tarp or blankets to preserve heat 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celly Rasbora Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 Hey, @Martin, ugh. I've been paralyzed with fear that we'll lose power and I will be faced with your dilemma. Last night, I read this excellent article by FishLab, EMERGENCY! How to save your tank in a power outage. I wish I had read it months ago and actually gotten myself prepared. He mentions using common household materials to make a source of air for the tank. @Fish Folkgives good advice, just based on what I read in the article. I would love to hear what others suggest, as I'm sure a lot of people are currently faced with this problem. Good luck and stay safe! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted February 15, 2021 Author Share Posted February 15, 2021 Thanks so much guys! I'm hoping the plants will offset some of the oxygenation issues. I tried to rig my vacuum into a primitive water return to keep oxygenation going, but to no avail. We will see! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJV Aquatics Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 The best advice is to be prepared because closing the barn door after the horse got out just isn't as effective. Cory has a great video on having an emergency kit for power failures/emergencies. The first thing is to ensure the comfort of you and your family...ensuring your cell phone is charged, battery operated radio, you have heat, food, water, batteries, alternate lighting... (in case the outage is extended). For the fish, the previous advice is sound... - Use battery operated air pumps where you can. - Unplug any external filters so when the power comes back on bad water isn't pumped back in. - If external. put any bio-media inside the tank to keep the BB alive. - insulate the tank with blankets to reduce temperature loss. - If the outage will be extended, perhaps you can temporarily relocate the fish (5g bucket) somewhere there is power? Hope you get through it okay. 🙂 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celly Rasbora Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 I decided to do a water change to get rid of snail poop and detritus that was stuck all over my sponge filter, since my options are somewhat limited due to lack of planning. A clean tank is a good start, I figured, plus, I filled several gallon jugs with clean water in prep for doing water changes if I get ammonia spikes. I was happy I bought some "pest" snails, but snail poop is some serious stuff. I saw one on a plant that looked just like the poop emoji (without the facial expression). Will stop feeding the tank, also. Fingers crossed I don't have to do more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted February 15, 2021 Author Share Posted February 15, 2021 (edited) Thanks guys! It was just junk timing that this winter storm hit us shortly after getting this tank off the ground. Currently, the fish don't seem affected by the situation. They are swimming around per usual fashion. The water parameters have held stable with pH of 7.0, zero nitrates and minimal nitrate. I removed a portion of the water and heated it over the stove and returned it to the tank. I want to believe the plants are oxygenating sufficiently, but am still agitating the water regularly just to be safe. This evening, I will wrap the tank in a towel and then do a PWC with some heated water. I'm hoping that will help replenish the O2 and heat for half the night. I'll likely wake up around 2am or so to maintenance if needed. In the morning, I'll resume today's routine if the power hasn't returned. Thanks again all. Edited February 15, 2021 by Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 15 minutes ago, Martin said: This evening, I will wrap the tank in a towel and then do a PWC with some heated water Just use caution with adding heated water. Adding 100+ degrees Fahrenheit water into a tank that's resting around 60 degrees Fahrenheit may shock sensitive fish to death. Better to heat water, add that to a bucket of tank water to balance off shock-heat, and then add the larger volume with less heat. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted February 15, 2021 Author Share Posted February 15, 2021 (edited) 48 minutes ago, Fish Folk said: Just use caution with adding heated water. Adding 100+ degrees Fahrenheit water into a tank that's resting around 60 degrees Fahrenheit may shock sensitive fish to death. Better to heat water, add that to a bucket of tank water to balance off shock-heat, and then add the larger volume with less heat. Oh sorry @Fish Folk, should have been more clear. By heated, I mean about 80 to 85 degrees in an amount that would constitute a roughly 20% PWC into water that is currently about 68 degrees. I figure the temp would be roughly low 70s if I did that. I think that should be safe. Thoughts? Edited February 15, 2021 by Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Folk Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 That sounds safer to me. If anyone else has more experience with this kind of situation, I'd gladly defer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 I'm just brainstorming here, but you could probably make DIY heat packs with higher temperature water, and some air, sealed in a bag or container, and left to float. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted February 15, 2021 Author Share Posted February 15, 2021 38 minutes ago, Streetwise said: I'm just brainstorming here, but you could probably make DIY heat packs with higher temperature water, and some air, sealed in a bag or container, and left to float. Genius! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT_ Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 One other note of caution with water changes. You don't know how much disolved O2 is in your tap water. it could be quite low (there's no air in pipes). heating water lowers its capacity to hold O2 so adding warm water add less-oxygenated water. also without lights plants will eat their sugars and outgas co2 and not o2. Lastly, adding dechlorinators also use up oxygen to do their work. I think within reason letting your tank hit room temp (assuming you have gas heating and the house is still 68-70F) is far less dangerous than doing a lot of intervention if your worry is oxygen and you don't have an emergency USB pump or something. I'm not sure but I think many aquarium fish are fine at even lower temps for hours or days too. they just get lethargic. Hopefully someone with more experience can chime in on this point. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celly Rasbora Posted February 15, 2021 Share Posted February 15, 2021 I wondered if the temp was maybe not super critical, @CT_. I'd be curious to hear about that, as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiclid addict Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 10 hours ago, Sandra the fish rookie said: Hi @Martin, oh man.. well, I live in hurricane ally (AKA North Carolina), and since flow now have a whole home generator (7 days without power, and 100 degrees.. no thanks) BUT before that, I purchased these Anker Wireless USB chargers (sold on Amazon). when a storm was coming, I would have them charged up and ready to go. However, I have to wonder if they exist for the use of powering regular plug ins. I also use the Air stones and filters sold on Aquarium co op which are all USB. If you have that, then when you lose power you could easily use the Anker wireless USB to keep your tanks filters/air stones going! They actually do I have some but not for my fish as I have a whole home generator 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted February 16, 2021 Author Share Posted February 16, 2021 @CT_, thanks for that information, though sadly too little too late. I guess I will have to keep an eye on the tank. I did a roughly 20% PWC with 85 degree water. The fish seem to be okay, but I might have to agitate the water for a bit. Thanks for the chemistry/biology lesson... hopefully no major issues tonite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CT_ Posted February 16, 2021 Share Posted February 16, 2021 I mentioned them as factors to consider mostly. Most of those things will only have an impact for an hour or two anyway. I suspect they'll be fine and of course the manual agitation will help :) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted February 16, 2021 Author Share Posted February 16, 2021 Thanks so much. Man, I never thought an aquarium could stress a person like this! My three kids have been less work during this winter storm! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Posted February 16, 2021 Author Share Posted February 16, 2021 Phew! Power is back on and there are no dead bodies to clean up! Thank you all for all of your suggestions. Ultimately, I ended up doing regular manual water agitation every few hours, stopped feeding (ty @Fish Folk!), wrapped the aquarium in blankets (ty @MJV Aquatics!), and floated bags of heated water in the tank (ty @Streetwise!). I have no doubt the animal life in that tank was saved by everyone's' combined efforts and care. Thank you! Now, I get to hop online and buy all the stuff to avert this sort of thing in the future. 💰💰💰 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Celly Rasbora Posted February 24, 2021 Share Posted February 24, 2021 (edited) On 2/15/2021 at 9:50 AM, Martin said: Thanks so much guys! I'm hoping the plants will offset some of the oxygenation issues. I tried to rig my vacuum into a primitive water return to keep oxygenation going, but to no avail. We will see! Hey, I've wondered how you made out with your power outage. I hope all went OK and power is restored. Edited to add, I could have just read your post from Feb. 16. I missed it. 🙃 Edited February 24, 2021 by Celly Rasbora 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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