how long can my tank last with out power

cbort · Jan 22, 2010

How long can my 30g cube go without power...

The power company shut down power due to a ice storm that is approaching. They said more damage would be done if they did not shut down the power ahead of time.

They said power will be off 3-4 hours....

I have mostly zoas, LPS and a few SPS, a clam and only 3 small fish.

cbort · Jan 22, 2010

I am at work right now...i went home to make sure not too much water ended up on the floor, and i was about 1" from overflowing!

akabryanhall · Jan 22, 2010

Your tank will be fine. I used to turn my lights off for 2 days once a month when I only kept lps and softies. Circulation is the main problem with a loss of power. Wouldn't want to go more than 8 hours or so. You can stir the water manually once every half hour just to get some surface agitation for oxygenation.

cbort · Jan 22, 2010

ok, that is what another hobbiest said, so will do that! Thanks

Troylee · Jan 22, 2010

3 to 4 hours is fine.....my tank popped a breaker one time while i was at work and was off for 8hrs with no fatalities....thank gawd!!!!

Troylee · Jan 22, 2010

btw dont feed or anything as your amonia will rise rapidly and the oxygeon level will drop... just stir occasionally....hth..

sps4mytank · Jan 22, 2010

3-4 hours is fine...i went 8 hours yesterday.

What i did because my battery back up didnt work was

I used an air bed mattress pump (battery powered) to add aeration and some circulation. I had to ghetto rig it but it worked.

cbort · Jan 22, 2010

i have one of the mattress pumps....but it plugs in

akabryanhall · Jan 22, 2010

LFS's usually have battery powered emergency pumps for sale.

revhtree · Jan 22, 2010

Well with an ice storm and the power being off I would say your water will get really cold quick. Who knows your power could be out longer. If you have access to a generator get it now! If not, I would warp my aquarium in some tick blankets to help insulate what heat the water will have.

benny z · Jan 22, 2010

+1 on the biggest concern being temp.

otherwise it should be fine - livestock sits in still water for far longer than that in transit. now if you have a heavy bioload i would worry about o2...

luke33 · Jan 22, 2010

Yep, last year we had an ice storm. Power was out for 10hrs. Tank went from 80 to 59 degrees in that time. The corals are pretty resilient to be honest. All of them survived. I had a couple sps colonies start to stn, but stopped when the tank got back up and running. The fish didn't handle the drop so well though, lost a couple fish. 3-4hrs....no biggie unless temp drops a ton.

cbort · Jan 22, 2010

i live in an earth home, so my temp wont drop too much at all. Stays pretty insulated.

Troylee · Jan 22, 2010

being acrylic also will help it hold it's temp stable....you can always light the fireplace or something to keep the house warm.....but like mentioned they have battery powered air pumps at lfs. for a decent price to keep the aeriation up....

gparr · Jan 22, 2010

Stir the water regularly with a stick. Wrap a couple of towels around it to hold the heat in. Get an inverter to plug into your car. Periodically start your car and run an extension cord from car to tank to run the circulation pump and heater. Probably want to fill up your gas tank, first.

If they're shutting down power because of an incoming ice storm, I would plan for longer term power outage than the short time they've stated.
Gary

Sikryd · Jan 22, 2010

gparr said:
Stir the water regularly with a stick. Wrap a couple of towels around it to hold the heat in. Get an inverter to plug into your car. Periodically start your car and run an extension cord from car to tank to run the circulation pump and heater. Probably want to fill up your gas tank, first. If they're shutting down power because of an incoming ice storm, I would plan for longer term power outage than the short time they've stated.
Gary

+1

I would be more worried about having a back up plan if the power ends up being out longer.