Power outage

[mraysberg]

Power just went out like 15 mins ago. Temp is at 79 not sure when the power will be back. What can I do for my corals, fish and inverts

 

[Cell]

Keep the water stirred and float frozen bottles of water to keep it cool if necessary.

 

[GThompson]

Battery operated air stone and maybe stir your water around

 

[Auquanut]

The biggest issues are oxygenation and temp, with oxygen being number one. If the temp drops a little, it's not as bad as if it rises. As others have said, stir the water occasionally to keep oxygen and some flow going. If the temp starts rising significantly, float ice cubes in the display to keep it down. If this turns out to be a long term thing, you can get a battery operated airstone at some bait stores.

 

[mraysberg]

No one has those in stock. Totally forgot the generator in my garage. Maybe I’ll hook that up to the fish tank

 

[Auquanut]

Yeah! A generator would definitely work. ;Facepalm

 

[Hemmdog]

Generator ftw!

 

[mraysberg]

At least I have gas for next time. Power kicked back on

 

[laverda]

You need to plan now for the next time it happens, especially if your not home to start you generator. The air pumps that come on automatically are very inexpensive and well worth it! Having at least one flow pump on a battery back up is another option. I suggest you do both.

 

[JumboShrimp]

I have 6 or 7 of these. Can be set for ‘continuous,’ or 10-second bursts. Come on automatically when the power goes off. The power stick gives you additional power.

 

[Sandyego reeyfur]

too keep your temp from dropping too much try to insulate your tank to add heat. Or just give it a big hug, after all, humans produce equivalent amounts of heat as a 100-watt heater.

 

[KStatefan]

You need to plan now for the next time it happens, especially if your not home to start you generator. The air pumps that come on automatically are very inexpensive and well worth it! Having at least one flow pump on a battery back up is another option. I suggest you do both.

Backup power plan should be part of every build.

 

[jd371]

I get power from my car's built in inverter and outlet. It's easy to quickly set up by running an extension cord from the driveway to the tank. In most cases this is what I do. If I know it's going to be a very long power outage, then I'll get the generator out of the shed and use that.

 

[laverda]

I have 6 or 7 of these. Can be set for ‘continuous,’ or 10-second bursts. Come on automatically when the power goes off. The power stick gives you additional power.

These work great especially for the price. Plus the external power pack can be swapped for others you probably already have for your phone and can be charged off your car if you need more time. Just make sure you keep the battery charged as well.
I have several UPSs that I have modified to power my Tunze DC pumps directly and automatically using the Tunze Safety Switch in a power outage.

 

[Bthomas]

Reviving this thread to ask a question. My power just went out about 30 minutes ago, I have a couple battery powered air stones but how long can it go with nothing? I don't want to pull them out if it's going to be a very temporary outage

 

[MnFish1]

Power just went out like 15 mins ago. Temp is at 79 not sure when the power will be back. What can I do for my corals, fish and inverts

It would be good to know how big your tank is. Also what the temperature of the room is. Take a 2 quart pitcher and fill it with tank water - and then replace - every 30-60 minutes. This should help aeration and flow - if you can get a battery operated air pump that would help as well. Hopefully the power will be back on soon

 

[MnFish1]

Reviving this thread to ask a question. My power just went out about 30 minutes ago, I have a couple battery powered air stones but how long can it go with nothing? I don't want to pull them out if it's going to be a very temporary outage

This also depends on the size of the tank, whats in the tank - and multiple other factors

 

[Bthomas]

This also depends on the size of the tank, whats in the tank - and multiple other factors

150 gallon tank with about a dozen fish and some corals

 

[JumboShrimp]

Sorry I’m just reading this now— hope your power has been restored. Of course, in general, the higher the salinity, the harder for fish to breathe. The higher the temperature, the harder for fish to breath. I’d venture to say that a 150 gallon with a dozen fish at 1.025 at 79-degrees would lead to unhappy fish after 2 hours without power. Just me throwing that out there— not trying to be scientific.

 

[Bthomas]

Sorry I’m just reading this now— hope your power has been restored. Of course, in general, the higher the salinity, the harder for fish to breathe. The higher the temperature, the harder for fish to breath. I’d venture to say that a 150 gallon with a dozen fish at 1.025 at 79-degrees would lead to unhappy fish after 2 hours without power. Just me throwing that out there— not trying to be scientific.

Thanks for the reply. Power is still out. I went ahead and added 2 battery powered air stones after 1 hour. Going on 6 and a half hours now. Everything is sleeping so hard to really tell but so far things seem ok