Power went out last night, most are dead.

[GibsonGuitars]

We got snow last night here in Grass Vally Ca. Woke up when the baby monitor ran out of back up battery and started beeping. Power is still off , both tank are reasonably new. My fish tank is just about 2 months old my Reef tank is about 1-2 weeks old. The bubble tip anemone is surely dead, it’s limp and dangling... so is the mushroom. My Blasto and my candy cane don’t look good at all. My fish are mostly alive, Goby died... I have 2 clowns and a coral beauty still alive. Seriously new to this hobby and my first problem is a complete and total disaster. I am in the “sticks” so no electricity means no well pump, so no hot water and no heat in the house... no water , no heat, no electricity. We have a Colman stove, so thinking I can heat pans with water and float in the tank for heat? Any ideas!. What can I do to at least keep my fish alive!

 

[GibsonGuitars]

Haven’t lost power in about 3 years by the way, accept for the “Mandatory black outs” last year, but we rented a generator because we had notice. This is just my luck.

 

[kput]

I'm unfamiliar with power outages, but I'd imagine that you'd have more success removing the one remaining fish and putting into a smaller container of tank water, will be easier to manage the temp.

What temp is your water now that everything has died so quickly?

 

[reeplay87]

Battery powered air pump will keep oxygen going if you have access to a store near you that carries them. If a heater is a necessity then your idea might work, but I'd probably pour in bags and float (don't raise too quickly). Battery back up for a PC, car charger, etc. would work temporarily but heaters draw a lot of power, you'd probably have better use with a power head and move it closer to the surface if you have this option. Dependent on ambient temperature, a heater may not even be necessary.

Edit: Quick search for a video I came across awhile back by Joey might help.

What to do in a power outage

 

[Auquanut]

I'm thinking that the first priority is to get oxygen and flow into the display. If you have no other means, swirl the water with your hand creating as much surface agitation as possible. Maybe even remove water with a glass or something and pour it back in.
You can wrap the tank with a blanket to reduce temp loss and float zippy bags of warm water to help temp wise. Do you know the temp in the tank right now?

 

[GibsonGuitars]

It’s snowing and there is no heat, ambient temperature right now is 55 degrees and dropping as the remaining heat in the house is slowly getting sucked out. Floating bags... on that right now. Moving the two coral drags that I am not 100% sure at dead to the fish tank and warming with bags

 

[GibsonGuitars]

Oh crap, I have 1 A/C outlet in my truck... forgot , the truck is brand new... going to see if it has enough amps to run one of the two tanks and a heater!!!’

 

[CubsFan]

This storm is no joke. I’m in south lake. It looks like the snow is going to keep falling for a while. There’s some good advice above. Battery powered air stones and wrapping the tank in blankets is what I was going to suggest. Hopefully they restore power to your place soon.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

it's a tall order to get the inverter in the truck to power a heater. but a pump that can agitate the surface and add oxygen to the tank will work. the heat given off the pump can slowly increase tank temp. take auguanut's advice and wrap the tank to keep more heat in. O2 is more important than heat.

 

[Intense37754]

Depends on the size of the tank and the inverter, most of the outlets I see are rated at least 125-250watts. Worst case you blow a fuse and you know that you’re drawing too much power.

Oxygen will be your other issue. Battery backups running a powerhead or gyre 3-4 days is the way to go unless you have a generator

 

[GibsonGuitars]

My tanks are small, I ran a 50 cord and fired up the 13.5 coral tank and my anemone snapped right back as soon as the flow kicked on!

 

[GibsonGuitars]

 

[Malifry97]

Saw a KING of DIY video before where he put potatoes and hydrogen peroxide to make oxygen for his tank

 

[GibsonGuitars]

My fish are currently at 68 degrees , guess I can switch the one cord between the two 30 mins each to keep them warm and oxygenated

 

[Malifry97]

My fish are currently at 68 degrees , guess I can switch the one cord between the two 30 mins each to keep them warm and oxygenated

Maybe you could get a power strip and run both. If not you could try the peroxide and potato trick. It saved my fish once.

 

[GibsonGuitars]

Problem solved hopefully, as I was trying to move cars to get my truck near the front door I remembered I had a 2 outlet inverter that plugs into the cig lighter for camping. I used the inverter I bought, car is running and it will power 1 tank at a time. Only minimal losses , the goby and a blue damsel just started swim sideways, but the coral snapped back. I am honestly shocked because the Anemone was limp spaghetti noddles and had no color at all. Must have provide oxygen just in the nick of time.

 

[GibsonGuitars]

Wow, made an assumption that both 13.5 gallon tanks had the same temp. Just confirming temps so I am not out of the woods yet, my coral tank is 61 degrees after running the heater for 10 mins, so it must have been in the 50’s. The fish are still at 69 so oxygenating them until the coral tank gets to a survivable temp

 

[GibsonGuitars]

Maybe you could get a power strip and run both.

My fear is the long cord is already pulling so many extra amps , if I connect more stuff and if the fuse blows I have absolutely no way to save any of them. Making the Triage decision to save the coral first based on the tank being 10 degrees colder and the living contents of the tank 3X the investment. I think I can save both tanks this way, but saving the coral is the new priority.... fish are getting water circulation by hand

 

[GibsonGuitars]

Forgot to mention the two tanks are in separate rooms and some 39 apart... I am still flabbergasted that the coral snapped back so quickly , I was 5 minutes from scrapping the anemone off to avoid any toxins in the tank as I read the dissolve quickly... corals close to temp, half my Zoas are open, switching power to the fish tank.

question: should I be adding my 300 watt heater I use in a bucket to heat up new water for water changes to the 13 gallon tank to get them back to temp quicker? It should get them back up to 78 in about 20 minutes. Is that to fast?

 

[dwest]

I’d go slow on heating up. Water movement trumps temperature IME. Good luck.