Ugh, power outage, temp is low

[ItsAName]

Duct tape, packing tape, rope, bungi cord

If i cover the top with a blanket, is that ok?

 

[mfinn]

If i cover the top with a blanket, is that ok?

Covering the top will help, in the same way wearing a hat helps us in the cold.
But why not around the tank too?

 

[ItsAName]

Covering the top will help, in the same way wearing a hat helps us in the cold.
But why not around the tank too?

I did as much as I could. Basically draped blankets over the top hanging down around the sides. Got the temp up to 73.8, getting their, slowly...

 

[mfinn]

I did as much as I could.

That's all a person can do.
It's good the temp is going back up.
Years ago before I found out about the joys of having a generator, I had to stay up all night keeping a couple tanks warm, using pans of water in a fireplace and stirring the water with a potato whip for oxygen exchange. So I feel for you.
Good luck.
Hope the power comes back on sooner than expected.

 

[JakeK]

I hope everything turns out ok. We had a circuit trip when we on vacation. The person monitoring the tank told me water temp was 64 degrees when they got to the house. Mp40 on battery backup kept tank alive. Didn’t lose any fish on only lost 2 sps frags.

 

[ItsAName]

I was able to keep the water temp in the high 73s. Thanks mainly to floating mason jars of hot water. Thanks again for that tip, it was a life saver. Power came on Saturday midday.

I was using one of these for the pump, powerhead, and 1 heater in case anyone is interested: https://www.homedepot.com/p/BLACK-DECKER-500-Watt-Power-Inverter-PI500P/205431817

Has anyone done an experiment (it's a little nefarious) or have practical experience on how low the temp can drop and for how long until things go south?

 

[EmdeReef]

Glad to hear it all worked out!

As for the temp, it would really depend on the fish and coral. During a cold wave in 2010 around Florida temps dropped in the 40s and 50s, there was no major fish dieoff observed. However, most corals will die at 60.

Edit: The duration of exposure is also a factor.

 

[Breadman03]

It can go quite low for a long time with minimal impact because the low temp slows many biological activities and the water can carry more oxygen.

If you have more issues and are near 18661, feel free to hit me up. I've got a few spare outlets.

 

[Rufus’ goofs]

I was able to keep the water temp in the high 73s. Thanks mainly to floating mason jars of hot water. Thanks again for that tip, it was a life saver. Power came on Saturday midday.

I was using one of these for the pump, powerhead, and 1 heater in case anyone is interested: https://www.homedepot.com/p/BLACK-DECKER-500-Watt-Power-Inverter-PI500P/205431817

Has anyone done an experiment (it's a little nefarious) or have practical experience on how low the temp can drop and for how long until things go south?

I’m happy it worked out for you.

 

[Sleepydoc]

Glad you're back up and running. Cold is much less of an issue than heat in a tank. the heater inadvertently got unplugged in my QT and the temp dropped to about 67º and I only notice when I had to put my hand in the water to grab something. The fish were all swimming around as happy as could be! It helps that cold water holds more O2 and fish's metabolism drops accordingly with temp.

Totally agree with the other suggestions listed above. I you're expecting a power outage to last a while, insulate your tank as soon as possible. Also, I would probably just put the heater in the display section of the tank and only run a heater and a power head since that would give you more battery life and probably reduce heat loss as well.

Floating bottles of water is an excellent idea as well and works both for summer and winter power outages - you can freeze 2L bottles of water and float them to cool off the tank, or fill them with hot water and use them as a heater as you did.

 

[jgvergo]

I lost power for 24 hours in the latest Noreaster. I boiled tank water and (very carefully) poured it back in while stirring the tank to circulate the water. I got about 4 hours of sleep but everything survived. I'm now shopping for a generator;Dead

 

[jtvaughn]

In the noreastern that's happening right now. Power has been out for 8 hours, probably another 16 more according to power company. No house heat.

I jury rigged a power inverter to my car battery and currently running one tank heater, return pump, and one power head.

Problem is my temp has dropped to 71.6 and i can't seem to get it to go higher. But at least its stable. (90 gallons) Am I going to be ok for the next 16 hours if it stays at this temp?

Any tips how i can bring the water temp up without enough power for a second heater?

What temp is emergency mode?

Your current temp will be fine but I would run an air stone, power head, and heater. I feel your pain I had this issue when hurricane matthew hit SC a few years back...try having a temp of 60 and lower with corals but I didn't loose anything.

 

[shelbycobra1017]

In the noreastern that's happening right now. Power has been out for 8 hours, probably another 16 more according to power company. No house heat.

I jury rigged a power inverter to my car battery and currently running one tank heater, return pump, and one power head.

Problem is my temp has dropped to 71.6 and i can't seem to get it to go higher. But at least its stable. (90 gallons) Am I going to be ok for the next 16 hours if it stays at this temp?

Any tips how i can bring the water temp up without enough power for a second heater?

What temp is emergency mode?

I live in western New York and have a 90 gallon reef. I probably over the years have in about 10 to 15k in it. Before I made the reef decision i made sure I had a generator. Spend the money and get one. Solved all the headaches.

 

[Oldsalt01]

For future reference, get one or two of those silver mylar survival blankets to wrap the tank in. They're cheap, easy to store and work as efficiently, if not more so, than standard blankets (although I did drape a blanket over the mylar). They, along with warmed (camping stove), submerged gel packs in zip locks, and a battery powered air pump, helped my tank survive the Halloween storm in W. Mass in 2011 when we went without power for almost 3 days.

 

[Goby-won]

You better hurry up - tomorrow is going to be bad

 

[Breadman03]

Were looking at 16”+ tomorrow, and there’s talk of another on Sunday.

 

[BryanD]

Howdy. I know this is past, but they are calling for the NYC region to get nailed again starting today. I have a generator now, but in the past I've taken water out of the tank, put it in a clean pan on the stove, and heated it slightly and slowly added it back in. Gas stove that is. I have extra thermometers, so heated it to like 80-82 (I keep my tank at 79). One year, I think it was like 2009 or 2010, I stayed home from work 2 days and did this, didn't lose a thing except sleep!