What do you do when out of power...???

[Mart]

I was wondering what could I do if I was out of power, and what have you done when it happened to you?

This mean no more filtering, bubles or... heating! Ahh!

Please let me know ;)

Thank

~Mart

[Carol_Roberts]

Your fish should be OK if the power is out for less than 24 hours and your filter is either a hang on the back or air driven sponge. Canister filters have no oxygen and the bacteria quickly die and will foul the water when the power comes back on.

My power goes off during the winter for up to 3 days. I have indoor propane heaters which will kep my house at 66 degrees. I stock my tanks lightly and keep the tank and filters clean. When the power goes off I stop feeding. I pour tank water over the filters every couple of hours if the power is off more than 8 hours.

[Cosmo]

Mart,

Some more info on this topic in "blackouts/brownouts" in the General Discussion Forum :)

Jim

[Paulo]

I was wondering what could I do if I was out of power, and what have you done when it happened to you?

This mean no more filtering, bubles or... heating! Ahh!

Please let me know ;)

Thank

~Mart

Here's what I do, I buy 2 to 3 battery operated air pump, and used it to aerate water for my discus tank.

Aside from this, I siphoned and clean the tank ...at least 20% water changed

[Barb Newell]

Hi, battery operated airpumps will last for many hours, just make sure you have extra "D" batteries. I also bought an adapter that I can plug into my cigarette lighter in my car. I can plug an extension into that and keep some air going.

After the last big power outage last year, I bought a generator.

Barb

[mench]

Me too Barb...after the last time...in the middle of summer,thank goodness..I too went to the generator route.

Mench

[DarkDiscus]

My generator is on order and will be installed by Christmas! Knowing that you don't have to worry about your fishies being frozen into blocks of ice makes winter a LOT more fun for me!

John

[mikeos]

Exactly right John;)

Go buy a generator, its the only way to be sure. Not that expensive either. And you get house lights & heating (if its not electric) as a bonus

[korbi_doc]

Hi Mart, I agree that the generators are the way to go, & when I move to my new house in Tn. am going to install one for the whole house. In the meantime here in NJ, I have an APS battery backup unit that I got from John @ Jehmco. This will run all my sponge filters about 20 in 10 tanks, for as long as a deep cycle battery will last, over 24hrs, or you can add more than one. You can also hook it up to the car to recharge. So far it's been challenged 3 times, once when I was not at home, works great. I have a propane fireplace if its in the winter, & I put blankets & styrofoam around the tanks if necessary. Most of my tanks have styrofoam underneath & on the back which helps. Call John if your interested, it's a good system. JMO, Dottie
www.Jehmco.com

[Jeff in NC]

I agree on the generator.But a more doable quick option is the voltage converter they sell at Lowes or Home Depot hooks up to the cars battery converts it to 110.You have to start the car every so often to keep battery charged.They sell for like 40 bucks.Jeff