What to do if power goes out

[wastedincome420]

Well since I live in the north east,we often have the power go out in the winter

This is my first winter with my tank. What should I do if/when we lose power

I have seen battery powered air-pumps but not water pumps. Since I live in an apartment it would be very hard for me to get a generater to power everything. I havent lost power yet but now thats its snowing out I'm starting to wonder

 

[DRT]

Depends on how long the power goes out (who knows right?), how big your tank and bioload are etc. I live in Minnesota, we typically have outtages in the spring & summer. Your biggest problem in the winter is going to be heat and for that I really don't have a good answer. Our last big outtage lasted 2.5 days. I got a battery powered air pump and that worked pretty well, I lost nothing during that time although things got pretty stressed. The pump and airstone will provide water movement in the tank as well as help with oxygen exchange. If you're really worried then check out a bait store, they have portable systems that work well. You can get 12vdc pumps and run them off a car battery, I did this during a move.

The easiest & cheapest is the airpump, better to buy it now than try to find one later.

 

[Laurie]

The battery powered air pumps should work fine for you to keep the water oxygenated. That Fish Place sells an AC/DC model by Penn Plax that plugs into your power strip and comes on when the power cuts off so even if you aren't home your tank is protected.

As far as heat goes, if you have a gas stove you can heat water and put it in plastic bags and float it in the tank to keep the temp from dropping. We have electric heat but if it comes to that I plan to light the old fireplace and heat water that way. We do have a generator but tank heaters pull a lot of watts and we have lots of tanks so I don't know how long that would last.

 

[Anonymous]

If you can't run a generator (although the small hand held Honda generator ($900) is very quiet) a power inverter is probably the next best thing. It is a marine battery that stays charged from wall power, flips over to battery when the power goes out. You can daisy chain more batteries for more long term coverage, or even recharge them in your car (I think). Monolith Marine Monsters carries one, as well as some other places.

 

[Anonymous]

here's another place that carries them:
http://www.jehmco.com/PRODUCTS_/HARDWARE_/Battery_Backup_System/battery_backup_system.html