Caring for fish in a power outage!

[Colin_T]

Your thread makes me wonder why is there no battery-operated heater in the event of power outages? I understand they'd draw far more power than an air pump, but with the advances in lithium batteries in some heavy duty power tools, I would think this would be possible, at least for the short term.

You could make one and market it, I'm sure they would sell. Low amp heater that runs on rechargeable batteries, ideal for power failures.
Name it the Enricosonic portable aquarium heater (patent pending, everyone else bugger off, this is our idea)

 

[Colin_T]

No amount of styro will work and since the system is air driven I am putting very cool air into the tank.

That does bring up a valid point about battery air pumps used in cold climates. If the house temperature does drop, then it might be better to leave the battery pump off because it can suck in cold air from the room and pump it into the tank. this will reduce the water temperature a bit quicker than if no cold air was being pumped in.

You can compensate for this by physically blowing air into the tank for a few minutes. The air coming out of your lungs is warm and has a lot of oxygen in it. And the bubbles going into the water will create surface turbulence to help with gas exchange. Do this a couple of times an hour and the fish should be fine.

Don't worry too much if the power failure is only for a few hours or it happens at night. The fish use less oxygen when it is dark and they are asleep.

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

What I would do:

Buy a portable/battery powered air pump (5 bucks at walmart). You can wrap the tank in something warm (perhaps blankets) and cover everything so fish stay warm.

 

[enricosonic]

You could make one and market it, I'm sure they would sell. Low amp heater that runs on rechargeable batteries, ideal for power failures.
Name it the Enricosonic portable aquarium heater (patent pending, everyone else bugger off, this is our idea)

I'm in talks with Makita presently

 

[GaryE]

Forums loop around to the same problems, and one of the biggest we overlook when we try to help is geography. Normally, on a question like this, I would look at where you were before I answered. I'll bet that there are people reading this who are sitting in a solid 50 degree celsius range. How you answer at -25 and +25 can be very different.
How I approach power blackouts in hot summer and cold winter are different. Even seasonally matters. I realized I suggested battery air pumps, but forgot to say you turn them off when the house hits 12c. Really, they are Spring, summer, and autumn tools.
That affects how I set a tank up. Insulation underneath is an old trick. I don't even bother anymore with my more catastrophic to aquariums temperature environment. I focus on heating the room.
At the same time, blackouts are rare for me. In a northern climate the infrastructure is designed for snow. So I have different assumptions in my head when I try to think of what people are dealing with.
The geography thing is somethiong we should think about. Discussions of gravel and sand, local rocks and trees, brand names, species availability, stores... we all forget the person we're talking to could be thousands of km away. I enjoy the fact there are a number of Australian, Asian and European aquarists here, because most of the forums I've been on were almost entirely US.

 

[Slaphppy7]

You should have foam under the tank before you set the tank up.

Agree, partially....they are not always necessary with store-bought stands...DIY stands have a much higher chance of having imperfections on the top surface than do manufactured stands

 

[Rocky998]

You should have foam under the tank before you set the tank up.

My tank is rimmed... It has the black rims, I was told (by people on here) that rimmed aquariums dont need foam

 

[connorlindeman]

On Saturday we are supposed to have snow... In our area, when it snows power goes out for a few minutes, all the way to a few hours. I just want to know what to do if a power outage happens.

I'm also getting some snow this Saturday. Glad you made this thread!

 

[Slaphppy7]

My tank is rimmed... It has the black rims, I was told (by people on here) that rimmed aquariums dont need foam

You were told incorrectly....rimmed tanks (filled) will bend and contort readily, if on an uneven surface

 

[Rocky998]

I'm also getting some snow this Saturday. Glad you made this thread!

You in NC?

 

[connorlindeman]

You in NC?

nope I'm in NJ

 

[Rocky998]

nope I'm in NJ

Close enough

 

[connorlindeman]

Close enough

just an 8-hour drive