Getting Rewire...

[Albaba]

Hi there, im getting quite a bit of work done to my flat, rewire, plumbing etc
Just wondered how long is a safe amount of time to have the electricity turned off? My Tank is a Rekord 120.
Also there is gonna be ALOT of banging/drilling, how much effect is this gonna have on my fishies?
Whats the best thing to do as moving the tank aint an option.....


Also the ambient temp right now is like 15-18c... no way of knowing what the temp will be next week when the work starts....

Albaba

 

[Yazan]

Your tank shouldn't be off over '30 MIN'. If the drilling is close to the tank and it vibrating the tank and you see a change in the fishes actions ,yes, it is effecting the fish(possibly will stress them).

 

[Albaba]

Oh dear, i think the electricity will be off for 6 hours. This is awful news, and the drilling will be near the tank at one point

Not good

Albaba

 

[Miss Wiggle]

I don't think there's a set time limit for what is ok and what isn't, obviously the shorter the better but you need to look at what functions are electricity powered in your tank and what you can do to replicate them without electricity.

So temp first, your heater maintains temp if it's cool, your filter/airstone will move the water around cooling it down when it's warm.
If it's a cold day wrap the tank up in a blanket and keep the room as warm as possible. If it's a hot day stir the water periodically (don't mean get a whirlpool going, just keep the water moving. You can also float bottles of warm water or ice in the tank to heat it up or cool it down.

Filtration, the bacteria in your filter will continue to do they're job without an electricity you just have to pass the water through teh filter manually. So you need to open up the filter and pour wate from the tank through it, do a couple of jugfulls every 15 mins or so, the longer it's off the more frequently you'll need to do this. Also as mentioned above the filter provides current which some fish will need so keep moving the water around with your hands.

have your test kit to hand and keep running water tests every few hrs which should alert you to any problems, keep the water moving through the filter and keep the temp stable and you'll be alright for a day I reckon.

remember when you get the power back on that heating the tank up too fast can cause problems too, so set it to 1oC above what it is, let it get to that and give it an hr or so, then move it up another degree and so on until it's the right temp.

Oh dear, i think the electricity will be off for 6 hours. This is awful news, and the drilling will be near the tank at one point

Not good

Albaba

don't panic!

yazan i'm sorry but that's rubbish advice. follow the steps above and you'll be fine for 6 hrs.

what fish do you have, some will be more sensitive to noise/vibrations than others

 

[kewskills]

miss wiggle is correct i have had mine off for at least 5 hrs before with building work, did something very similar to this suggestion, no casualties and no noticeble stress caused to the fish.
must admint i wasn't watching them for noise pollution.

 

[Albaba]

Thing is i wont be here when the work is getting done, and there is no way i can expect a dumb builder to do any of the above mentioned ideas....
Would i be right in saying that the tank temp is the most important bit? The filter and pump should be fine off for ages no?
Im sure the oxygen levels in the tank wouldn't drop that much over the course of a few hours?
Im thinking now maybe i can run a cable to the flat upstairs, that might be a safer option.

Thanks for your advice so far

Albaba

 

[The-Wolf]

you can buy a battery powered air pump
http/www.aquatichouse.com/Pumps_files/ppbatpump.asp
this could be placed under the filter, driving air (thus water) into it
to help keep the bacteria alive

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ok fair enough, not all builders are dumb though, i happen to live with one and he's an excellent fishkeeper but your right it's unfair and likely to cause more problems to ask the builder to do the above.

if your in a flat and can run an extension lead upstairs to plug in the filter and heater that is by far and away the best option.

however if you can't then bear in mind the following

the hotter the temp the less oxygen will be in the water, if it is a warm day the tank having no water movement for 6 hrs could cause serious problems. every summer fishkeepers on here report that they have lost fish on a warm day even when the filters have been running, you need to arrange for extra oxygenation if it is warm.

if it's a cool day, keep the tank wrapped in a blanket and it should be ok for 6 hrs temp wise

the filter bacteria will start to die off after 12 hrs with no food (i.e. no messy fishy water being passed through it) so 6 hrs should be fine to keep your filter healthy and ready to go when it starts back up again.

do a large water change the night before and don't feed the day before, then the fish will produce less waste and the water will be cleaner to start off with. as soon as the power goes back on or you get home run water tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, if anything is wrong do another large water change, when the filter turns back on it should clear up messy water within a few hrs. However keep a very close eye on the fish for signs of disease for a few days afterwards

 

[Albaba]

Would the bacteria really die that quickly? I mean we are only talkin 9am to 5pm max.....

I thought it would take way longer than that...

Albaba

 

[Miss Wiggle]

they will start to die off given no food after 12 hrs

they will get some food even with the filter and pump off as the fish swimming will cause some small amount of water movement at least. don't panic about them all dying as it's unlikely, but you should be aware of the timeframe just incase the works are delayed and the filter iss off forr longer than expected

 

[Albaba]

Thanks alot for the info. Im starting to think now of maybe trying to move the tank.... Would this be a possibility do you think? It weighs about 150kilos with all the water in it and would need to be moved up 2 flights of stairs to my neighbours. A nightmarish laurel and hardy style event springs to mind....

What about if i drain half the water out first? Then refill it when it gets upstairs...

Arg what a nightmare.
To be honest im more worried about all the banging stressing the fish rather than the filter/heater being off.....

Albaba

 

[Miss Wiggle]

moving a tank's not that hard, don't even think about doing it with water in though!! pmsl

basic step by step guide

- turn off all equipment (heater needs 15 mins or so to cool down before being removed from the water or it will break)
- start to drain tank water, keep a couple of buckets full but you don't need to keep it all
- remove the filter and place it in one of the buckets of water (needs to be kept wet in tank water to keep the bacteria alive)
- when the tank is one third full stop draining it
- remove all decor, plants etc
- start catching fish and put them in a bucket of water (preferably one with a lid, if not put a large towel over it)
- when they're all caught drain the rest of the tank
- move tank upstairs, fill to 2 thirds full with dechlorinated water straight from the tap
- plug back in the filter and heater and switch them on
- put plants/decor back in the tank while it gets up to temp
- when the tank has got to correct temp put the fish back in

 

[Albaba]

I just did a refit of the tank 2 months back to convert it to sand, it would be a bit of a nightmare having to do a total strip down and move twice in 1 week

Would it not be poss to drain the tank to say 20-30 litres leaving everything in it, move it then quickly refill......
I couldn't face pulling all the plants out and re-doing it all over again.
If i move the tank with water and substrate in am i in danger of breaking the tank?
I think my best option is to run a cable upstairs and hope the noise etc dont kill em.
Although moving the whole tank would be better by far....

Albaba

 

[Miss Wiggle]

If i move the tank with water and substrate in am i in danger of breaking the tank? - yes, i would strongly advise against this!

I think my best option is to run a cable upstairs and hope the noise etc dont kill em. - that's what i'd do, wrap the tank in a blanket which should muffle the sound.

however i think yazan's comments re the noise may have worried you unduly. my other half is a builder and we're renovating our whole house. we've rewired the electrics, smashed down and re-built walls, all sorts really, plenty of noise, muck and vibrations. we've got 5 tanks including a marine tank and we've yet to loose a single fish to it.

i think it's more a theoretical risk than an actual one to be completely honest.

 

[Albaba]

Ok cool, thanks a million Miss Wiggle
Im just gonna run a cable upstairs and hope the noise dont kill the little blighters.

Fingers Crossed!!

Albaba