How to survive power cut..

[Luke890]

hey everyone,

My landlord has come over and we are due to have some electric works being done in the house and the power could be off for 3-6 hours in a couple of weeks.

I will need to keep the tank warm and oxygenated. Any tips from anyone who has had this sort of thing before?

Thanks

 

[Essjay]

Our power was off all day a few years ago for work on our local substation.

Feed the fish lightly for a day or two before the planned work, nothing on the day itself, and lighter again for a day or two afterwards.
If there is any way to heat the room without using electricity, use that - but even if you are in the UK the weather shouldn't be too cold in early September.
The filter should be OK left alone but if it helps stop you worrying you could take the media out and let it float in the tank. As for oxygen, unless you are heavily overstocked, the fish will be OK for a few hours.
When the power comes back on, check your ammonia and nitrite. They should still be zero but if they are not, do a water change.

Do you have live plants in the tank? They will help both with using ammonia as fertliser and making oxygen during daylight. I turned my filter off one evening a few months ago to reposition it, went to wash my hands before plugging it back in, got distracted and forgot. i only realised next evening. Tests for ammonia and nitrite showed zero, which I can only put down to the plants.
If you don't have live plants it could be worth getting some in the next couple of weeks. Floating plants are some of the best for using ammonia.

 

[hobby5]

Tell us more about tank size and inhabitants? What is the temp difference between water and room?

 

[Gruntle]

If you know for certain the day of the power cut, then do a large water change the day before as well as reducing feedings.

 

[AbbeysDad]

The challenge is that 3-6 hours could turn into longer.
I have a battery operated air pump for such occasions. They are an inexpensive "insurance policy".
If you can, place any filter bio-media in the tank as the oxygen will quickly be exhausted in most filters. If you have it, an air stone under the bio-media in the tank will not only provide O2 but also provide continuous processing of ammonia. If the temperature is cold, wrap the tank in a blanket or two to help retain heat longer.

 

[Zombieworm]

It will really depend on the size of your tank, and the season. Large tanks will hold their heat for quite a long time, and tropical fish can quite easily survive substantial temperature drops, as long they are slow, over a long period. My 160 litre tanks can go 36 hours without heating before the temps drop too low, and my 400 litre tank can go several days, in winter. Morning temps in the house in winter can go as low as 2C here. In summer, the heaters almost never click on, as our summer temps can get over 30C.
Remember, your tank temps won't really drop below the ambient air temp.
If you have smaller tanks, or the power cuts are particularly long, and it is winter, there are a couple of things you can do. With my 20 litre and 30 litre betta tanks, I wrap them in bubble wrap, and then wrap a towel around that. This will keep the heat in for quite a while. The other thing you can do is use small empty soda bottles, or jars, fill them with hot water, and drop those into the tank. If you use jars, make sure they have plastic lids, not metal ones. The heat will slowly dissipate into the tank, keeping it warm. Don't overdo it though, or your tank will heat up too much. Just keep an eye on the thermometer. I sometimes have to use this method if we have particularly long power cuts because the lines are down from a storm.
Hope some of this helps.