Power cut help!

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Jenny32

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Hi,

Our power has been out for 3 days now. I have kept the water at 19 degrees as best as I can. I have a dg, harlequin rasboras, cardinals and ammano shrimp. They are in a 90 litre tank. They kinda seem ok ...any tips or advice in this horrible scenario? Luckily we have a wood stove to heat the open plan room they are in!
 
Someone was saying here wrapping the tanks in blankets/comforters helps. I have an inverter I keep around for outages to keep my parrots warm.
 
Wrapping your tank would be a good idea. With the cooler temperature the fish might not be so active so I would feed minimally. In my experience cooler temperatures are easier for the fish to handle than too warm.
 
Thanks yeah I have put a blanket round the tank to try and help. Should I agitate the water surface to help oxygenate the water?
 
I’m really not sure. Hope someone here knows. Maybe you can Google.

Do you know when the power will be restored? We had several outages in California, not that many here on the East Coast . Always very annoying!
The restore time keeps changing, so annoying! Cant be longer than a day more surely. Its actually ridiculous!
 
Get a battery powered air pump and have it bubbling away in the tank.

Clean the filter media in a bucket of tank water and put the media in the aquarium.

Wash the filter case and impellor assembly and put it back on the tank but don't fill it with water. When the power comes back on, put the filter back together and get it running.

Don't feed the fish until the power is back on. They will be fine for a few days without food.
 
Get a battery powered air pump and have it bubbling away in the tank.

Clean the filter media in a bucket of tank water and put the media in the aquarium.

Wash the filter case and impellor assembly and put it back on the tank but don't fill it with water. When the power comes back on, put the filter back together and get it running.

Don't feed the fish until the power is back on. They will be fine for a few days without food.
Thanks Colin. Is the filter media to be put in the tank so that it gets in contact with more water?
 
You put the cleaned filter media in the tank so there is more oxygen in the water for the beneficial filter bacteria.

Most external power filters run out of oxygen after 12 hours and the filter bacteria die. Moving the media into the tank means there is more oxygen and the bacteria shouldn't die off.
 
What Colin T says. 👍 He advised me on how to transport several fish & a big tank from a previous owner. I didn’t even know what battery operated bubblers were. Walmart had several sizes.
 
You put the cleaned filter media in the tank so there is more oxygen in the water for the beneficial filter bacteria.

Most external power filters run out of oxygen after 12 hours and the filter bacteria die. Moving the media into the tank means there is more oxygen and the bacteria shouldn't die off.
1000% this. I know I'm repeating what Colin said, but it is important: The filter currently has no water flow, so the oxygen inside the filter will be depleted quickly. Bacteria can survive for a while without oxygen, but 3 days would start to make me nervous. Putting the filter media in the tank ensures your bacteria have the oxygen they need.

He also mentioned you should not leave your filter (and hoses, if you have any) full of water. I can tell you from personal experience that leaving a filter full of water without water flow is a Bad Idea. The filter will be taken over by anaerobic bacteria, which produce hydrogen sulfide gas -- it is toxic, flammable, and smells like rotten eggs :sick:. So I very much second the suggestion to clean the filter well with tank water and leave it empty until you have power.
 
You put the cleaned filter media in the tank so there is more oxygen in the water for the beneficial filter bacteria.

Most external power filters run out of oxygen after 12 hours and the filter bacteria die. Moving the media into the tank means there is more oxygen and the bacteria shouldn't die off.
Thanks, I have done this. I should have asked earlier but hopefully still be ok. Cheers
 
1000% this. I know I'm repeating what Colin said, but it is important: The filter currently has no water flow, so the oxygen inside the filter will be depleted quickly. Bacteria can survive for a while without oxygen, but 3 days would start to make me nervous. Putting the filter media in the tank ensures your bacteria have the oxygen they need.

He also mentioned you should not leave your filter (and hoses, if you have any) full of water. I can tell you from personal experience that leaving a filter full of water without water flow is a Bad Idea. The filter will be taken over by anaerobic bacteria, which produce hydrogen sulfide gas -- it is toxic, flammable, and smells like rotten eggs :sick:. So I very much second the suggestion to clean the filter well with tank water and leave it empty until you have power.
Thanks I have taken them out!
 
Already had great advice for the filter. If you have a wood burning stove you have a way of heating water. If the tank temp drops too far you can fill plastic bottles with hot water and float them. It's not ideal and you will need to monitor closely to make sure you don't overheat things. If the tank is open topped then put a cover over it to help keep heat in and stop evaporation. Keeping the room warm will help too.

Hopefully you get your power back soon, got some friends in Ireland that are having the same issue at the moment.
 

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