How to prepare for power outages

With a few hurricanes under my belt and the many threads out there about what to do in a power outage, I thought I would make a thread with some advice. I'm currently going through Hurricane Isaac as I write this!

Freshwater tanks do better than Marine aquariums but pond owners will surprised how fast their koi will die with out pumps....its even faster than aquariums, try to get a generator to them as fast as you can.

You have 3 major concerns with a power outage:

1.) Oxygen: You can actually watch your fish and see when the oxygen gets low they will gasp for air and as the oxygen gets really low they will come up to surface hoping to get more 02. Cooler water has more oxygen in it, so starting with as cool a tank as possible is key. (especially important with hurricanes. Blizzards may be the opposite with the fear of it getting too cold)

You want to keep as much water movement at the surface as possible. Obviously a generator is the best option keeping the pumps and filters in operation. Vortech pumps have a battery backup option and a diy option.

Any way you can agitate the surface of the water will help you maintain your aquariums for extended periods of time, even if done off and on through out the day. Including battery operated air pumps, or even picking up water from the tank with a pitcher and pouring it back in. Just remember to break the surface tension every few hours.

2.) Temperature: You will have to deal with temperature regulation depending on the reason for your power outage. If it's a hurricane, you will need to keep the water cool. If it's a blizzard then your goal is to keep the water warm.

In my preparation for a hurricane I freeze 5 double bagged 1 gallon bags of water. This way I'm not adding water to the tank but can help bring keep the tanks down. I also have the ability to run a fan over it to evaporate and cool (make sure you have plenty of top off water) There is no need to run the lights especially down south where AC may not be an option and will only raise the temperature further.

To keep it warm, try to insulate the tank quickly. Wrap blankets around it and run the heater up to 82 before the storm if you have time.

3.) Bio-load: Your biggest problem after no aeration or filtration is the biological filter, it will begin to go dormant and then you have water quality issues such as ammonia, so frequent water changes if capable is IMPORTANT as well as water changes after power comes back on.

REMEMBER DO NOT FEED YOUR TANK!!!! You DO NOT want to add to the bio load.....and remove anything that dies ASAP!!

Preparation:

Gear!
Generator w/ plenty of gas
Battery back ups and UPS
Uninterrupted power supplies and air pumps
Battery powered air pumps
Water changes at the ready!

Before the storm
- Do a large water change
- Clean the filters, sponges etc.
- Stop Feeding
- Prepare more W/C water
- Have batteries and air pumps

During the storm
- Circulate water every few hours
- Do not feed
- Do small water changes daily
- No need for lights (up to a week)
- Even doing nothing at all I have seen little problems in tanks that are not over populated for 3 days on Salt tanks and 6 Days on Fresh tanks.

After the storm
- Clean out all reactors (the water will have gone bad, pour out water and replace all media, thoroughly rinse biopellets or ca reactor media)
- Do more water changes
- Celebrate that you made it through!
- Feed the fish!

So there you go, the keep it simple on your power outage issues. More questions? feel free to ask I will answer as best I can as well as all the others with tanks that survived hurricanes, blizzards and any other power outages...



EDIT: From Jon Warner concerning bio pellets and power outages : http://www.3reef.com/forums/warner-marine/power-outages-ecobak-136438.html

 

very useful contribution Thatgrimguy

hopefully this will not be needed by to many people
and anyone who does need it, has my sympathy

Steve

 

solid tips!

 

Good read! Thanks for the info.

 

Excellent read; thanks for sharing

 

Great job Grim.

 

Good stuff, Scott. Hope you're doing well over there. It's just getting interesting over here in Baton Rouge. We still have power but some friends around town bag started losing it so it's only a matter of time.

 

Nice thread!

I enjoy the link to the DIY VorTech backup battery.

Hope all is well

 

40 hours of no power. 2 simple bubblers on the 210g and everything looked great. No bubble r in my 40b, and it looked like death.... I have done 120 gallons of water change since and put in fresh gfo/carbon and plan to skim wet for a day or 2. Power is BACK! No fish losses, and coral all look good!

 

Congrats bud! Great to hear.