Keepin' fish alive during a power outage

hansnfrans

hansnfrans

New member
I'm sittin' here watching this storm we have right now and wondering, "what the heck am I going to do if the power goes out?" How do you guys deal with power outages? I assume my best bet is a battery powered air pump. Anyone know if Wal-mart or Super K-mart carries these pumps?
 
I bought a couple at Walmart in the fishing department. They're for bait buckets and they work great. Use them for my 75 gallon. I think they're about 7 bucks apies plus a d cell battery. Good insurance for the money...
 
Hello
The longest power outage I have witnessed was 16 hours or so, many years ago. Luckily it was in the spring of the year with mild temperatures. I used a couple of battery (make sure you have some fresh batteries) powered air pump. I think what saved me, I would syphon out 5 gallon buckets of tank water and pour it back into the aquarium with as much turbulence as possible. As time went by the temp. dropped to the low 70's but alas all survived.
 
Assumes one is home though, no? Any ideas how to have a set up so the air pump is battery powered (on) but only if the power is out?
 
I coulda swore that there are pumps that function in the manner that jdhanover is referring to. Anyone own one like this?


gdm42001- that's a good idea, I totally forgot that those power inverters have those leads that you can connect directly to the battery.

Doug- I never thought to do that water siphon/replenish method that you referred to. Sure beats what I planned on doing in the event of a power outage (was going to sit in front of my tank and blow air into an airline until I passed out :) )
 
The longest power outage I have live through was 4 days. Oddly I didnt even think of my fish. Really at the time i was thinking about ME. So the tanks got down to the 50's, I had left the place and the broken a$$ tree on it...didn't lose a fish, they were clearly unhappy but did make it, the corals where ok too. I did have a huge algea outbreak after, but hell..... I think if you can either provide some circulation (air pump) or make sure the temp is low you will be fine...a battery powered air pump is a great buy!
 
I have a battery powered air pump that plus into an outlet. When the circuit is broken (power to the plug), the battery kicks on and the bubbles start going.

This route is great backup - just make sure you check your batteries every once and a while.
 
I started a thread like this some time ago, when the power went out in Darien/Downers Grove and I had some causulties. After looking for info online and talking to my trusted LFS guys, I was given the impression that the airstones or creating bubbles had limited oxygenation effects. I was refered to a article by Homes regarding this but I can't find it now. The general consensus from people who have been doing this for awhile, suggested prioritizing water movement at the surface for the purposes of gas exchange. Basically pointing a powerhead toward the surface of the water. I like the car battery idea for the purpose of long life, limited expense, and the ability to recharge it. That's my plan.
 
When I loos power and if its going to be off for awhile, I reach for a light before I do a powerherad/airstone. Photosynthsis will produce much more oxygen than surface movement.

Mr Borneman gave a presentation at last years IMAC that discussed oxygen levels in our reefs, and in some instances, the oxygen levels actually dropped when an airstone was added, but you should have seen the results that photosynthisis gave .
 
here is a review that I found of last years IMAC and from it

Eric Borneman presented a talk on oxygen levels in the reef tank. This presentation paralleled his doctoral thesis work on oxygen levels in the reef. He has found that reefs without much water flow run low on oxygen overnight. Photosynthesis is necessary to restore the oxygen levels in the water. In his IMAC presentation he presented examples of several saltwater aquariums where he measured oxygen levels. His data suggested airstones and protein skimmers are rather inefficient at keeping oxygen levels high. Photosysthesis, even at low light levels, dramatically boosts oxygen. The presentation was quite dramatic but lacked detail. Oxygen diffusion rates are well established and depend strongly on the oxygen concentration gradient, which in turn depends on water flow. The take home message is air stones and protein skimmers do not force oxygen into the water, rather they slightly increase surface area, and provide water movement necessary for efficient diffusion. However, increasing water movement shows diminishing returns in terms of oxygenation. Large tanks with proportionately smaller surface areas and a heavy bioload, may present problems at night when all organisms are respirating (oxygen sink) and no organisms are photosynthesizing (oxygen source).

http://www.petsforum.com/cmas/s_05_imac/s_05_imac.html
is where it came from. I know there is more data out there, but I dont have the desire to search :). (I seen the presentation )
 
That's why this subject is so fustrating.

Mr. Borneman (well respected but unconventional): lights
Greg Hiller (well respected, traditional wisdom): airstones
LFS's (history of providing reliable information): circulation


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!! LOL
 
when my power goes out I start my generator up and plug in my pumps and heater usally no lights So do we think I should plug in my vho's at least?
 
I kept large freshwater fish (angel pairs, large piranha, various scats and catfish) alive for 3 days in transit, in the back seat of a car with a hand-squeezed bulb and airstones, while they were packed in buckets jammed into the space. I think aeration and turbulence does present an increased surface for gas exchange: no photosynthesis was possible, as the lids had only a hole for the hose and the airpump ran only at night in the hotel rooms.
 
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