power outage help

[jsong]

I have a 39 gallon reef tank at the office and due to some electrical work that has to be done, the power is going to be shut off for about 10 hours.

Because of the small size of the tank, I think the temperature will fall quickly.

I have a backup battery for the Vortech MP40 which should last close to 6 hours.

Don't have any other backup though.

Any suggestions on how I can keep everything alive?

 

[moogoomoogoo]

there are battery powered air pumps that run on 2 D cells that would help with O2 levels and provide some water flow

 

[jsong]

any suggestions on how to keep the temperature up?

 

[kraze3]

Wrap it in some towels or blankets. This will help Keep it somewhat insulated and slow down the temp drop. You could also try putting some very hot water in a 2 liter bottle and floating in your tank.

 

[an411]

Yeah I would say maybe heated water in a soda bottle. I know they do the opposite in the summer with ice in soda bottles to keep the tank down during heat waves. Not sure how affective it would be with the heated water in cold tank give it a shot HTH

 

[bubbly]

I would get some bubble wrap to wrap the tank in for a few layers. I think the "small bubble" kind might be best.

You might also want to get one of those serious UPSs to power the in-tank heater -- that way whatever the insulation and the hot water bottle doesn't keep the tank at, the UPS can still power the heater for.

The most important thing is the O2 -- the tank can do without flow for a while, but keeping the tank oxygenated is the most important thing.

I also read that corals that stay at a constant temp become more intolerant of temp swings, so that having a regular small temp swing is good for them. I haven't personally ever seen any of my corals suffer from temp swings.