Surviving a power outtage

[mskvarenina]

My primary biological filter is in the sump with MarinePure ceramic media. Just how long can the bacteria living on the media last without a fresh flow of oxygenated water?

I'm wondering if I put a small powerhead in the sump on the return side and direct it to the biomedia end and connect it to a UPS it would probably run for hours and hours. I guessing this simple water circulation of water through the sump should keep the media alive until the power comes back and send water from the tank back into the sump.

What do you think?

 

[pyithar]

do you not have fish/corals in the display tank? you should worry about them first before bacteria. small powerhead with ups would work. as the last resort, battery opearted air pumps work too.

 

[mskvarenina]

Yes I have a ton of fish but that's not really where the biological filter lives. Should I be equally concerned with the fish?

 

[Macimage]

I would be much more concerned with the fish during a power outage. They will die from lack of oxygen long before your biological filtration dies off.

Use the small powerhead on the UPS to break the surface of the water to provide oxygen to your fish.

 

[pyithar]

if you have a ton of fish, use the powerhead in the display for surface agitation for gas exchange like that guy^^ said. also don't forget to check the temperature if the weather is very hot where you live. you can put some ice in a bag like ziplock, seal it well and float the bag to cool the tank down.

 

[johnike]

I have a generator but before I fire it up, I drop a pair of air powered bubblers in the tank.
You can get them in the sporting good dept next to the minnow buckets.
When the power is out, I usually just plug in the return pump in the sump.

 

[mskvarenina]

Interesting replies. I figured the fish would be fine for a while just swimming around but the biological once it's dead would cause the ammonia to go through the roof once the water started flowing again.

So how many hours do you think fish can live in a tank without waterflow and how many hours would the biological last? When I do water changes everything is usually off for 30 minutes and everything is fine.

 

[dmh41532]

most efficient and stress free way, a small generator. I've tired all the 'other tricks' such as battery pumps, but if you need to heat or cool it,

 

[dmh41532]

a small generator will run the whole tank, plus other essential appliances (refridgerator and such)

 

[electrotech]

Couldn't afford a generator last time power was out for extended period, ended up using my car as a generator and a inverter with a extension cord to run the return pump and skimmer for a hour, then off for 2 then repeat for 3 days. Good thing it was summer and temp didn't drop but a few degrees down to around 75 at night, during the day it was up around 82.

 

[Troio2]

82 in the summer, are you in Canada or something?

 

[electrotech]

Tank water up to 82, wasn't too terribly hot outside, mid to high eighty's outside, early September so late summer. This was in 2004 when hurricane Ivan came through Ohio, knocked out power for 3 days and I was lucky, others around here went weeks.

 

[Troio2]

I lived in Orlando that summer. Hit directly by 3 hurricanes in 6 weeks. Didn't have an aquarium but quite an interesting summer

 

[mskvarenina]

We've got a portable 8,000 watt generator that runs the whole house minus the central air. the problem is if I'm not home to connect it the tank may sit for hours.

 

[ChrisKirkland]

Speaking of power outage, just came out of a 4 hour one due to a severe thunderstorm. I have a generator, after about an hour of no power I pulled it out started it up and plugged the apex in and the tank was running like normal. Of course my neighbors were jealous.

 

[electrotech]

I've been thinking about a generator. Buddy of mine was selling one cheap but it wasn't a inverter generator. I would be nervous about plugging in sensitive electronics like a controller or LEDs into a traditional generator.

 

[clockman]

Look for a model with an automatic voltage regulator. The better brands have this. You'll have no worries with sensitive electronics. I've used mine several times since we got it last winter during a nasty ice storm hear in South Eastern PA. The kids use their computers, I use mine and we watch TV with no problems. Never had a problem w/ the LEDs over the tank either.

 

[RocketCityNano]

Just make sure to get an inverter generator. This can be pretty important especially if you plan on getting a controller later on.

 

[mskvarenina]

All this generator talk is fun but nobody has really answered the original question of how long a biological or tank full of fish could survive without power. If I'm away at work and there is nobody here to fire up a generator how long really do I have?

 

[johnike]

It depends on the size of the tank, and the bioload.
The biological load in the sump will live a lot longer than the fish will, fish can start hurting soon after oxygen is depleted.