Wide spread power outage here

[schnebbles]

How cold can the tank get? I never lose power and its out for a huge area. No idea what is going on. Worried about my tank. I don't think my house will get under 60. I can start a fire if need be in my fire place. Which leads to a new question. Will that be an issue in the winter? We make fires almost every night in the same room with the fish.

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[schnebbles]

It came back! Whew!

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[eastlake]

I wouldn't let it stay low for long but my short term low would probably be at 70-72, so that way when the power comes back on there's not to massive of a swing causing possible health issues with your fish. Years ago something similar happened to me when that big ice storm hit here in 2008. Power was out for 5 days, had a battery aerator going and wrapped the tank in comforters to try to keep as much heat in as I could. Still ended up losing half of my stock and now I have a generator. The fire in the room would certainly help temps but not long term as evaporation will still carry away heat. I strongly recommend getting a generator as you can get some at a very reasonable prices these days.

 

[eastlake]

aaaaannnnnd came back seconds before I posted lol

 

[MiddletoM]

I've thought about having an open fire but they do suck a lot of oxygen out of the room. I'm guessing they will reduce oxygen levels enough to cause PH changes in the tank assuming your windows are shut, not sure how much of an effect the fire would have but its enough for me to avoid installing one.

also, how long it takes for your tank to lose temperature depends on size as well as temp in the house. my 5ft by 2ft tank lost about 1 degree in a couple of hours (cant be too accurate with the amount of time as I wasn't home when the power went out).

 

[schnebbles]

So it would be a while before it got too cold. I didn't know that about fire. My tank is covered so not sure that would help.

Might have to get a generator sometime. We are really lucky where I am and the power rarely goes out for more than 1/2 hour or so.

 

[Ron Reefman]

A generator is a good thing, and the more expensive stuff you put in the tank, the better the generator idea is! But they can be pricey depending on your budget. But if it's just for the tank, a small unit isn't too expensive. A much less expensive solution to the oxygen issue is to get a battery operated bubbler. It doesn't take much to keep the water healthy. In fact, there are bubblers out there that have a battery and plug in as well. They don't run when you have power, but when the power goes off, they start up and run on the battery!

 

[ryeguyy84]

Glad your power came back. During hurricane sandy I used my gas stove to heat up some water then put it into a plastic bottle and floated it in the tank with a battery powered air pump. Everyone survived but a generator is way easier [emoji3]

 

[JeffyT]

Depending on how big your tank is, you can boil some water, and float them in bottles. This is effective for small tanks. The battery powered airstone works wonders. With two big D batteries you can get a few good hours.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I use $15 battery operated bubblers and with 2 'D' size batteries we get 24 to 36 hours. I use them on the boat when we collect (2 days of snorkeling at 5 or 6 hours each day) and in the cooler when we transport the collection home (a 5 to 6 hour drive). Typically the batteries last better than 2 weekends. In the motel room I use an AC plug in air pump.

 

[schnebbles]

I'll have to pick one up! thanks!

 

[dallen2233]

I picked up a 4kW generator last year during black friday. The month after a blizzard hit and knocked out power for 9hrs, it was the best $200 I spent.

 

[Ron Reefman]

I'll have to pick one up! thanks!

The ones I bought have the brand name AZOO on the box. Because they are cheap and because I use them far more with collecting than during emergencies, I bought 4 about a year ago and 2 of them are still unused in the box. IMHO they have worked very well.