fishychick Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Greetings from the deep south - we're in the middle of a fairly nasty blizzard at the moment, and have had a power cut this afternoon. Power was off for about 2 hours. What is the recommended procedure for keeping the poor darlings in the tank warm? We seem to have escaped any damage, but if the power was off for longer ... ??? Would love to hear your thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 Surround your tank with polystyrene if possible cover your tanks with a blanket. chuck in bottles of hot water from time to time to keep water warm. Pray they get the power on soon :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishychick Posted June 23, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 thanks wok - don't have polystyrene available, but did wrap with a couple of blankets. Didn't think of the hot water bottles tho - will know for next time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 For those that live in coldish areas/areas prone to long powercuts a small generator may come in handy as a backup, especially if you have alot of fish in alot of tanks. I will be getting one sometime just incase. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 im sure if you can maintain room temperature with a fire or gas heater that will hold the temp to. my tanks are in the lounge that has fireplace, cold nights when the fire is on the tanks will go up to 28' sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishychick Posted June 24, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 We only have 1 small tank - not sure that I can justify a generator (altho the fish may disagree! ). Tank is located in a hallway with no heating - it's been like antarctica these last few days. It was the only place I could put the tank where it is out of direct sunlight but maybe I should have worried less about the sunlight and more about an even temperature? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 direct sunlight will encourage algae to grow. algae vs dead fish, think the fish would rather the algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 algae growth does not necessarily mean fish death. Just that the algae will obscure your view in seeing the fish :lol: I have 2 wcmm tanks on a window sill that has sun on it all day (well, when the sun shines :lol: ) and it is heavily planted with Indian fern and ambulia. These tanks do not have a problem with green water or algae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 algae growth does not necessarily mean fish death. Just that the algae will obscure your view in seeing the fish :lol: I have 2 wcmm tanks on a window sill that has sun on it all day (well, when the sun shines :lol: ) and it is heavily planted with Indian fern and ambulia. These tanks do not have a problem with green water or algae i think that wuld be the case cause the plants you have would obsorb the nutrients required for the algae to grow? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted June 24, 2007 Report Share Posted June 24, 2007 Plants take up the nutrients quite well. I have placed a goldfish tank next to a window and the water went green due to algae.. fish didn't mind... but I couldn't see the fish :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishychick Posted June 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 Thanks for the info - will have a "re-assessment" of tank location. Would be nice to have it where it can be viewed more comfortably anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuba Sam Posted June 25, 2007 Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 Hi there, I have one of my tanks in sunlight for several hours of each day. It got quite covered in algae, despite algae eaters (not very good eaters of algae), but I put in three juvenile bristlenoses and in about ten days it was hard to see any algae at all. Might be an option if you end up shifting the tank. Hope things are warming up down there today... Cheers, Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishychick Posted June 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 Thanks, Sam. The tank is just a small one (AR380) - how big do bristlenoses grow? Hope things are warming up down there today... Yeah, looking a bit more inviting out there today! Karen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scuba Sam Posted June 25, 2007 Report Share Posted June 25, 2007 I am new to bristlenoses, having used algae eaters before and plecostamuses, but would recommend bristlenoses. Algae eaters seem to stop eating algae as they get older, and will chase other fish. And pleco's get huge - one of mine grew to more than twelve inches. My largest bristlenose is a mature male, my others are his children. My Dad bristlenose is about ten centremetres long, and I believe this is full size. Others on this forum would be able to tell you if that is too big for your set up. I'm not familiar enough with bristlenose's requirements yet. They are very cool fish though - yellow tips to fins and the bristles have to be seen to be believed. Cheers, Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted June 26, 2007 Report Share Posted June 26, 2007 Over here we lose power for different reasons. I have a few battery pumps just so I can still have oxygen in the tanks. That is a big concern. As for cold, thick blanket will do the job easily. Frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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