GZ_Loach Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 Theirs a power cut on in my region from 9am-6pm. will my fish cope?? i can do a water change the night before and get some oxy shells but else can i do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 hire a gen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgeous Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 I would have thought that they would be alright... Just my thoughts though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jayci Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 The fish may not have a problem going with out power. But the biggest concern is the filter bacteria, they will die off pretty quick without waterflow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimebag Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 might be worth hiring a generator? temperature etc will be fine but dont think filter will be too good being off for that long? other option i guess is an inverter, run off a car battery, just to run filter, which wont be drawing much current at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 If you're really worried about it, pull the media out of the filters, give them a quick clean(Just to get rid of the garbage) and drop them in your tank so they don't suffocate. Otherwise I wouldn't bother doing anything other than checking every few hours to see if the fish are gasping. 9 hours they should be perfectly fine. I'd even be tempted to just turn the filters off when the power goes out and then just give them a quick clean after it comes back on before turning them back on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 I agree with Ira Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dixon1990 Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 I also think hiring the generator would be the best/easiest way to go. It shoulnt be hard to find one Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 I also think hiring the generator would be the best/easiest way to go. It shoulnt be hard to find one Un-necessary expense, imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 should be no worries at all . get a small battery operated air pump from the pet store to run a air stone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leviathan Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 I agree with Ira also, My heater hasnt come on in months due to the warm weather, so i doubt temp will be a huge issue.. the main thing like the others said is avoiding your filter media drying out, so a quick clean and floating them is also how idd go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markoshark Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 You can buy a UPS that will run your filters for approx 24 hours for sub 150 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 Not all filters will run on a UPS. I'm at work so can't ask husband but something to do with different sine waves or something :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jn Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 HOw about battery powered air pumps? If you put the filter media in a bucket of tank water and ran an airstone it might help preserve the bacteria? I had a 5 hour unsuspected power outage a month ago and I had ammonia spikes in both my tanks 24 hours later.. small ones though. But my tanks are lightly stocked. As long as you know there a chance it will happen.. have your test kit ready and be prepared to do some water changes to help it along.. should be no worse then adding a few new fish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AMAZONIAN Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 Hi All. It is always a problem with prolonged power outages as to what to do for the best. :roll: As an afficionado of the "VERY OLD SCHOOL", I dont even know why so many are hoodwinked by so few as to the need for all the modern day paraphinalia that has become the norm for fishkeeping. Forty eight years ago a filter was a semicircular (quadrant) piece of plastic about 75mm deep that was suction cupped to the top corner of a tank, and used an airlift venturi principle to operate, and was "EASY to FIX UP". Non of these "High Powered Canister Filters", "Bio Noodles", Bio Balls", "Power Heads", "UV Sterilizers", plus all the medications that are used to increase the good bacteria levels. The KISS Principle worked then and it still to this day works for me. If people are going to use all these modern adornments, I would very strongly, and with expert knowledge suggest that they consider buying a LOW OUTPUT POWERED GENERATOR, even a "WHARE WHARI" one for about $100.00 that will run your tank in an emergency. Let's face it, it's coming on to winter and power outages "WILL HAPPEN" whether hobbyists like it or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tHEcONCH Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 If this is some sort of Council maintenance shutdown then you'll probably find that the power will be off for a far shorter amount of time. I'd just keep everything plugged in and switched on, chuck a blanket over the tank to keep the temperature from dropping too quickly, and maybe use a battery powered airpump if you have a heavily stocked tank. Once the power is back on, do one of those old fashioned water change things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 13, 2008 Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 Not all filters will run on a UPS. I'm at work so can't ask husband but something to do with different sine waves or something :-? And most UPSes especially that you'll get for sub $150 run off a single 7-12 ah lead acid brick. Say you have 20 watts of filters that's going to last you at best 7 hours before it's absolutely dead. And 20 watts is a small cannister filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GZ_Loach Posted March 13, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2008 thanks for all the info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doch Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 my 300 litre was out for 24 hours last winter had no probs with it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markoshark Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 And most UPSes especially that you'll get for sub $150 run off a single 7-12 ah lead acid brick. Say you have 20 watts of filters that's going to last you at best 7 hours before it's absolutely dead. And 20 watts is a small cannister filter. (ok, ok, its actually $155) http://www.pbtech.co.nz/index.php?item=UPSDNX1001 I've probably calculated that wrongly but it should last for 50 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 That one has two 12v 7ah batteries, so 14 ah capacity. A 20 watt load at 12v would be 1.66 amps. 14 amp hours/ 1.66 amps=8.5 hours. Which is a good long time, but not 50 hours. And realistically it's probably going to be less than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted March 15, 2008 Report Share Posted March 15, 2008 GZ_Loach...how did you make out, or should I say, how did your fishies make out with the power cut? What did you do to help them? Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vonfluffy Posted May 10, 2008 Report Share Posted May 10, 2008 That one has two 12v 7ah batteries, so 14 ah capacity. A 20 watt load at 12v would be 1.66 amps. 14 amp hours/ 1.66 amps=8.5 hours. Which is a good long time, but not 50 hours. And realistically it's probably going to be less than that. It has 2 x 12v 7 AH batteries, but in series, so its 7 AH at 24 V... 20 watts at 24 volts is 0.83 amps 7 / .83 is still ~8.5 hours.. so no change in the outcome.. but you are halving the current by using a higher voltage Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted May 10, 2008 Report Share Posted May 10, 2008 It has 2 x 12v 7 AH batteries, but in series, so its 7 AH at 24 V... 20 watts at 24 volts is 0.83 amps 7 / .83 is still ~8.5 hours.. so no change in the outcome.. but you are halving the current by using a higher voltage 6 of one, half a dozen of the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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