Caryl Posted June 18, 2002 Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 Have just been talking to our club member Esmay who lives on the coast from Ashburton. They have over 8" of snow and no power for 2 days so far. No electricity to pump water so relying on a truck bringing it in for the water tank. This also means no TV or computer. They lost the phone for a while too. Her tanks have been packed with polystyrene and wrapped in blankets. They have a very small cottage thank goodness so the pot belly stove has been running nonstop trying to keep the house at a temperature not too cool for the fish. Every so often she does a small water change with warm water, bearing in mind the lower oxygen content. No electricity means her filters aren't running either. So far the fish have coped well and she is keeping a close eye on them hoping for power to be restored tomorrow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted June 18, 2002 Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 Im glad it doesnt snow in wellington! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 18, 2002 Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 Only 8 inches of snow knocked out the power and phones? Wow...That's...Pathetic. :lol: Maybe it's just cause I'm from Alaska, but 8 inches of snow probably wouldn't even get shoveled right away, we'd just drive over it and maybe lift our feet a bit higher when walking. Oh, and do donuts in big empty snowy parking lots, wheeee! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted June 18, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 I'm sure you could handle 8" of snow in Alaska but that's because you were expecting it and got that much snow, and more, most of the time. When things aren't built to withstand unexpected problems it creates havoc. Since it rarely snows in Ashburton a little bit goes a long way! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted June 18, 2002 Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 I think I've seen enough snow to last me until my time comes. Must admit though, it was real exciting as a kid back in England where you went to bed on a really cold crisp night and woke in the morning to find it still dark. The reason being that the snow had drifted and covered the whole front of the house, and we had on several occasions to dig our way out. Snowmen, snowball fights, igloos, and sledging were the only things on the minds of the kids at that time. I never did like the three mile walk to school (both there and back. 6 mile a day) but we had some great fun getting there Happy Days :) Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 18, 2002 Report Share Posted June 18, 2002 Uphill both ways into the wind, right, Pegasus? Snow days=best days! Surprise days off school are always great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Posted June 19, 2002 Report Share Posted June 19, 2002 Caryl - remind Esmay to keep a close watch on her tanks even once the power does come back on - with the filters not running for that length of time it's likely that some/alot of the bacterial colonies will have died - may get an ammonia/nitrite spike before the filters are recolonised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted June 19, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2002 I have warned her about that Rob. How long after the power comes back on will the spike occur (like hours, days or a week)? She is due to leave on holiday (coming to stay with me actually) on Friday with our American club member Paula. So far all the fish seem perfectly happy and luckily her tanks are under stocked. She didn't feed them while the power was out and was doing regular small water changes throughout. There are two tanks. Both have undergravels and one has an internal Shark filter and the other one runs a Fluval 304 external. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 19, 2002 Report Share Posted June 19, 2002 The tanks will probably have enough bacteria inside them to keep the spike small. I accidentally left one of my pumps disconnected for about 36 hours once and didn't get any noticable spike after reconnecting it. The bacteria would be coating every surface in the tank, not just the media in the filter. But, wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on it for the next week or two. After what she's been doing, testing the ammonia every other day won't be a bit of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted June 19, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2002 What did you do? Accidentally disconnect it in your haste to go do donuts in your 8" of snow? How come there isn't a smiley to indicate humourous sarcasm with a little yellow face poking its tongue out? I told Esmay you thought it was funny and she laughed too. She also said it had not snowed where she lives for 42 years so expecting equipment to cope with it was asking a bit much. She was doing water changes every 4 hours I believe so was looking forward to a sleep this afternoon since the power was back on. Here's hoping you are right and the spike is small. Keep your fingers crossed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 19, 2002 Report Share Posted June 19, 2002 One of my tanks is a Hex about 18 inches in diameter and is now about 6 feet tall after I cut a foot off of it. The plumbing for the filter comes through the bottom of the tank into a little cabinet at the bottom. You've probably seen similar ones, usually seem to be covered in black carpety stuff? Anyway, to change the water instead of siphoning it out of the tank I usually disconnect the hoses, It's an eheim with 2 little valves on the in hose and out hose, then just drain the water. One time I forgot to reconnect the plumbing after draining it. Not smart. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted June 19, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 19, 2002 It can cause problems if you forget to turn off the heaterstat before lowering the water level too! :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted June 20, 2002 Report Share Posted June 20, 2002 Just had a major power cut which lasted for several hours. Fortunately it seems to be a mild night/morning, but it might be time to consider covering your tanks on a night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted June 20, 2002 Report Share Posted June 20, 2002 AAAAHHH! My made it through the power outage fine, but after making a post Wednesday mentioning the time I forgot to reconnect the filter's hoses, guess who forgot it again? Noticed it last night. Oh, and last night I also went and defrosted the food for the birds, left it in the microwave and forgot to feed them. I honestly think I'm getting stupider. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted June 21, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2002 I honestly think I'm getting stupider. Is that possible? :lol: Since I don't know you personally please take that as the joke it was meant to be. I bet a lot of us have done even more stupid things. Just call it a Senior Moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted June 21, 2002 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2002 Esmay has just read that and wants to know if you are blond as well? :lol: Her fish are fine. They have all survived. Nitrites and nitrates etc seem to be fine (negligible) so hubby is looking after her fish while she is up here staying with me. 8) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldie Posted June 29, 2002 Report Share Posted June 29, 2002 :roll: Thanks to you all for the support and advice. The fish are all fine and I missed having nitrate/nitrite spikes. Hubby cut out polystyrene pieces and lagged both tanks for me so that helped to keep the temps steady. When doing the water changes I used a syphon to circulate the water up through the undergravel a little. Once the power was on I slept for a straight 12 hours though. Thanks again to ya'all <--as my Texan friend would say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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