Loopy Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 I was out visiting my parents out mid canterbury when it snowed and the power went out for 2 days. I thank god for the fact that all my fish are in town and the likelyhood of a lasting powercut is minimal. They are all swimming around, oblivious to everything! Powercuts seem to be a delicate topic for some. But i thought it would be interesting to hear what you would do if you were faced with a powercut that was longer than an hour or two, especially in this chilly weather! Would you give all your fish a mini hot water bottle each? Would you even think about your fish and be too busy toasting marshmallows over the fire? How would the folks with their huge fish rooms handle everything? and what about airation? Perhapes it would be a good idea to think about an emergency plan for your fish? Our hobby depends on electricity so much! Have you thought about what you would do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Well, we did have a power cut in Auckland the other day. It only lasted a few hours but of course we didn't know how long it would be when it started. The most important thing in my opinion is to have a good thermometer so you know when the temp is dropping. (And of course have a big enough tank so the temp will drop more slowly, and a low enough bio load so that things don't crash too badly.) When the power went out, I turned off the lights and covered the tank with blankets. I monitored the temp, and if it had dropped too far, I could have topped it up with hot water (the water in the hwc would have stayed warm a lot longer than the water in the tank). If I'd had a gas cooker or BBQ I would have considered warming up water on that if the power had been off for ages. I also turned off the filter (eheim canister) because the water in the canister and hoses will cool down faster than the water in the tank. If the power had been off for ages I would have pulled the filter apart so I wasn't putting dead greeblies into the tank when the power came back on. That's about it for my plan. I might get some extra polystyrene to pack around the tank in case it happens again - because I'd need all the blankets for my bed! But I would have used coats and scarves and whatever else I could lay my hands on if the power had stayed off overnight. I'm interested to hear of others' experiences and/or thoughts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 With my set up and number of tanks. I'd pray. Then maybe move the smaller tanks into the house that is heated by a kent fire box. Alan 104 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loopy Posted June 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 lol! Alan i could imagine a few people would do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 My tank is on a UPS which will run the main pump and temperature controller for a day or so. If it loked like the power was going to be out much longer this I would nip down to bunnings and pick up a geni. Living in the city I would be very surprised if the power was out in enough areas for long enough for many people to buy geni's before I got there Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke* Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Good topic, i was also wondering what we can do in NZ as I saw them talking about it on SimplyDiscus.com in America after the hurricanes they had, especially that one in New Orleans. The method of choice was generator, aside from that battery operated pumps just to run the air driven filters. The air is the most important thing you need as mentioned heat can stay a while with polystyrene, towels wrapped around etc. Suphew I haven't seen the Geni's... I assume these are generators you can buy from Bunnings? How much? I have quite an investment here with discus so need to look at that. Hamilton is sweet for outages though, only an hour or two max usually, still makes you nervous the whole 'not knowing how long' aspect. What powers those Genis? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharn Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 i become frantic and moan and b*tch until it comes back on (longest 2 hours here). i close my window and door, and the tanks smaller than 200L get blankets on them (my room heats up fairly quick) if need be. i am going to be purchasing a few of those emergency blankets used for people because poly is messy :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Discusguru Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 I,ll be doing the same thing as Alan that is Pray lol. If the power don't come back on after 24hrs i'll move all the fish to the fish room and heat it with the gas heater and start doing waterchanges. Ronnie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Suphew I haven't seen the Geni's... I assume these are generators you can buy from Bunnings? How much? They are $100 and max load is I think 750w, they are two stroke so you would have to have some petrol mix ready, I normally have heaps about cause I have a couple of bikes, lawn mower, weed eater, chainsaws, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jude Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Ummmm, Suphew - if the power is out Bunnings would be shut :lol: :lol: :lol: Just a thought worth considering Cheers Jude Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wok Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 I was praying the other day as I have one tank that is slightly overstocked. did consider getting my wife to grab a generator from the warehouse for $99 since she is working there that day :lol: and the extension cords, surge protectors, multi plugs ..... etc did have to clean out one filter after the power cut... too much gunk in it making my tank cloudy... then again it was coming up to a year since the last clean out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Ummmm, Suphew - if the power is out Bunnings would be shut Just a thought worth considering Cheers Jude I have considered this, bunnings is in a different suburb, plus there are other places that sell the in the hutt etc. My main worry with power is very local, there are lots of trees and a stream at my place, in the big storm a couple of years ago, the house on one side lost their power for a day and phone for a couple. The house on the other lost their power for almost a week. Both on them because of trees coming down. I was fine in the middle! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keri Anne Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 I,ll be doing the same thing as Alan that is Pray lol. If the power don't come back on after 24hrs i'll move all the fish to the fish room and heat it with the gas heater and start doing waterchanges. Ronnie My flatmate is already trained to put blankets [mine] around tanks if we get a cut and I am at work and has done so in the past. So it's Blankets, pray and give the fishies the gas heater.... if humans get cold go sit in the fish room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
candy Posted June 15, 2006 Report Share Posted June 15, 2006 i was lucky and my house had the power stay on but when we built on to our house the electrition screwed up and we had no power for a few days. i managed to get by wih a generator just running my filters (i have a few) and we put newzpaper and blankets over the tanks. one tank got quite cold so we got a few old water bottles fulled them up with hot water(love the gass) and floated them on to of the water. i think the most fun was getting to call work and telling them i was not coming in because i was watching my tanks .. oh plus i had not showered that day Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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