Sophiaczarkowski Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 Hey...I've been searching and searching without much luck and I need some help... 1. Power outages. we have a cyclone (cat 2) heading our way and if it hits I could be without power for an extended period...I have a 3ft tank with 7 blue Dolphins in it - acquired 5 new ones last Monday. Does anyone have any suggestions for how to keep the fish going and maintain water quality if we end up with no power for a few days? 2. Water conditions. Is there any good threads/forums/info that anyone knows of that would help me understand water quality better and allow me to expand my knowledge in this area? Google searching nets me lots of info but I see lots of contradictions. thank you so much in advance for any and all help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lictoga Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 Battery air pumps are great, water changes, and if running canisters or internal filters put your bio media in the tank to help keep It alive. But generators are the bomb. As for water quality there is the nitrogen cycle to look at. As well as understanding how kh and gh interact with ph Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 These things rock Age of Aquariums - OTTO SA11000 AC/DC Air Pump overall though 1) DON'T FEED! 2) If in doubt water change, heck if you dont have water then just tip a bucket into a bucket then back again a few times......... then back into the tank. 3) a foot pump for blowing up an airbed can be good......... and heck even an airbed lowly leaking into the tank via an airtube. 4) Try to split fish between tanks, the more surface area for each fish the better 5) if ammonia spikes and you cannot water change, you can use some chemicals like ammolock or fraction to bind up ammonia short term. 6) Unpack canisters and give the media a clean in water taken from an aquarium. Try to keep at least some media alive submerged in open containers/buckets. 7) big fish need more oxygen 8 ) remove any dead fish before they release ammonia and kill everything else in the tank! good luck amigo blackouts suck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TED Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 battery operated airaters, frequent little water changes and like already mentioned a generater would be the best investment, but i know buying a generater for just one tank might not seem worth while. dont feed them while you have the power off, they should be able to survive a few days without food with no permanent damage. if you dont already have any battery operated airaters your chances of getting any over the next few days might be slim. you can use a bucket if your desperate. a little tedious but it works. take a bucket of tank water out and pour it back in. repeat, repeat repeat. or you could put the bucket of tank water above the tank and using airline tube slowly dribble it in useing the syphon technique. maybe some other people might have more suggestions and tips to help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TED Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 oops a little late and donnys already onto it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 battery operated airaters, frequent little water changes and like already mentioned a generater would be the best investment, but i know buying a generater for just one tank might not seem worth while. Helps rescue the steak iin the freezer too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophiaczarkowski Posted February 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 Thank you so much for the info. I didn't think about feeding so that's good to know. Thanks for the tip on the air bed. I was contemplating asking my partner to sit on the couch and blow into the Air tubes at 5 min intervals - I'd do it but my lungs aren't strong enough Thanks Donny I'll have a look at the air pump as it seems to have more output than mine as well, it is probably a worthwhile upgrade. I have a3ft stone and it just isn't producing a full curtain of O2 like I want. Should I remove all the plants from the tank? Purple waffles, aluminiums and a small one that looks like purple waffle (can never remember it's name.)? Not overly concerned about the plants as the fish will have destroyed them in the next week or so anyway. Thanks again Sophia Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danfishy84 Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 All good answers above, the good thing is we are not in the cold season so heating is not critical, so hopefully no severe cold snaps during the weather. A good cheap investment is a biological sponge filter kept (Cycled) inside your tank, this gives aeration and filtration. This one item attached to a battery air pump, lets you stay in business with no stress. Your fish wont even notice the power is out other than the lighting. With the addition of regular partial water changes, and infinite batteries, you can potentially run your tank on this until the heat becomes an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danfishy84 Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 Off topic, are these juvenile dolphins? You probably already know this, but you will need a bigger tank for these down the track when they grow up. cheers, Dan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquaholic99 Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 For those using petrol generators, just be aware of carbon monoxide buildup as fish rooms are usually sealed against heat loss. The best insurance against power outages is a low stocking rate. You won't have to do anything. For those with a high stocking rate and fish are starting to gasp, use an ice cream container or bowl to scoop and turn the water over. (Once an hour should be sufficient). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trofius Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 Sophia if you cant find a battery air pump at any pet stores check out the fishing places, they are used to keep bait alive your plants will be fine if you do put the filter media in the tank, wash it well first with tank water, if you dump really dirty media in to your tank it will chew up all the oxygen, and create an ammonia spike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophiaczarkowski Posted February 18, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 Thanks [MENTION=11860]danfishy84[/MENTION] I might try and find a battery air pump today. [MENTION=1698]trofius[/MENTION] will try the fishing shop - thank you. Yep they're juvies. I plan on parting with 3-4 of them in a few months - keep one male and a few girls. I'm looking at buying a house at the moment too - the way I see it is new house means new tank...right? And if I'm gonna buy a new tank I might as well go for like 5 or 6 foot. On the cyclone front the new track map has it hitting Yeppoon at like 1am tomorrow. Thanks for the advice. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ado_84 Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 you can pick up a brand new generator from Masters for less than 100... your going to need something to keep your drinks cold anyway.. 909 brand, 620w. think there 99 instore. sometimes their 60 if bought online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sparky19862 Posted February 18, 2015 Report Share Posted February 18, 2015 Be careful buying those cheapy generators. I know the Bunnings brand generators that claim to be pure sine wave inverters are a POS!!! And I speak from experience having worked for a company that was the warranty repairer for that brand. They are worthless!! I've seen these cheap ones fail after an hours work! If you are going to buy a generator make sure it's a good quality one. Spend the extra dollars and buy a reputable brand like Honda, Yamaha, genelite etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophiaczarkowski Posted February 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 So in my wisdom today and my profound knowledge of all things weather I decided the cyclone was going to dull off and hit somewhere way north. Of course, the lack of any real knowledge on weather meant I'm a little under prepared for what's a now Cat 5 beast. The rain and wind have picked up, not sure how bad it will get. Anyway long story short I don't have a generator or battery air pump. Cue lack of knowledge of physics (I think??) if I use my air hose and cut it down I'm thinking I should be able to use the siphon effect and run water from one side of my tank, out of it and over the other side of the tank then let it trickle feed about an inch above water level it should creat water movement and a little oxygen and run continuously. Like that one time my robotic vacuum cleaned up my air line above the one way valve and the water didn't stop siphoning. My floors were very clean that day and I amended my air hose/pump setup. I figure the siphon thing plus above awesome advice above should get me through. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lictoga Posted February 19, 2015 Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 Just tip buckets back and forth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danfishy84 Posted February 19, 2015 Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 Category 5, open your window and aeration should be the least of your worries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophiaczarkowski Posted February 19, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 Yep. It's now heading straight for us. Hopefully the fish tank survives Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TED Posted February 19, 2015 Report Share Posted February 19, 2015 it may be time to forget about the fish and think about your own saftey. cat 5 cyclone. be safe and goodluck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophiaczarkowski Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Thanks [MENTION=7778]TED[/MENTION]. At my house. Nothing to do but wait, watch and see what happens. Thank you. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubby Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Sophia you have some pretty awesome Native Rainbows in your part of the world. Have you thought about keeping natives ? Collecting is heaps of fun, just mind the crocs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubby Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 10,000 house without power in yeppoon now, I guess we won't be hearing from Sophia for a while. Stay safe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophiaczarkowski Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Haha I still have power... Not sure how can't believe I do, but yep...it's real intense. No. We've found gudgeons - emperor I think around the area and post floods but never had much luck with them. Not sure why. I do like the rainbows but I love African cichlids. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophiaczarkowski Posted February 20, 2015 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Lost power just after that post. Now blowing air in to the fish tank every 20 min or so using some pipe. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterH Posted February 20, 2015 Report Share Posted February 20, 2015 Had a look at BOM, the eye now appears to be due west of Yeppoon. Hoping the in another half an hour it will start to be south of Yeppoon, but it does appear to be going straight to Rockhampton. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
