itshardtofindava Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 out of curiosity i'd love feedback if someone has gone through this ordeal as I've pondered it and i can only think of buying a generator. Since storming season is approaching what are your plans if the power goes out for example and doesnt come back for lets say (hypothetically) a 24hr period. Love to know thoughts as i've lost sleep over what i'd do. will stability and air stones suffice and for how long until bacteria dies and you have to cycle the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wogboy Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Ive been watching "The Walking Dead" I have it all covered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubby Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Simple, don't overstock a tank. I keep Rainbows and never over stock a tank, I have lost power a few times and mine have been fine. There is enough air/water interface with a tank to keep a tank going if you have it stocked correctly. Where people get into trouble is when they have these massive african tanks and they over stock them, thats when you get into trouble. If you get stuck yes a Gennie is a good thing to have, if you can get by on battery powered pumps that works too. I once read about a guy who kept a truck tyre inflated with a length of airline attached to the valve which he had modified to accept airline and activate when he needed back up air. Anything that will agitate the surface will get you out of trouble. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubby Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Here is an idea that I heard about. You take a wind up bath toy, coat it in lure scent, wind it up put it in the tank. The wind up motor, propellor will agitate the surface for a bit, but the lure scent will excite the fish to attack it which will cause more surface agitation. Just a theory, have never needed to worry because............I never overstock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itshardtofindava Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 is there any truth about the good bacteria dying off forcing you to recycle the tank? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itshardtofindava Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 nice work Wogboy if you have the crossbow lets start to hangout haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vsimo Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Simple, don't overstock a tank. I keep Rainbows and never over stock a tank, I have lost power a few times and mine have been fine. There is enough air/water interface with a tank to keep a tank going if you have it stocked correctly. Where people get into trouble is when they have these massive african tanks and they over stock them, thats when you get into trouble. Grubby's advice is spot on. I live in Rockhampton and after the cyclone in Rockhampton in February we lost power for 6 days (and nights) and it was incredibly hot. The fish received no treatment until the power was restored. I also did not feed them. When the power came on the filters started running and it was still some time until I was able to do any maintenance on the tanks. I did not lose any fish or plants. My tanks run undergravel filters and/or sponge filters and all are planted with moderate light plants. I was worried that the bacteria would die but there were no ill effects when the filters started and ran. I believe I got away with it by having my tanks understocked. Vic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubby Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 The only people you will hear *****ing about power outages are African keepers with massive 8 ft set ups and two many fish. Disaster waiting to happen. Everything in equilibrium folks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slipshodman Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 My Back up plan I have a 12 volt car battery jumper pack that i have charged up ready just in case.(From Aldi, cost me about $100), and good if i have a flat battery in my car as well Picked up a $30 12volt to 240 volt converter from supercheap. It can keep my 2400 LPH canister filter, and air pumps running for about 12 hours or more on my 4ft tank If you only run air pumps it could probably last 24 hrs or more, Works for me , but where i live in NSW i don't get to many black outs and they typically don't last long when i do so this for me is plenty as a back up plan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itshardtofindava Posted November 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 thanks all. i've never had to deal with it so its just one of those thigns if you dont ask you dont know and it really bugged me not having a back up plan if it did occur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lictoga Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Have a genny for the fish room and a bucket for other tanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lyllie Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 I was thinking about this last night. We usually get power back pretty quickly because my husband is sometimes reliant on an oxygen machine so our house is on the Energex priority list, but the only backup plan we have for the fish is a battery operated air pump. Tempting to get a generator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquaholic99 Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 If you are worried then get a generator and some spare parts, remember to test it regularly and keep fuel fresh. If you never have the necessity to use it then that's not a bad thing is it? If you are very worried then get a spare generator as well as spare parts. It can be used for other things besides fish. I have a long list of precautionary safeguards against equipment failure but I do have quite a few fish. Pumps can stop even when power is on remember. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotCrabs Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 We've had power outtages due to storms in the Winter and Summer and been out for hours, when I had Threadfins and native shrimp they were fine and I'm talking about a little more than 24 hours, but as said above a battery operated air pump would be fine if push comes to shove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase86uxb Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 [MENTION=3726]grubby[/MENTION] so if I don't over stock my reef tank I'll be fine with out power for days will I ???? We know how u feel about what u class as over stocking but that doesn't mean it's right nor is it olny African keepers that have to worry [MENTION=11301]Lictoga[/MENTION] only keeps Americans maybe he can give me his genni as clearly he won't need it if the power goes out to his fish room some of us keep more then a few tanks with a lot of time and $$ invested in them if the sum of your live stock is worth the same $$ or more then a genni ..... BYE ONE ... It's like if u own a cheap car well $1500 a year Insurance isn't a great investment but if you own a $50,000 car maybe you should have insurance ........ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubby Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 [MENTION=3726]grubby[/MENTION] so if I don't over stock my reef tank I'll be fine with out power for days will I ???? We know how u feel about what u class as over stocking but that doesn't mean it's right nor is it olny African keepers that have to worry [MENTION=11301]Lictoga[/MENTION] only keeps Americans maybe he can give me his genni as clearly he won't need it if the power goes out to his fish room some of us keep more then a few tanks with a lot of time and $$ invested in them if the sum of your live stock is worth the same $$ or more then a genni ..... BYE ONE ... It's like if u own a cheap car well $1500 a year Insurance isn't a great investment but if you own a $50,000 car maybe you should have insurance ........ Wow, attitude. Look I once read in a 1980's TFH about a Chinese bloke in Indonesia who ran his reef tank on nothing but aeration, he didn't even worry about lights as he had the tank situated in front of a large window which provided plenty of the right light. He has his tank heavily stocked with as much live rock as he could manage, the fish and the inverts did fine, and he had not other filtration other than the biological filtration provided by the live rock, also no chiller as they hadn't been invented back then. He had been doing so since the 1950's without an issue. That is why TFH did a feature on him. I am sure Donny has a copy, it was anywhere between 1983-85. Inspired by this back in the early 90's I kept a heavily live rock stocked reef tank with a basic two tube lighting system , a simple home made sump, no chiller. Full of hard corals, clams, fish and assorted misc inverts. No problems for the 3 years that I ran it, the coral thrived, the macro algaes did their thing and everything was happy. I think you guys over think these reef tanks some times with all the gizmos you run on them, you almost set yourselves up for a fall when the power goes off. Power dependant is not a great way to run a fish tank. Same goes for over stocked African or American or any tank, don't do it, if your aquarium can't survive a few days without the need for powered filtration, then you have overstocked it and well thats your problem. Now, go and take a chill pill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase86uxb Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Hahaha what did that have to do with no power and not needing power ??? Posting a long post still doesn't change the fact that a generator is a worth while investment for those of us with a large amount of tanks.... All I was saying is the statement "just don't over stock and all will be fine " is not really helpful at all .... So go think about how chilled I am reading your posts and shaking my bald head at the fact you can't handle when someone questions you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mbunamad Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 In the case of Malawi tanks it is best to stock them heavily to spread aggression. The key is make sure you do regular water changes and have good filtration and when the power does go off DONT feed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubby Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Hahaha what did that have to do with no power and not needing power ??? Posting a long post still doesn't change the fact that a generator is a worth while investment for those of us with a large amount of tanks.... All I was saying is the statement "just don't over stock and all will be fine " is not really helpful at all .... So go think about how chilled I am reading your posts and shaking my bald head at the fact you can't handle when someone questions you Whatever. I can handle someone questioning me, I just though the Attitude was OTT and unwarranted. Speaks volumes... Personally the next blackout won't phase me, I know my fish will be fine and the cries of dead fish from others will just prove my point. Bring it..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase86uxb Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 If they don't over stock they won't have a problem .... OBE Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nana man Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Jimmy a genny mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
th3f0rg0t3n Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 battery air pumps & a good lick of stability do the trick for me once the power returns , cupboard full of spare batteries helps me sleep easy . stability is only added as a beneficial insurance of when the power returns , love old mate's story above with his tank filtered with sponges and undergravel filtration - ya could run that off the grid mate just using battery powered pumps LOL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grubby Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 battery air pumps & a good lick of stability do the trick for me once the power returns , cupboard full of spare batteries helps me sleep easy . stability is only added as a beneficial insurance of when the power returns , love old mate's story above with his tank filtered with sponges and undergravel filtration - ya could run that off the grid mate just using battery powered pumps LOL. A very good reason to keep a few sponges primed in the sump full of good bacteria ready to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jfancygolds Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 ok..guys..what would u say is an overstocked tank..?..ive a 5 footer with around 22 africans ranging from 5cm,,up too 11cm max.and 6 albino catties..ranging from 2cm up to 4cm pretty happy with that amount ..knowing that they will grow cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nana man Posted November 11, 2015 Report Share Posted November 11, 2015 Just a little bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
