# What to do for fish if power outage???



## hmhs (Dec 22, 2010)

I live in Georgia and there is a winter storm warning for snow & ice for us tonight (this usually immobilizes us Southerners). I'm concerned about my power going out and what to do for my fish. I have a guromani, a molly & a glo fish... I've got a 12 gallon tank.

What should I do if I lose power & heat in my house? Can the fish live without their heater & filtration system working? 

In the past I've been very lucky and only lost power for a few hours, but others have lost it for days and I just want to be prepared since my internet would not be working either!! 

thanks everyone I really appreciate all your advice!!!!


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## tscott (Jan 7, 2011)

Do you have plants in the tank? If so you don't really need to worry about oxygen, but it can never hurt to hook up a battery powered air pump. We lost power for a few days here not to long ago and they were fine, its pretty warm in my room though, the tank stayed above 68~70 probably and everyone was fine. I would say keeping the tank warm might be something to worry about. I didn't really feed very much though without the filter on.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

LAst year when i was in OK,we had a horrid storm.It killed our power for a week,and i lost a breeding colony of Betta sp.Albimarginata,as well as several halfmoons.Therefore i have a list of supplies i keep on hand for myself in case i have to worry about this happening again.A kerosene heater,and some kerosene.Get some bags from the local fish store,or even Walmart.Get two bags per fish,as the need to be double bagged.I realize its hard to get the heat packs fish shippers use,but i have found hot hands work very well,and can be found in Walmart.Also you will need either a sheet of styrofoam and a flat rate priority box(or any other box that is big enough for the bags of fish that can be taped up)or a styrofoam cooler.If you do the box,then you will need to build a box with the styrofoam to fit inside the box,to insulate it.Also newspaper is needed to pad the box.You want to place some clean dechlored water in the bags,for however many fish you have.Then net the fish and tie them up.Usually an air pump is helpful to add air to the bags but unless you have a battery backup pump then just try to get enough air in there for a little bit.After one is bagged and tied well,flip the bag gently.Place the upside down bag in another bag,and tie this off as well.Dont make the bags too tight,they can bust.The point of flipping the inside bag is to help form a bubble for the fish,where they dont get caught in the corners.Place the bag in the cooler or box.Repeat for the other fish.Open the hothands and wrap it loosely in news papaer,and tape this to the top of the cooler or styro box(inside of course)gently stuff some newspaper around the bags to keep them from moving too much.Place the lid on the box and keep them closed as much as possible.The hothands will keep them nice and warm for a little bit,and you can change it out as needed.


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## M1ster Stanl3y (Dec 10, 2010)

winter storm tips from the Pennsylvania...

1) run to the store and buy all the bread and milk you can...RUN NOW!!!
2) STALK UP ON ANYTHING ELSE THE STORE STILL HAS!!!! Quit reading this and do it now
3) calm down and enjoy the snow...everyone else is running around like a nut but you already bought the stuff...right
4) If your worried about heat get a propane heater and a small propane tank...
5) DONT FORGET THE HOT CHOCOLATE...with marshmellows...

if you have any other snow related emergencies dont hesitate to ask...

number 4 im serious about. best of luck to you tho, we just got another 6 inches here in PA yesterday. Drive slower, stay in and watch some tv. Enjoy your fish


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Look into a generator. I know mine will get a workout keeping all my fish alive...forget my comfort.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

I was in the same storm as Bev, only we were out of power for 9 days. Most of my plants survived, but I lost over $5000.00 worth of fish. With what I had it wouldn't have been feezeable to bag them all. Now I keep plenty of blankets to wrap the tanks. Battery powered air filters to keep the bacteria alive. Do not feed during this time. If the temps of the tanks get below 60 most tropicals metabolism will slow down and don't need the food.

A generator would be a great thing to have but lot of people can't afford them. I have picked up one this year but like the year we were without power even the gas stations didn't have it so there was no way to get fuel.

Bev, heat packs are easy to come by. You can get them in different sizes, the largest being 72 hours. Bags also. Just check into kensfish.com.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Thanks Susan.I have some but they are over a year old so i dont know if they will still work.I seriously need to resupply my shipping materiels.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

Is it just the 3 fish in the tank? If a tank is not heavily stocked it helps a lot. As said above don't feed and wrap the tank in a blanket. Are there plants? If so you might want to let light get into the tank, if not it won't hurt the fish. If it's really cold you can float a bottle of warm water in the tank. 

In the future a battery operated air pump is a good thing to have not so much to give air to the fish but to keep the bacteria going, it can even be attached to a sponge filter. I read somewhere about using one of those mobile boosters for starting a car to power aquarium pumps as they last a long time. You can also get solar powered air pumps.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

I know this all to well myself. Lost a few fishy friends last winter due to power outage for several days.

Granted, the ultimate solution is a generator, but as mentioned, can be costly. I still don't have one myself even though I keep meaning to get one.

Here's what I did as soon as I realized we were going to be out for a while:

1) Pull the media from the filter and place it into the tank.
2) Cover the tank(s) with a heavy quilt
3) After a couple of hours have passed and still no power, start aerating the water. I would draw out about 3/4 gallon into a jug, cap and shake well, then pour back into the tank creating turbulance.
4) After several more hours, I needed to start thinking about heat. Luckily, we also have a fire place. I would pull out a big jug of water (2.5g) and place near the fire to get warm, I would swap these out as needed.

I have several of the 72 hour heat packs on hand now and would definately consider attempting to use them in a ziploc bag if need be.

All this was time consuming, but when you consider what Sue lost, and what I could have potentially lost, it was well worth it.


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## hmhs (Dec 22, 2010)

Thanks everyone!! So far so good on our power staying on, hopefully it will stay that way. We did get a generator so will use that if need be.

Appreciate all your helpful advice!!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I am thinking that if I lost power that even my generator will have difficulty powering heaters for all my tanks at once. I know it would have to be a couple of hours at a time for each, but not all together. 

Any type of heating element will draw more current than any other type of device. If you ever go outside and watch your meter spin, look at the differences between an iron being on in the house and your A/C. The iron will cause it to spin faster. Even a coffee maker will speed it up quite a bit.


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## M1ster Stanl3y (Dec 10, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> I am thinking that if I lost power that even my generator will have difficulty powering heaters for all my tanks at once. I know it would have to be a couple of hours at a time for each, but not all together.
> 
> Any type of heating element will draw more current than any other type of device. If you ever go outside and watch your meter spin, look at the differences between an iron being on in the house and your A/C. The iron will cause it to spin faster. Even a coffee maker will speed it up quite a bit.


ANYTHING that is 110v and heats up does that....your stive on a 220 currwnt will use less power then your slow cooker on the 110


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I've done several things, being in Utah and up in the foothills where we get feet of snow some days, and also being an electrical engineer 

1. A big battery backup (1500 Wh).
2. A generator.
3. Blankets (as stated above).
4. Natural gas fireplaces.

Method:
1. At first sign of power outage, CALL THE POWER COMPANY. Also, start heating buckets of water near the fireplaces (not only for fishtanks but for other applications as well). Cover tanks with blankets and run the lights and heaters off the battery backup. Shut down the filters, dump media into the tank (as stated above).
2. Start swapping water in the tank. I have 4 buckets I use for PWC's so I keep 2 heating and 2 for water changes. I don't get new water, I just cycle the buckets back and fourth from the fireplace to the tank to lower the necessity for the heaters.
3. If push comes to shove, kick on the generator and hook it up to the CB bus in the house.


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