Need help. No power. How long till problems?

[EdSnyder]

The power just went out in my house a minute ago. I am curios how long can a tank go without circulation?

[EdSnyder]

I have a 55. Will one bubble stone hold me over for a while?

[EdSnyder]

Help

[deaddat]

They should be fine for at least an hour.

[EdSnyder]

Anyone have experience with power outage?

[jasonrp104]

I'd be worried after an hour. What's the temp? Also, I'd think about doing manual circulation (wave a net around in the tank)

Put the bubble stone roughly in the center and make some flow with a net or your hand.

[njudson]

Recently lost power for 5 days and all my fish lived with nothing but a battery powered airstone. My SPS on the other hand didnt do so well. But don't give up hope you should be okay!

[EdSnyder]

Been a half hr now. Power company is in down the street. I'm going to walmart to buy a new buble box, my old one was rusted to death

[Agu]

A bubbler will help a lot. If possible skip the airstone, larger bubbles move more water.

You can also just scoop out water and pour it back in the tank to create circulation. If you have a sump scoop it out of the sump and pour it in the tank to maintain circulation throughout the system.

Good Luck ....

[deaddat]

You should go to a computer store and buy some kind of battery powered powerstrip and plug in your powerheads.

[EdSnyder]

Originally Posted by Agu

A bubbler will help a lot. If possible skip the airstone, larger bubbles move more water.

You can also just scoop out water and pour it back in the tank to create circulation. If you have a sump scoop it out of the sump and pour it in the tank to maintain circulation throughout the system.

Good Luck ....

Good tips, thanks!

[Conrad25]

I would skip all that and get the best. Get a power inverter for your car or vehicle and plug it in with a nice long orange extension cord. You can than plug in all the power heads and everything. Usually you can pick one up for $35 or sometimes less. If you buy a bigger one, you can power a heater also, but than you have to start and run your car every once in a while to keep the battery charged.

Conrad

[RVANANO]

5-6 hours seems to be general max time for power out without air stone or powerhead. I would think you could go a day with either. My tank was fine after 6 hours with no airstone or powerhead but that was in neutral climate. The tip mentioned above about dumping the sump water back in the tank definitely helps too.

I was just in Melbourne this weekend and the weather was pretty neutral so I think you will be fine for about 10-12 hours if you keep the water oxygenated.

[BorHor]

Originally Posted by Conrad25

I would skip all that and get the best. Get a power inverter for your car or vehicle and plug it in with a nice long orange extension cord. You can than plug in all the power heads and everything. Usually you can pick one up for $35 or sometimes less. If you buy a bigger one, you can power a heater also, but than you have to start and run your car every once in a while to keep the battery charged.

Conrad

Exactly what I was thinking since it is an emergency. A battery won't work since that has to be charged but is a good idea to get one for the next time this occurs.

[RVANANO]

How is this an emergency? Concern yes. Emergency no at this point. He stated the power company was down the street. without major weather, it's rare for power to be out more than 4 hours. If it were 100 out, then this would be an emergency. Weather in FL is pretty good right now.

[lordofthereef]

Originally Posted by RVANANO

How is this an emergency? Concern yes. Emergency no at this point. He stated the power company was down the street. without major weather, it's rare for power to be out more than 4 hours. If it were 100 out, then this would be an emergency. Weather in FL is pretty good right now.

Plan for the worst, hope for the best my friend. I guess it isn't an emergency, but should he wait for it to escalate to that point? IMO no...

[EdSnyder]

Alright, got bubbles flowin. Big bubbles do move a suprising amount of water. It has been a hour now and when I got home from walmart all my corals have started closing up. I'll see how it goes and keep you updated.

[RVANANO]

Originally Posted by lordofthereef

Plan for the worst, hope for the best my friend. I guess it isn't an emergency, but should he wait for it to escalate to that point? IMO no...

Totally understand what you mean and I don't suggest sitting around doing nothing but if the OP is new to the hobby I wouldn't want to freak him/her out by saying this is an emergency and to go out and spend a bunch of money. I would prefer to get an idea from the power company about how long until it's restored. If you go down and ask them in a polite way stating the reason for your concern they will tell you an estimate most likely. Then the OP could buy the item online when it is restored much cheaper than at a local store etc.

If they say it will be out for a day or so, then the OP doesn't have much of a choice. Smell what I'm stepping in?

[bmkj02]

Originally Posted by lordofthereef

plan for the worst, hope for the best my friend. I guess it isn't an emergency, but should he wait for it to escalate to that point? Imo no...

+1

[Big Dog]

New member here, should have did an intro but this thread is fitting.

I actually had this story published in FAMA right after hurricane Andrew.

Bear in mind that nothing was open for 3 days after it hit in Baton Rouge, where I lived at the time. I had no generator BUT I do now. I am currently tankless (since I moved from LA) but I'm thinking I'll give it a go again, the reason for my membership.

My wife, son and I bailed water from the sump to the tank for 3 days, 10-15 minutes every hour. ASA stores opened (early the third day) my wife found a DC bilge aeration pump and then a bilge pump the third evening. I rotated car batteries for the pumps running the aeration continuous (unless I was swapping a battery .... and cycling pump 15 minutes an hour. Did this until power was restored on the 6th day. There's a whole lot more to the story and it was successful ........ NO LOSSES.

Looking to learn more on recent science and technology . see ya round!

[Drewbaby]

As far as regulating the temp. If the tank starts rising. Fill a sandwich bag with ice and float it in the tank, but keep an eye on it or you'll have other issues. I live in Florida and even though it's a comfortable day by 2:00pm it gets warm

[lordofthereef]

Originally Posted by RVANANO

Totally understand what you mean and I don't suggest sitting around doing nothing but if the OP is new to the hobby I wouldn't want to freak him/her out by saying this is an emergency and to go out and spend a bunch of money. I would prefer to get an idea from the power company about how long until it's restored. If you go down and ask them in a polite way stating the reason for your concern they will tell you an estimate most likely. Then the OP could buy the item online when it is restored much cheaper than at a local store etc.

If they say it will be out for a day or so, then the OP doesn't have much of a choice. Smell what I'm stepping in?

He's going to WalMart. He can always just return the stuff

In all seriousness, I do know where you are coming from though, but aside from using the word "emergency", I feel nobody was really freaking out here.

Being in Florida where there CAN be acclimate weather, a smaller generator wouldn't be a terrible idea IMO. Throw it in the garage and you will have it when needed. I have gone the "I will rent one when I need one" route. Problem is, everyone else has the same general idea.

[serpentman]

I've had my reef go down for 6-7hrs with no losses. I would occasionally stir things up to keep water moving.

Generators or at least power inverters are your friends.

[Fishfish0001]

Fish are pretty good dealing with tempature drops. They can live even when it drops pretty low, they just will eat less and do less. Just be sure to rewarm the tank slowly when the power comes on if it has dropped much.

Just keep the water airatted and you'll be fine for now.

[RVANANO]

Originally Posted by lordofthereef

He's going to WalMart. He can always just return the stuff

In all seriousness, I do know where you are coming from though, but aside from using the word "emergency", I feel nobody was really freaking out here.

Being in Florida where there CAN be acclimate weather, a smaller generator wouldn't be a terrible idea IMO. Throw it in the garage and you will have it when needed. I have gone the "I will rent one when I need one" route. Problem is, everyone else has the same general idea.

Agreed.. Best part about having a generator is that the power must know b/c it never goes out once you have one