Power outage. How much damage is done?

jiffyjhn · 10/18/2016, 10:37 PM

Hi Guys,

I came home today and found my house was out of power. Judging by the clock on my oven, the power was out for 3.5 hours. During this time, my temperature dropped from 79.7F to 74.3F. It's a 32 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump. Livestock: goldhead goby, 2 chromis, 3 baby maroon clownfish, 6 line wrasse, cleaner shrimp, dotty back. 2 bubble anemones, Some montepora, various zoas, Duncan and hammer.
When the power came back on, the corals are slowly opening up(some zoas are still closed). Some soft corals have small amount white slime from their mouths The anemones look ok and bubbled up, and the fish came out to play. Some of my hermit and snails are not moving though.

Just wondering how much if any damage has been done. Anything I should be concerned about? Should I do a big water change?

Thanks in advance for help

And yes I will get a backup PSU

jiffyjhn · 10/19/2016, 12:06 AM

Just saw a white spot appear on one of the clowns that wasn't there before

Gorgok · 10/19/2016, 01:10 AM

Something that short and at those temps i wouldn't do anything... I think even down to 72 is fine for normal temps, but it is getting to an area where you have little thermal mass to handle an outage (in a cold area).

The good thing with losing temps during an outage is the oxygen content goes up and use goes down so even without circulation stuff should be fine. If ambient temps were hot and instead the whole tank warmed up (from lack of AC for example) you'd be in more trouble. Of course going way down is bad too, but you weren't there quite yet.

mcgyvr · 10/19/2016, 05:21 AM

Only time will tell..

I agree that its probably not an issue and everything should be just fine..

RobZilla04 · 10/19/2016, 06:39 AM

Just three weeks ago I went 40 hours without power due to Hurricane Matthew. I physically oxygenated and everything came back beautifully a couple of days after the power returned.

I'd suggest testing, then a water change, followed by another test roughly 24-36 hours after.

Best of luck.

ReefsandGeeks · 10/19/2016, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Only time will tell..

I agree that its probably not an issue and everything should be just fine..

+1, The tank should be fine IMO. Those temps aren't too bad. If they are swimming around after that much time and still doing okay after the power comes back on than you're probably in the clear. If your system has Ich than the white spot could be from stress. I've had a tank with Ich before and I belive me keeping it very low stress for the fish kept it at bay. Never say and symptoms except when moving the tank or something. Of course that's just my experience. others have faired worse with Ich.

jiffyjhn · 10/19/2016, 01:58 PM

Thanks for the replies guys.

Update:

I haven't seen anything too out of the ordinary in the tank today. The Clown still has the white spot, but he's eating like a pig still so hopefully it will go away.

Ordered a APC 1500VA UPS from amazon($160). It should keep the pump and temperature controller running for 3-4 hours if there is another outage.

10/18/2016, 10:37 PM	#1
jiffyjhn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 15	Power outage. How much damage is done? Hi Guys, I came home today and found my house was out of power. Judging by the clock on my oven, the power was out for 3.5 hours. During this time, my temperature dropped from 79.7F to 74.3F. It's a 32 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump. Livestock: goldhead goby, 2 chromis, 3 baby maroon clownfish, 6 line wrasse, cleaner shrimp, dotty back. 2 bubble anemones, Some montepora, various zoas, Duncan and hammer. When the power came back on, the corals are slowly opening up(some zoas are still closed). Some soft corals have small amount white slime from their mouths The anemones look ok and bubbled up, and the fish came out to play. Some of my hermit and snails are not moving though. Just wondering how much if any damage has been done. Anything I should be concerned about? Should I do a big water change? Thanks in advance for help And yes I will get a backup PSU

10/19/2016, 05:21 AM	#4
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Only time will tell.. I agree that its probably not an issue and everything should be just fine.. __________________ Who me?

10/19/2016, 06:39 AM	#5
RobZilla04 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: St. Augustine, FL Posts: 1,857	Just three weeks ago I went 40 hours without power due to Hurricane Matthew. I physically oxygenated and everything came back beautifully a couple of days after the power returned. I'd suggest testing, then a water change, followed by another test roughly 24-36 hours after. Best of luck. __________________ 90g Mixed Reef

10/19/2016, 12:06 AM	#2
jiffyjhn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 15	Just saw a white spot appear on one of the clowns that wasn't there before

10/19/2016, 01:10 AM	#3
Gorgok Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Cypress, Texas Posts: 1,904	Something that short and at those temps i wouldn't do anything... I think even down to 72 is fine for normal temps, but it is getting to an area where you have little thermal mass to handle an outage (in a cold area). The good thing with losing temps during an outage is the oxygen content goes up and use goes down so even without circulation stuff should be fine. If ambient temps were hot and instead the whole tank warmed up (from lack of AC for example) you'd be in more trouble. Of course going way down is bad too, but you weren't there quite yet.

10/19/2016, 01:58 PM	#7
jiffyjhn Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2016 Posts: 15	Thanks for the replies guys. Update: I haven't seen anything too out of the ordinary in the tank today. The Clown still has the white spot, but he's eating like a pig still so hopefully it will go away. Ordered a APC 1500VA UPS from amazon($160). It should keep the pump and temperature controller running for 3-4 hours if there is another outage.