Power-outage question

Tomorrow, we are going to experience a power outage of 8 hours (9 to
5). I have a ten gallon tank with about three inches of fish, and a
five gallon tank with two apple snails. Hence I am panicking with the
short notice about what to do!

I also have an airstone and we are expecting our house to remain at
about 65 degrees minimum during the outage.

Any advice on what steps to take? What with the airstone and blankets I
am not as concerned about oxygen and heat as I am about filtration,
having read some contradicting advice in the past. There is a biowheel
in the five gal snail tank, and there is an aquaclear filter hanging on
the ten gallon.

I need help ASAP. Thanks to all!

~Erin

"Erin (Eugene)" wrote in message
oups.com...
Tomorrow, we are going to experience a power outage of 8 hours (9 to
5). I have a ten gallon tank with about three inches of fish, and a
five gallon tank with two apple snails. Hence I am panicking with the
short notice about what to do!

I also have an airstone and we are expecting our house to remain at
about 65 degrees minimum during the outage.

We have a kerosene heater for just such emergencies. We also have a working
fireplace. I keep fresh batteries on hand for my battery aerators.

Any advice on what steps to take? What with the airstone and blankets I
am not as concerned about oxygen and heat as I am about filtration,

I would definitely do a water change if the filter was off that long. And
clean the filter as much of the good bacteria may die off. Your hot water
tank should keep the water hot for awhile. If necessary you can do water
changes during the outage to keep the tank temp above 74. You can also
remove the filters and put the filter material in a flat pan of tank water
to save as much of the bacteria as possible. First squeeze out the heaviest
"stuff" in tank water, discard that water and refill the flat pan with more
tank water.

having read some contradicting advice in the past. There is a biowheel
in the five gal snail tank, and there is an aquaclear filter hanging on
the ten gallon.

I need help ASAP. Thanks to all!

--
Koi-Lo.... frugal ponding since 1995...
Aquariums since 1952
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
~~~ }((((o ~~~ }{{{{o ~~~ }(((((o

"Erin (Eugene)" wrote in message
oups.com...
Tomorrow, we are going to experience a power outage of 8 hours (9 to
5). I have a ten gallon tank with about three inches of fish, and a
five gallon tank with two apple snails. Hence I am panicking with the
short notice about what to do!

I also have an airstone and we are expecting our house to remain at
about 65 degrees minimum during the outage.

Any advice on what steps to take? What with the airstone and blankets I
am not as concerned about oxygen and heat as I am about filtration,
having read some contradicting advice in the past. There is a biowheel
in the five gal snail tank, and there is an aquaclear filter hanging on
the ten gallon.

I need help ASAP. Thanks to all!

~Erin

How are your water parameters now? (nitrates, etc.)
You could always do a partial water change
before the event, and if fish are looking stressed
while power is out, do a few small water changes.
I've read that using AmQuel (or similar product)
to lock up the ammonia could help. You seem
to have low stocking levels, which is good.

Go to
http://www.thekrib.com/
and search on power outage for lots of info.
This article seems to have most if not all the
information you need:
http://www.thekrib.com/Misc/outage.html

Gail

Erin (Eugene) wrote:
Tomorrow, we are going to experience a power outage of 8 hours (9 to
5). I have a ten gallon tank with about three inches of fish, and a
five gallon tank with two apple snails. Hence I am panicking with the
short notice about what to do!

I also have an airstone and we are expecting our house to remain at
about 65 degrees minimum during the outage.

Any advice on what steps to take? What with the airstone and blankets I
am not as concerned about oxygen and heat as I am about filtration,
having read some contradicting advice in the past. There is a biowheel
in the five gal snail tank, and there is an aquaclear filter hanging on
the ten gallon.

I need help ASAP. Thanks to all!

~Erin

Apple snails can breathe air so they won't even need an airstone. Your
fish and snails will be fine for eight hours without filtration. If
you're really worried, put a dose of AmQuel in the tank.

I use AquaClears and it's easy to keep the bacteria alive. If I have to
move one or the power goes out, I put the media in the tank. Squeeze
the sponge out so it floats - it gets more oxygen that way. Discard the
carbon and use fresh when the power comes back.

I don't use biowheels but I'd try wrapping the biowheel in damp paper
towels and putting it in an open plastic bag so it stays wet but can get
some oxygen.

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