Tank Tragedy - added picture

R

ryngill

Premium Member
I just wanted to share what I went through last Friday to convince anyone else that is not prepared for a power outage to find a solution that will work when you need it. I was fully aware of all the things I could do, generator, power inverters, UPS, whatever... I just never set anything up because in my 29 short years I have never been with out power for longer than 2-3 hours max. And to further my delusion I once left my tank off for about 5 hours approx. 3 years ago and nothing bad happened that I noticed.

Last Friday I was without power for 18hrs. I was at my client’s office until about 4pm, and when I got home I noticed the power was still out. So 2am-4pm by my math that’s 14hrs. So it took me ~ another hour to go get an inverter and hook my car up to 4 maxi-jet 1200s with the venturi wide open. Now that I am pumping oxygen in the tank I can survey the damage.

I lost 5 fish
-Harlequin Tusk
-Desijardanii Tang
-Royal Gramma
-Longnose Hawkfish
-Marine Betta

4 survived; this is pretty amazing to me so if you are looking for indestructible fish try these:
-Rabbit Fish
-Mated Perc. Clowns
-Lawnmower Blenny

I still need to come up with a permanent solution that will trigger a venturi powerhead and run it off a battery when the power goes out.

So for all you people that are letting it ride on short power failures find a solution before the next one comes. I have always lived in Dallas and figured the long outages were just for rural communities. I learned this lesson the hard way.

The worst part about this was that it took me forever to stock my tank and there was so much effort and patience involved with the quarantine of each one. I finally had the balance and activity I wanted in there. I have had some of these fish for almost 5 years. Se la vie, or death in this case ;). Like I said in the beginning, my fault; I knew I could have had a backup power solution and was just negligent.

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that has always been my fear also....so much hard work to come home to a fish stew. thanks to a member I already have mine taken care of.
 
Ever since Katrina we keep two emergency bubblers. They run on batteries and plug into the wall. If the power goes out they kick in.

It kept all but one of our fish alive for 6 days in a 90 and the batteries were still running.

They are real cheap and will atleast keep the tank alive.
 
sounds like a great option. what excaly is it a small battery air pump. do you have a link or something?
 
Found this for you just for reference. Don't know about the price here but just the first web page that popped up.. Many local lfs carry them and the one where I live that's close to Oak Cliff usually has them in.

http://www.aquatichouse.com/Pumps_files/ppbatpump.asp

The one on the left plugs in the wall and kicks on when the power goes out.
 
Is that really enough to keep ~100 gal oxegenated for a couple days. I guess you dont really have to pump that much O2 into the water, as long as it is just not stagnant, right?
 
Hey Ryan. We've had a fun week huh? I just thought I'd let you know that my lfs carries those emergency bubblers also. If you want I could pick one or two up for you before I come out tomorrow. I'll let you know how much they are if you want. Just let me know.
 
Chad, what LFS do you go to near the cliff. I always end up cruising over to arlington to see vincent. I was unaware of any suitable LFS near my area. Well, there is a really old store off jefferson on the old main strip (now its all dollar stores and pawn shops), but it it mostly birds and lizards and what not. There is also a maintenance company with an office in biship arts, but not a retailer.
 
Michael,

Thanks bud! I might have a chance to stop by petsmart after work today and check it out to see what they have, i need to get some more fozen mysis anyway. Ah, and it is right next to lowes too, so I could check and see if they have 20% vinegar to kill some weeds with too. Sorry, thinking and typing at same time. Anyway I really aprechiate the offer and If I can't make it by tonight, I'll let you know. Do me a favor and email me your tele again, I lost it.
 
I am so sorry for your loss. This meeting in the raffle they included 2 UPS units and I was lucky enough to take one home. I guess now would be a good time to plug it in.
 
sorry to hear about your loss. my power went out for 8 hours, i stayed up stirring the tank with stick all night. might say im over doing it but did not lose a single life in the tank.

Chris
 
I would have 1 power head hooked up to a computer ups that comes on
when the power shuts off. At least you will have some circulation.

Sorry for you loss. :sad:
 
Ryan, sorry about your losses. It looks like you have a number of workable solutions at hand now. Be sure to follow through on one or more of them soon.
 
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