what to do in a blackout??

[jbickel]

hi there guys with cyclone winds going to hit sydney and south coast .. you will be sure to get blackouts in some areas,..... my brother in the northern beaches of sydney has been without electricity for days.... what do you guys do in case of blackouts...

for example for filtration I have one of those air pumps that run on batteries...but what about heating .... how long would discus last in water which is around 20 degrees or less....

I have been looking for UPS systems but they wouldn't last for days on end..

[eykw]

Great call jbickel! I lost most of my little tetras last week when power went off at work... any advice would be great!!!

[scott bowler]

pray and pray and pray some more that you dont lss it for to long.or go to bunnings and get a petrol generater and then pray you dont need it

[chris]

Use Battery opperated Air pumps. To Airate the water.
Depending where the tank is located turn Gas heater on,
Boil the Kettle if you can. A few times. depends on how long the power is out. Monitor Temp.
If power is out for longer than three hours I change 20% of the water and clean the filter in tanks water.
Good Luck...

[eykw]

so does that mean it's ok to heat water and pour it in the tank? i've heard that it is ok to microwave water to heat the tank quicker. but i ve never dare to do it...

[mistakes r crucial]

If you have enough fish to warrant the expense and you want to sleep at night go buy a generator, it's the only sure way to get peace of mind. Best money we ever spent.
MAC

[norto]

eykw,
You would not be able to microwave water if the power was out.
Norto

[scott bowler]

norto we werent going to tell him hehe lol

[gingerbeer01]

Putting a blanket or quilt over the top of the tank will help keep the heat in.

Watch for filters after a prolonged balckout as they need to cycle again.

[norto]

Sorry Scott I spoilt the party :oops: would of had a hard time getting any heat in the water. Just need to light a fire out the back and wack the billy on.
Norto.

[jbickel]

just talked to my electrician buddy this morning, he said if you have a car battery laying around all you need is an INVERTER which you can buy from Dicksmith's or EBAY and connect that up to you tank... I 'd test it out first and see how long it lasts, I have a deep cycle battery I bought for my electric boat motor which last about 6hours so If I did a minimum setup of a 50watt heater and one canister filter it should last most blackouts.... thats if your at home when hits ...otherwize youd be better off buying a UPS which would come on line when the power cuts out and you can get some now to connect to you moden or PC and ring you when the power goes out....

[mistakes r crucial]

Yawn, I'll say it again. All of these wiz bang ideas have been around for years, inverters, batteries etc etc etc. If you have more than a few hundred dollars worth of fish go buy a generator. I saw some small ones in Bunnings the other day that would run 10-15 tanks for less than $200. It's not rocket science!
MAC

[Fat Discus]

mistakes right... you can pick up a generator on ebay for abit over $100

Heres the link

http://home.listings.ebay.com.au/Tools-Building-Materials_Generators-Pumps_W0QQfclZ3QQfromZR11QQsacatZ46412QQsocmdZList ingItemList

Chris

[eykw]

thanks for the sharing. i guess my question is "what is the best way to heat up the water after a blackout?" cos i noticed it took my 150W jager a long time to heat up a 3 ft tank the other day...

[mistakes r crucial]

Discus are far hardier than many people give them credit for. If the power goes out for 10-12 hours and the water drops by 4 or 5 degrees in all likelihood it's not going to turn them over. Just leave the heater switched on and let it heat up as it normally would, if it takes a while to get back to where it's supposed to be then good, you don't want it jumping around to quickly anyway.
MAC

[samir]

my pump turned off a couple of nights ago and yesterday afternoon the temperature in the tanks was 14 degrees. It took 12 hours for everything to get back to normal.
Another time I accidentally put the heaters on a board with an 8 hour timer for lights. One of the tank had wrigglers and they all survived. Discus are harder to kill than most people think.
The cheap generator from bunnings is the best option. Battery operated stuff is okay for a 2 footer, if you have a few tanks and expect a lengthy blackout a bunnings trip is the best option.