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Winter Storm

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Admin
Post subject: Winter Storm
Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 12:54 pm
Site Admin
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Posts: 11354
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2004 12:16 pm
Location: Millis MA
Contact: Website
 
Hello All,
With a potentially serious ice storm heading for most of South Eastern Massachusetts this Wednesday, I thought I would send out a little public service announcement.


Everybody should have an emergency plan for their fish during a power outage.

For a short outage this may only include a battery powered bubbler and water heated from a gas stove. For a longer outage a small portable generator can be priceless to run just your heaters and filters.

If you don't have a generator and you are facing days without power, consider packing your fish up. We pack fish in large bags and styro coolers and ship them across the country regularly. Just keep a good supply of heat packs on hand and get some bag buddies from us at the store to help add additional oxygen. Fish will last longer packed in a heated cooler than they will in an unheated unfiltered tank.

If power is out for a very long time (as it was for people in central/western ma a few years back) you can take your already packed up fish to a friends house, or even into a store like ours... as long as we are not experiencing similar hardships.

So along with your grocery shopping and roof shoveling, consider grabbing a small generator or at least a cooler, heatpacks, and some bag buddies.


Would love if people posted some additional suggestions below!

_________________

Ned
unclenedsfishfactory@gmail.com
508 533 5969
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grayMatters
Post subject: Blankets and more
Posted: Mon Jan 31, 2011 3:15 pm
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Hi Ned,

I don't know how much heat loss it cuts down on, but in the past I've wrapped my tanks in blankets (and use battery powered air pumps).

If you've got any kind of battery backup for your computers, promptly power down the computers and use the battery to power your air pumps. I think a heater will drain those small backup units pretty quickly.

Lastly, I believe somewhere in the past Ned suggested opening up canister filters so the bacteria has some access to oxygen. I'll let Ned confirm or deny.

Thanks


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Sam
Post subject:
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 9:27 am
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Joined: Wed Nov 14, 2007 8:52 pm
Location: Mass
 
Looks like the storm will NOT be producing much freezing rain now... Good for power, good for fish.

Graymatters... Certainly, after an outage, people need to pay some special attention to closed off filters like canisters. In my tanks, I would clean out a canister completely, leaving my more open aqua clears to pick up the slack. But yes, I think that opening up a canister and letting it breath could potentially save your bacterial filtration.


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Admin
Post subject:
Posted: Tue Feb 01, 2011 1:27 pm
Site Admin
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Posts: 11354
Joined: Mon Apr 26, 2004 12:16 pm
Location: Millis MA
Contact: Website
 
yes

canister filters being full of un-oxygenated goo go bad fast
(we did it here, not a good idea)

I would say more than 5 hours off and the thing should be emptied, washed, and set up again
(turns out 4 days was near deadly toxic ... Sam and Paisley got the dirty job ... I the fearless leader, ran away)
-------------------
general stuff to do before an expected power outage:

> clean filter impellars before you lose power:
often the aquarium guck will will build up around the magnet,
while the power is on
the motor has enough momentum to keep the thing spinning,
when the power fails
the thick guck will insulate the electric charge and the motor can't spin 'til cleaned

> lower the water level a little
this allows surface area for gas exchange

> cover the tank well
(but not air tight)
a covered tank is normally the same temperature as the room
... an un-covered tank is usually 2 degrees cooler than the room

> turn up the room heat
and/or the aquarium heater
before the power failure
(being careful to not overheat!)
... the safe range for most tropical fish is 62 - 88 degrees F.

goldfish, koi, american flag fish, white clouds, and paradise fish
can survive as low as 34 degrees F.

Southern south american fish
such as
oto cats,
corydoras cats such as Barbatus, Aeneus, Paleatus,
Geophagus Balzani, Labiatus, and Meridionalis,
bushynose ancistrus plecos,
black tetras tertzei
and several others
can survive as low as 50 degrees F.

Malawi cichlids don't like, but can come back from
temps as low as 50 degrees F.

Tanganyikans cichlids can come back from temps as low as 62 degrees F.

_________________

Ned
unclenedsfishfactory@gmail.com
508 533 5969
>>={{{{{{{{{{{{{{(°/)


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