# Help When Power goes out!



## fishtk75 (Sep 6, 2006)

What do you all do when the power goes out? I have a canister filter how long can you let it off before it goes bad?
How long before things get bad in main planted tank?
Is there as you have to turn over the water in a time period?


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## tkos (Oct 30, 2006)

Within a few hours any bacteria in the canister will start to die. I guess this isn't as important in an El Natural tank. You can buy backup air pump for circulation in the main tank. Otherwise you can buy rechargable power units to run the canister. I have one that cost about $150 and can easily run a pump for 24 hours (heaters suck out more power).


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## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

In an NPT tank, a power outage won't have too much of an impact. Filters aren't necessary so the non-working filter won't be a problem. Since NPTs are generally placed near windows, the plants will still be getting at least some of the light they need. I'd venture to guess that an NPT in this situation could last at least a week or more.

-ricardo


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

fishtk75 said:


> What do you all do when the power goes out? I have a canister filter how long can you let it off before it goes bad?
> How long before things get bad in main planted tank?
> Is there as you have to turn over the water in a time period?


Whether a power outage/canister filter combination will cause problems depends on the filter's bioload and how long the power was out.

If you see debris spewing out from the filter when you start it up, that's a sure sign that bacteria have been killed and have started detaching from the filter media.

Canister filters, because they are sealed, quickly (I'd say within an hour or two) go anaerobic if the water flow stops. That's one reason I use submerged pumps (Aqua-Clear with an attached Quick Filter) within the tank itself. If the power goes out, the bacteria are still exposed to aerobic tank water. There's much less chance of a massive bacteria die-off and resulting fish kill. Hang-on-the-back filters are also less problematic than canister filters.

My advice: don't take chances-- clean the filter before you start it up. Long-term, remove most of the finer packing from the filter. For an NPT you can run a canister filter with no packing at all.


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## fishtk75 (Sep 6, 2006)

Thank you all for your help. I will do as you all said. and see as a power head to move water.
I saw as one said a battery backup to run pumps.
Also air pump runs on battery.


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## fishtk75 (Sep 6, 2006)

I got a battery backup air pump and a computer UPS. 
The power company fixed a power pole and it was off for 3 hours. They worked great the canister was running good and the air pump also. I got both as to the rule for heaters that to have two so if one goes out you have a backup.


I would said to all who read this to please go and get some type of backup system. We all have alot of money in our tank setups and fish that few dollars saves you a big headache.

Someone here at APC should put this down for new and old members how important this is!

I am glad you were all here to help me.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

You sound like a conscientious hobbyist. Your fish are lucky!


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## mhoy (Jun 12, 2007)

For those with a CO2 and controller, the CO2 will stop too.


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## fishtk75 (Sep 6, 2006)

I also seen as to use solar panels to charge car battery and solar 12v pumps.


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## snowy (Jun 6, 2006)

dwalstad said:


> Canister filters, because they are sealed, quickly (I'd say within an hour or two) go anaerobic if the water flow stops.


If you are worried about cannister filters during extended power cuts the easiest thing to do is to drain them. You needn't open them up to do this. There will now be plenty of fresh air and therefore oxygen to keep the bacteria alive for several hours, as long as the media inside remains moist. Cleaning them before restarting them would obviously be a wise idea, or at least flushing them with tank water.


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## fishtk75 (Sep 6, 2006)

snowy said:


> If you are worried about cannister filters during extended power cuts the easiest thing to do is to drain them. You needn't open them up to do this. There will now be plenty of fresh air and therefore oxygen to keep the bacteria alive for several hours, as long as the media inside remains moist. Cleaning them before restarting them would obviously be a wise idea, or at least flushing them with tank water.


Thank you for your help snowy.
I will put this down in my notes so when the computer backup battery system I have goes dead I will do this.So for now it works great for short power cuts.


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