What is most important

DRC Archive General Saltwater Discussion
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I know I haven’t been on much recently life’s been a bit crazy. I just wanted to make sure everyone is aware of what is most important to their aquariums if the power should go off. Recently talking to a hobbyist who has been taking care of tanks for many years he mentioned he was most worried about the temperature. If the power goes out for a couple of hours the water is unlikely to cool significantly. However in only a couple hours of stagnant water the dissolved oxygen levels in your aquarium will likely plummet to dangerous levels leaving your fish gasping for air and breaching the surface trying to seek more oxygen. Of course the exact impact depends on a lot of factors, but don’t ignore how important this is. Corals also have miraculous ways of coming back when fish often aren’t as lucky.

When the power goes out the most critical thing to pay attention to is that the tank doesn’t get stagnant especially at the surface so there is plenty of gas exchange.
One option would be to grab a giant soup spoon or something of the sort, wouldn’t be sure what they would be called, from the kitchen.(don’t give me that, “she wouldn’t let me” spiel you already stole the turkey baster to feed your corals)
Little battery operated air pumps are cheap and the packaging will convince you’ll they’ll help. I’ve heard things that say they really don’t help much, but then again that could be just advertising for the other options.
Another option is to run a battery back up at least on your many water movers. Luckily Vortech makes their own battery back ups, so those who have them can just plug one of those in.
Best option or I should say ideal option which most of us including myself can’t afford is to have a generator hooked up by an electrician to kick on automatically when the power goes out.

For more info on what to do in the event of a power outage surf around. I know I’ve seen articles in ReefKeeping magazine(free online) and I am sure there is plenty out there. You can pick up plenty of other tips like heating water on your stove, having spare water change ready, don’t panic, and plenty of other info. Make sure you understand and trust the advice before following it.

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Good post Jon - it’s especially important for new members ut equally important to remind us older members too that may not think about it. With the weather we received yesterday it could not have come at a better time for most - - well maybe 2 days ago would have been - -but you know what I mean :stuck_out_tongue: thanks