Trailermann Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 There is tons of discussions on the critical need for battery back up so that when the power goes out, circulation can be maintained to keep the water oxygenated. Last night, I goofed and left the return pump and power heads off for 12 hours straight. To my surprise, the ten small to medium fish in my 120 gallon did not appear to be phased at all. Why did they not all die? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danik Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 I just had similar experience, while on vacation out of town my house temperature dropped to 65F which caused my tank heater to run for longer times. This caused an over load and tripped the breaker, tank was with out power for about 12 hr and temp dropped to 69F. Zero water movement for same duration too, all fish and corals survived with zero impact. Big thanks to Brian (reefbox) rushed to my house at midnight to fix the issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burningbaal Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 10 small/med fish in that big of a tank was probably decently okay. The giant risk is if you have more or larger fish in there. The oxygen will dissolve into the water at an okay rate, but if there's a little too much fish mass (or inverts/other oxygen consumers), it can get rough fast. Your reef might be okay as is, but with more or larger inhabitants, it could have been very different. That said, I think the oxygen fears are a tad overrated and in our climate, I'd be more concerned about heat. The problem there is a heater will drain a battery REALLY fast, so you really have to get a generator going. A powerhead, or even small dc return pump, can last a long time on a normal battery backup 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailermann Posted December 31, 2020 Author Share Posted December 31, 2020 Very helpful feedback. Going forward with larger fish, I will not panic with a power failure, but also not drag my feet to start up my generator. As for a heater, I can also just feed more fuel into my fireplace which keeps the den nice and warm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Z Reef Posted December 31, 2020 Share Posted December 31, 2020 (edited) Nice you have a generator backup, I need to pick one up one of these days... This is a super simple way to keep oxygen up and auto switches on with power out. Hard to beat for $13. Penn Plax Silent Air B11 Battery Operated Aquarium Air Pump For Power Outage Automatic Turn On Keeps Fish Safe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PBIKHU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_XtI7FbHANHXPG Edit: just realized you didn’t have a power out...but still good to have haha Edited December 31, 2020 by Blue Z Reef Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 I will attest that the big fish will suck the air out of a tank pretty quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
albertareef Posted January 5, 2021 Share Posted January 5, 2021 3 hours ago, pdxmonkeyboy said: I will attest that the big fish will suck the air out of a tank pretty quickly. This, unfortunately, sounds like the voice of experience... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pdxmonkeyboy Posted January 6, 2021 Share Posted January 6, 2021 fresh water fortunately.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.