Hurricane Preperation

[Smokey65662]

Hey everyone,

Recently I was reminded that hurricanes still exist, and in the chance that I have to deal with one again im not sure what I will need to keep my fish safe.
Now im not talking safe as in hurricane shutters around the fish tank :P but more along the lines of keeping the tank going. My major question is what can I do in the event of a power outage to keep the tank inhabitable? The last time we had to deal with hurricanes was in 2004 if I remember correctly, and we were without power for a little over two months, and when we loose power we loose water (we are on a well). In the event of a storm how long can the bio media (K1) survive without the tanks running? Im more concerned about the big tank (40G) since all the filtration resides in a sump (20G) and I wouldn't want the beneficial bacteria to die off. The other issue is cooling the tanks because I know without power it will get nice and toasty here in FL real quick. I was thinking a metered amount of ice cubes in a plastic bag put in the tank. Does anyone have any better ideas? Just looking to be prepared :)

[aokashi]

If your tank can sustain lowlight plants... that would be your best bet. Also feeding sparingly will help

[Smokey65662]

I haven't moved into planting the big tank yet. Are the plants going to help with some of the bio load?

[aokashi]

definitely :O lowlight fast growing ones are the best

[thekoimaiden]

Hurricane preparedness is a whole different animal. Plants will help keep the ammonia from becoming too high, but slow growing plants absorb ammonia slowly. You need fast-growing, high light plants like hornwort and anarcharis. But you are right to worry about the biological filter. Since it is just a 40 gal, I think you can escape with sponge filters. Add them to your tank now and let a good level of BB build up on them. Since they are air-powered, once the power goes out, hook them up to battery-powered air pumps. I've seen fancy aquarium ones online for close to a hundred dollars, but you can find cheap ones for bait buckets in the fishing section of stores like Walmart. This should keep the water oxygenated as well help keep your cycle.

As far as the cooling aspect, unless the fish have special needs for cool water and high oxygen content, you should be fine for a few weeks. The sponge filters will help oxygenate the water.

[Smokey65662]

Originally Posted by thekoimaiden

Hurricane preparedness is a whole different animal. Plants will help keep the ammonia from becoming too high, but slow growing plants absorb ammonia slowly. You need fast-growing, high light plants like hornwort and anarcharis. But you are right to worry about the biological filter. Since it is just a 40 gal, I think you can escape with sponge filters. Add them to your tank now and let a good level of BB build up on them. Since they are air-powered, once the power goes out, hook them up to battery-powered air pumps. I've seen fancy aquarium ones online for close to a hundred dollars, but you can find cheap ones for bait buckets in the fishing section of stores like Walmart. This should keep the water oxygenated as well help keep your cycle.

As far as the cooling aspect, unless the fish have special needs for cool water and high oxygen content, you should be fine for a few weeks. The sponge filters will help oxygenate the water.

The sponge filters are a great idea. Ill be sure to pick some up as soon as I can :)

The reason I had a concern with cooling is due to the fact that it can easily reach 100+ Degrees here in FL especially in August. With no A/C After a storm I feel like it wont take long for the water to eventually get that warm.

[thekoimaiden]

Evaporative cooling is the next best thing. Leave the tops open. Remove the lids if you can. The more surface area exposed to the air, the better. The surface agitation from the sponge filters will help, too.

Adding ice cubes is generally not recommended. Ice cubes drop the water temp really fast, and it rebounds just as fast. Getting a few jugs of water prepared in advance is a good idea. Store them in the coolest place you can find in your house. If the water gets over 90F then do a change with that water.