Here in the US, winter is in full force with many states experiencing bitter cold temperatures, snow, and power outages. Below are three problems that you might experience with a power outage and how to mitigate them:
- Low water temperatures
Losing power will negate the ability for your tank heaters to maintain the tropical water temperatures that your cichlids need. Most tropical cichlids thrive in waters between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Such temperatures can be difficult to maintain in aquaria without explicit water heating sources such as submersible heaters. A gradual decrease in water temperature, down to the low 70s, will have little effect on your fish. However, a prolonged inability to maintain 70 degrees or above could prove problematic, depending on the species that you keep (including live, tropical plants).
There are several solutions to this problem. If you have numerous tanks with livestock, consider a power generator. These come in all sizes, configurations, and cost. Generators are generally more cost effective when used to power lots of electrical items for extended periods of time. If you lose power from summer storms, wind, or snow and live where that power may not get restored for many hours, a power generator might be a good investment.
On the other hand, if you live where power is typically restored pretty quickly and you have only one tank or a couple of small tanks, a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) might be a better alternative. UPSs are generally much cheaper and easier to use than power generators. UPSs are generally used in the IT world to protect computer systems and other similar electronic devices. However, they are equally effective at providing shorter term power for a heater or two. Don’t expect a UPS to provide more than maybe a couple of hours of power. Thus, these are really for low wattage, shorter term outages.
Alternatively, you can use a non-electrical heating source (e.g., fire from a fireplace) to heat water to add to your tank periodically in order to maintain temperature.
All of the above is assuming that your tanks are kept indoors in a climate-controlled space.
2. No filtration
Lack of filtration is actually not as large a problem for shorter power outages as most people think. Generally speaking, most bacterial die-offs are slow, meaning that power filters can be inoperable for hours without having any significant effect on the bacteria required to maintain a normal bioload. Of course, for longer term outages (> 12 hours), having a backup power source to keep your filters running is a good idea. I have experienced power outages for more than 12 hours without experiencing any significant filtration problems. However, I would not go longer than a few hours unless I had to. Of course, if you rely on your filtration to provide the tank aeration, that is a different issue. See #3 below.
3. No aeration
In my opinion, this is the more serious problem encountered with a loss of power. Your fish will suffocate long before they die of filtration and, in most cases, temperature issues. Keeping the surface water agitated should be your biggest priority if you lose power. If you rely on your filters to provide surface agitation to oxygenate your tank, you’ll need to keep your filters running during a power outage. While having larger backup power sources can mitigate this problem like #1 and #2 above, you can also invest in battery-powered air pumps. These can be quite inexpensive and come in two varieties – rechargeable and non-rechargeable. Battery driven pumps that use non-rechargeable, alkaline batteries usually require size D batteries and may run up to 24 hours before the batteries die. These pumps are also typically always on or always off.
The more expensive battery powered air pumps have built-in, rechargeable batteries. These pumps run on standard household electricity and can be set to only turn on when there is a power outage. They will immediately switch to battery when there is a loss of electrical power.
Both types of air pumps usually have two “on” settings – continuous and intermittent. The latter setting allows the pump to run for up to 10 seconds or more before pausing for another 10 seconds. This setting saves battery power and, in most instances, should be the setting you choose. Continuous surface agitation is rarely needed in order to allow sufficient carbon dioxide/oxygen exchange for your fish, so intermittent air bubbles usually suffice.
I keep both types of air pumps and, frankly, consider these to be some of my most important fish keeping investments. If you want to see what I use, see my posts on my alkaline battery pumps and my rechargeable pumps.
If you do not have battery powered air pumps, you can also simply stir the water of your tank(s) every three or four hours. If you choose this method, you can use almost anything to stir the water. A nice size spatula will do just fine. Work the surface of the water for a good 10 minutes or so. Alternatively, you can also simply remove some water and add water back, which will sufficiently agitate the surface. Of course, the replacement water should be of suitable temperature, so if you can’t heat the replacement water, stirring the tank water is probably a better solution.