My tank died

lerch

lerch

Member
Last week the town I lived in had a very severe ice storm which knocked out the power. All of my fish and corals died in my tank because the temp dropped so low and there was nothing I could do. It was about three days before I could get back to my apartment to get my live rock out of the tank. The temp in my apartment was about 52 degrees. Will the bacteria in the rock die??? Right now I have the rock in a large barrel with my filter hooked up and my light on top. The water is a lot warmer and all of my snails and hermits crabs and my arrow crab survived and are living happily in the barrel. It may better a few weeks before I can take them back to my tank, is there anyhting that I need to do?? Am I just wasting my time trying to keep the bacteria alive or can I save the live rock. PLease Help
 
deuce_bigalo

deuce_bigalo

Member
I dont think so
I have my tank listed with my house insurance company.
But I was making sure it was covered in case of a fire.I did not think of major power outage.
 
birdy

birdy

Active Member
I live in Kansas City, we also had a huge ice storm, my power was out for 5 days. My tank was just in the cycling stage I had just gotten 45 lbs of live rock. All my sand creatures are dead. I can get more of those, but I too wonder about the condition of my live rock. Will it be okay what is the best thing to do. I have decided it is worth the investment and we are going to purchase a generator (hindsite is 100%). I lost all my African cichlids despite everything I tried, everyone sold out of D batteries for my air pumps. And I tried numerous warm water changes but It just got to cold.
 
kris walker

kris walker

Active Member
I'm sure stuff on your LR has died. But I'm also sure some stuff survived. So with reusing the LR, you face a possible cycle. If you keep the hermits and crabs in the barrel for the first week, I suggest doing a 20-50% water change (there might be toxins that were released by dead things) in the main tank, keeping existing LR, and closely watch your ammonia/trite/trate levels. If you get a huge spike, odds are most of the stuff on the LR is dead. If not, then most is probably alive, and you don't need new LR (or additional new pieces to seed). I'd wait to see what other people say though before acting on my suggestion.
sam
 
salty rick

salty rick

Member
I have never had to deal with a long power outage. However, I do have a plan to deal with it. First off, I have a battery backup for a computer. I use it to power the heater of my tank should there be a power outage. However, this is only a short term solution, a few hours at the most. Secondly, I do a lot of camping so I have a propane stove. I heat water and put it in 2 liter plastic coke bottles. I then float the bottles in the tank to maintain the temp. This would work for many days if you have the time to continually change the bottles. The only other problem is water circulation. I use a plastic spoon to periodically stir the water. Again, I have only had to deal with the power out for no more than a day. I thought this info might be of interest to those on this noard.
 
dad

dad

Active Member
Lerch,,I wish you would have gave me an e-mail!
You know I live close and could have helped out!
I am an electrician and have been busy with all the power outages but I check my mail daily.
if you lost my addy it is "vet_elect@yahoo.com"
I have a 100g tank with plenty of room to help you out!
I even can make arangments to go there.
Let me know...ok?
 
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