No electricity, no generator - what would you do ?

Over a million people are currently without electricity in the US and may be this way for the next two weeks !!

Lets assume some have tanks and don’t know what to do, but without power they also can’t post! So I thought I would start this thread just in case someone who reads it find themselves without power at some point in the future.

So lets assume you have no power, no generator and a reef tank – what can/should you do?

I’ll start us off with: insulating the tank to slow the heat loss, wrap blankets around the tank.

 

if I had no other choice I would take a cup or bucket and churn water for oxygenation. At some point you will need a heater or air pump

 

Maybe buy a kerosene heater.. for the heat part.

 

Seriously though....I would have battery powered air pumps in stock or, in the alternative, be prepared to splash the water's surface every few hours to get oxygen into the tank.

 

I guess you could create a siphon that fills a bucket.. let the water get a nice water fall... then keep switching buckets once one fills.

 

I went through this last year when the entire city of Tulsa was without power and I didn't have a generator, I got a hold of a buddy that had power that lived a few miles away, I went and bought a 20 gallon tank, set it up as a barebottom, moved about 20# of rock to it and all my fish, when i moved the fish the water temp (i took it with a thermometer) was down to the mid 60's I moved everything in 5 gallon buckets then put the buckets in a bath tub and ran a warm bath, this slowly raised the temp back up on the buckets with the livestock in it. at that point I put everything in the tank, I had no losses except a queen conch and some of the cleanup crew all fish lived

After this nightmare I bought a generator.

 

a 5,000 watt power inverter for your car is like 150.00 or less thats what I have on my trucks and I used it many times before I installed the auto roll over Nat Gas generator..for power outages . I always have a remote start on my stuff and the cars battery will run a few power heads for a long time then start the car and recharge the battery It worked for me for many yrs . When I go camping I have 120 V if I need it

 

call the power company and totly lay into them. I like the water fall idea. You could possible use a power converter to run off of your car battery and power a pump or skimmer. Don't know how long that would last though.

 

I have been talking to JohnFritts over IM, he is in Arkansas and has lost power from the ice storm. He says the tank is about 60 degrees and most (if not all?) fish are still alive. They've been heating water from the tank on the stove (gas of course) and cycling warm water into the tank and they have a battery powered air stone thingy.

 

I live in Houston and this was posted by a LFS after Hurricane Ike
Hurricane