? on length of live with power outage

hey i was wondering today how long lets say an average tank can stay off before problems..

no backup air pumps or anything

just straight no power no surface agitation..

today i turned my tank off for about four hours and saw no ill effects, all corals were still open and fish swimming around fine..

my house has a backup generator since we have so many hurricanes that destroy everything for a couple weeks..so i guess i shouldnt have a problem with outages but just wondering what everyone else's tank has gone for without anything..

 

Too many variables to say. I'm sure there are more but these come to mind instantly;

KH level (helps maintain pH)
pH level before power went out
Whether the outage occurs at night or not. If occurs during the day, ambient light from windows would increase pH.
BB, SSB, DSB....DSB would house tons more bacteria. They don't stop respiration just because power goes out. That decreases DO and increases CO2. (The CO2 would drop pH without any flow/offgassing)
Number and size of fish would have a big impact. If you're lightly stocked with fish, DO would remain longer and it would take longer for CO2 to build up. A heavily stocked tank would drop DO quickly.
Time of year. There could also be variables if you lose power and it's minus 5 outside or 100 degrees outside.

Why do you think I keep battery operated air pumps and a UPS (Battery backup for computers)

 

yeah i knew there were alot of variables but on a somewhat average tank, and average tank i mean for the tank you have its not overstocked and stuff..

do you think a tank could go 12 hours with no power with small ill effects??

 

I have had some unfortunate issues of late. However, ignoring those, if all of these tanks were running right now;

Coral QT tank....easily
Nano Tank....possibly
Predator Tank...OH HECK NO!!!
125 reef tank....possibly
Fish QT tank...easily

 

thats what i was looking for man..

ok so could say for the most part maybe 8 hours of no power your tanks you listed possible, would be pretty safe with an outage..

hopefully some people will post the size tank they have, how stocked it is (low, med, high) and then say the length of time they have survived an outage...but i guess people that are more expected to lose power have backup pumps and battery powerheads they use..

 

+1 on above

I have experienced odd power outs during peak use times when the Guangdong province had to ration electricity 2 years ago

typically the power was off from 8 am until 6pm 1 day per week for about 8 weeks
I had a mixed tank at that time
I used a batter air pump, and bottles of frozen water to help keep temp down during those days

no major problem experienced

Steve

 

thanks steve..im just trying to get an idea of time if for some reason i were to have a problem..i do have the backup supply of things needed but just for less stress i guess if something were to happen..in case i wasnt home when it happened and had no way of putting the backs up in the tank

thanks for everyones reply

 

saints fan

there is a battery operated air pump that plugs into the mains , but stays off
when power is out to the socket, that triggers the pump to come on

so if you have one of those, you dont need to be around during a power out
it will automatically come on for you

Steve

 

really.. i figured someone had already thought of this..any info on where to find them would be great..thanks again

 

Aquarium Air Pumps: Azoo Battery Backup Pump

this one is permently on so not ideal - but you can source this from where you are so I put the link up

Silent Air Battery Operated Air Pump > B11

this is the one - only comes on when power is off

Big Als - so I think thats OK for you also?

Steve