Power outage emergency- please help!

Omw what a terrible day! So sorry this all had to happen to you now...

I have found my 30l tank can go a whole night without the filter on, and it has 5 cories, 3 guppies and some shrimp.. It's not an ideal situation but I do know it can go that long... Plants will also help oxygenate the water but obviously only until it gets dark...

 

As for warmth, maybe you could invest in a gas heater? Might be a bit cheaper than a generator, and it'll keep the room temperature warm and then when you go to bed just wrap the tanks to maintain their warmth

 

Sent you a whatsapp

 

If you can afford it, get a generator, and have an electrician connect it to your DB with a cross-over switch.
We have one, and it runs our whole household.
It is an expensive item though, and running costs are also high.

 

Can you potentially not rent a generator, I have seen people do this. rent it for a day or so

 

something like this: https://www.hire-it.co.za/products-page/generators-welding/generator-10kva-3-phase/

 

Sheesh, that's crazy- sorry to hear of the chaos. I know that feeling, went through a long power cut late last year and also nearly lost my fish.
Depending on where the temperatures are at, I'd put all the fish into one or two tanks and just try and insulate as best you can. Polystyrene pieces against the glass could help?

I'd try and fill a couple of those 25l plastic barrels with hot water (from anyone nearby with power) and top up the tanks every hour or so?
Or, move all fish that are unlikely to handle much cooler temps into a couple buckets, and take them (with sponge filters and a heater in each) to someone with power until things come right?

 

Prime can help deal with ammonia

 

Sorry , hope you come right.

 

Sorry to hear @A new day

I would go with the generator not only for the fish but also for you and family as the repairs could take some time
Buying one is an expense but worth it, otherwise renting one i guess is the other option

All best

 

Send the neighbours the chocolates and a note explaining the situation, hopefully they can understand the problem at large

 

Dont put the heater too close to the tanks. You want to heat the room, not the glass.

Personally I would put blankets on the tanks and hope for the best. Water has a high heat capacity so it should keep the heat pretty well if insulated.

 

Glad fish (and you) are doing okay! If in good health, I'm sure they'll pull through, short of very low temperatures. The checklist sounds good. Gas heater and a fireplace at full tilt will be a big help, perhaps enough for the night without a generator (perhaps run that till 7/8pm though?).
I can always look after a few fish if you are really up against it (likely in a large wheeled tub of mine, about 130l total) but would need your heaters. Hopefully things remain ok - sounds like it so far, but if not let me know.

Over only 2.5 hours, my tank temperatures dropped 3°C on the weekend when load shedding started, so it's certainly the worst time to suffer an outage!

 

Spent about an hour today heating tank water on the stove and pouring it back into the tank one bowl at a time. Raise the temperature from 17C to 21C. It was urgently needed as some of my fish were showing signs of the cold getting to them.

 

@A new day
So sorry to read this, it was crazy last night and even today, hope they all pull through, i do think that heating the room and covering the tanks with blankets will do the trick also, your water babies are very well taken care of and lucky you and your husband care so much!
Shout if you need some supplies or anything