Power outage emergency- please help!

OMG what a rough few days! I'm glad you and your loved ones and the fish all survived ok-(except the aloe but that one may still make it if you just plant the head). I had the water temp drop from 25 to 18 overnight in the 25l and the without the filter working I lost 4 shrimp juvies and 2 of my 5 lampeye killifish. Iv'e moved the survivors to the 45l and glad-wrapped the top of the tank. Also wrapped duvets around the 90l and the 45l and only had a 2 degree drop in temps and the fish and shrimp are all ok this morning. Jeez... this is harrowing and stressful with daily 4h+ load shedding this side. I'm tearing down my 25l and not setting it up again until our UPS is fixed.

 

Yew.... @A new day, that was hectic..

Im sorry to hear but glad all has ended with minimal loses

Plant that aloe in the corner of the garden somewhere and forget about it
Aloe ferrox doesnt branch out but maybe..maybe in this case the head will grow out
The head, just clean out the bottom leaves, let it stand 2 or 3 days and then replant

Yep... unfortunately loadsheding is back ....

 

Under normal circumstances the ferrox doesnt not branch out but under the circumstances i would plant it in a corner somewhere and see what happens
If you lucky it sprouts out great if not... at least you tried
The head will definitely rout in a pot or the ground

 

The top will grow
Dont over water too much until it roots

 

Glad to hear everything survived ... with power outages my take is as follows. Avoid big swings, tanks that cool down slower and warm back up slower typically have a better recovery. If you do not usually run an air pump, and you now suddenly aerate the tank with cold air - well then that induces big swings. So on the lower stocked tanks that have more plants would just chill. Honestly by now every owner of a tank with fish should understand that high stock levels make a bad situation worst so run your tanks with way way below recommended stock levels in the long run. I tend to not feed during a power outage and also a few hours after - this goes for fertz and fish food. Plants recover way easier than fish - so focus on the animals. CO2 valves can get stuck ... so check those regularly if you run CO2.

If you are hitting cold weather and outages - insulate the room / tanks and reduce cold air movement. But more important know what your room temperature is - sounds obvious, that is the temp your tanks will go down to - they can not go lower than the room temperature during an outage. So keeping the room snug reduce the temp swings in your tanks. And yes your most at risk tanks are the smaller tanks.


Keep notes and pictures of works for you during a crisis - having a plan for the next time will reduce the stress of something you know will happen again.

Later Ferdie

 

@A new day glad everything worked out in the end. Unexpected outages are such a headache in these times especially now ontop off loadshedding.
I run these backup airpumps on my tanks for emergencies, can run all the time or as a ups when power cuts for up to 36hrs depending on model. Will attach info. Available at RBM aquatics, priced at R400,500 and R900.

https://www.rbmaquatics.co.za/collections/air-pumps-1/products/air-pump-ac-dc-ap1000

• The SEBO automatic AC/DC air pump is a double outlet, powerful air pump that is perfect for constant use or in times when an emergency air supply is required.
• The system is controlled by a single button / switch that allows for easy programming of the different operating options
• Operating options are as follows: With the pump plugged into the 220V AC supply, use the control button to set the pump into "high" mode (the red LED indicator light will glow). To set the pump into "low" output mode, push the control button once (the green LED indicator light will glow) and the pump will now operate at half output. In both of the previously described scenarios, should the 220V AC supply fail, the pump will automatically switch over to DC power and continue operating with no disruption. Pressing the control button again will put the air pump into charging mode only and the red and green LED indicator lights will flash alternatively. In this mode, the air pump will not operate but will charge the battery pack more rapidly than when operating on AC. Pressing the control button again will shut the pump down.
• The pump creates a powerful air output of 2 x 4 l/min whilst utilizing only 15w of power
• The unit is able to operate in a wide voltage range of 150V-240V at 50Hz/60Hz
• Prior to initial usage, the unit requires charging for a period of 8 to 10 hours to ensure that the battery is fully charged
• The pump will operate for up to 36 hours from fully charged depending upon the operating mode used.