[D.S. Drifter]

Well after a month of setting up my 55g planted tank we get hit with the worst snow storm in last 12yrs! This is the second night without power & ill be up stoking the fire in the fireplace to keep things warm as I listen to the humming of 2 battery opperated airstones.no dead fish yet but the water temp continues to slowly fall, it's torture.don't know what to expect with the plants from the temp drop.could be as much as 3 more days before power is restored

 

[Aquarist_Fist]

With a 55g, bottles won't have much effect. If possible, I'd try to insulate the tank as well as possible (make sure you are home when the power comes back on - blankets and lighting fixtures are a bad combination). Before that, you can take up ED's suggestion and warm up some water. Pour it directly into the tank, but make sure you don't hit any fish and don't forget to treat the water first. Then cover the tank as well as possible.

Be aware that the air stones are actually expediting the cooling a bit. As long as your fish are not gasping for air, I'd go without them. Much more important is to turn off the filter now. Otherwise you'll have a ton of poisonous gunk flowing into the tank when the power comes back. You'll have to clean the filter completely before reconnecting.

By the way, your plants will most likely be fine. Plants are pretty resilient to cold temperatures for a few days.

 

[D.S. Drifter]

With a 55g, bottles won't have much effect. If possible, I'd try to insulate the tank as well as possible (make sure you are home when the power comes back on - blankets and lighting fixtures are a bad combination). Before that, you can take up ED's suggestion and warm up some water. Pour it directly into the tank, but make sure you don't hit any fish and don't forget to treat the water first. Then cover the tank as well as possible.

Be aware that the air stones are actually expediting the cooling a bit. As long as your fish are not gasping for air, I'd go without them. Much more important is to turn off the filter now. Otherwise you'll have a ton of poisonous gunk flowing into the tank when the power comes back. You'll have to clean the filter completely before reconnecting.

By the way, your plants will most likely be fine. Plants are pretty resilient to cold temperatures for a few days.

I've got some water heating up now,had to bring it from the sping house in bucket's lol no city water where I'm at. No power to the pump, no water to the house. Tank is also now wrapped in a down comforter! Thanks for the addvice. Oh by the way as soon as I can ill be buying a generator to av oid this type of sittuation in the future

 

[D.S. Drifter]

With a 55g, bottles won't have much effect. If possible, I'd try to insulate the tank as well as possible (make sure you are home when the power comes back on - blankets and lighting fixtures are a bad combination). Before that, you can take up ED's suggestion and warm up some water. Pour it directly into the tank, but make sure you don't hit any fish and don't forget to treat the water first. Then cover the tank as well as possible.

Be aware that the air stones are actually expediting the cooling a bit. As long as your fish are not gasping for air, I'd go without them. Much more important is to turn off the filter now. Otherwise you'll have a ton of poisonous gunk flowing into the tank when the power comes back. You'll have to clean the filter completely before reconnecting.

By the way, your plants will most likely be fine. Plants are pretty resilient to cold temperatures for a few days.

Thanks for reminding me about the filter puke!

 

[Aquarist_Fist]

Ya welcome. Good luck to you and your fish!

 

[D.S. Drifter]

Ya welcome. Good luck to you and your fish!

Lol its kind of funny for the last 20yrs I've made a living guiding people in some of the most remote & rugged places in the world. Allways calm,cool & collected no matter what the situation but the thought of loosing this tank really rattled my cage!