[paperlilies]

I have a power outage right now.... I'm concerned about the beneficial bacteria in the filter dying. I read online since oxygen levels go down anaerobic bacteria in the filter can create toxins. I read adding Algone to the filter in a power outage helps absorb toxins. I'll look into getting a generator for the future.

Any suggestions?


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[jrill]

Yes, don't panic. If it's hours your fine. If days you have problems.

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[WaterLife]

Yeah if the power is only out for hours, no need to worry much at all. Only thing that may need your attention is the dissolved oxygen levels if your tank is overstocked. And possibly DIY CO2 if you have that constantly running even when the power is off. If too little o2, or too much co2, just agitate the water surface every so often to create more dissolved oxygen and off gas co2. Do water changes if you feel it's necessary.

If power is out for days, it does require more work. Bunch of tips out there already so just do some searches (way too many to list).

 

[Clear Water]

If your worried or see concern how about 50% water change. Nothing seems to make fish happy is a water change. Bacteria is tough you may get some to die but your tank is still full of it. It only takes a small time for it to reproduce.

 

[Diana]

In an enclosed canister an hour or two is no big deal. But if the power outage continues you could open the canister and dump the media into a bucket with a bit of water. The media does not have to be fully submerged.
In both the tank and the bucket of media, occasionally scoop up some of the water and dump it back in. This mixes the water and gets some oxygen down deeper.

 

[PlantedRich]

One biggie that is missed at times is checking when the power comes back. If it has been long enough for the filter to smell "sour", don't let the filter come on and flush all that dead stuff into the tank. A few hours , fine but a few days, open and smell first. how long is too long is a guess as things like temperature and amount of debris will vary a lot. If it catches you just after a cleaning it will be different than if it comes when you've not cleaned in months.