Keeping the tanks warm!

[lahlumdi]

As much of the US (and other parts of the world) are locked in a deep freeze... this is just a friendly reminder to check on your tank temperature and keep your fish as warm as they need to be. If you have ice storms in your area, consider if there could be a day without power. Has anyone out there had to deal with this, this winter (or a previous winter?)? Generator? Piling blankets to insulate the tank, etc?

This makes me think of hurricane season for those in Florida... what happens to the tanks when you evacuate? On the other hand it is not usually fridged at that time.

I know for those of us in San Antonio, at 35 degrees out it is cold! I barely need one tank heater in the summer - but right now I have two going.



Stories, anyone?

[Red]

Ask jenn, she lost most of her fish do to a snow storm :(

[lahlumdi]

Wow... I hadn't read that story.

[Lab_Rat]

How cold is it in your place that you need 2 heaters on the tank??? Mine have been fine with just 1 on each and my apartment has no insulation.

I know Lady Hatred insulates her tanks, but she lives in the frigid Canadian arctic.

Jenn's story is very sad...

[lahlumdi]

Well, both my heaters are for a 20 gallon and I have a 55 gallon now. The 20 gallon heater seems fine most of the summer, but I add a second one on the other end in the winter.

But we do keep the house at 68 most of the winter. As for me, I don't mind it because I'm from North Dakota/Minnestoa and have always had lots of warm sweaters, etc.

[rich311k]

I have a stack of old comforters, I use for the purpose of covering the tanks in the winter if the power goes out. Does not happen often but does enough to be prepared for it.

[Lab_Rat]

Well, both my heaters are for a 20 gallon and I have a 55 gallon now. The 20 gallon heater seems fine most of the summer, but I add a second one on the other end in the winter.

But we do keep the house at 68 most of the winter. As for me, I don't mind it because I'm from North Dakota/Minnestoa and have always had lots of warm sweaters, etc.

Ok, that makes sense then! My heaters are all rated for the size of the tank, though in summer I doubt they even turn on.

[Northernguy]

I have back up batteries and power inverters to keep things going.They are good for a few days at least.
A desk lamp pointed at the side of the tank can help to heat things when your heater is doing it.

[leggomypleco]

Just yesterday we had a power outage kinda freaked me out good thing was that it was only out for about 2hrs. Makes me want to get a generator just incase it happens agian. But after the short outage some of the fish had stress bars and were kinda sulking at the bottom of the tank. But now they are doing just fine.

[aspects]

If you live somewhere that power outages are a high probability, a generator is a great investment. You can get some for under $100. And a good one will only cost a bit more than that (I think mine were just under $300 for the huge ones).
Because. It never gets cold here, I don't worry too much about heaters. But hurricanes are infamous for killing power to the entire state. I used to rely solely on battery operated aerators in power outage situations ( and still use them sometimes), but since my generator can power my entire house, tanks included, I use it.
I've also been known to whip up a centralized sumo for all the tanks in one area in a pinch. I keep enough Pvc handy to build overflows and returns for all the tanks in the livingroom. Then I can filter and heat them all with a single power strip.