A little Blackout info

by GaryE Mon Jan 05, 2015 4:24 am

We lost power yesterday in a freezing rain storm, and I could see it was going to be a long one as we had a flaming tree out back, and high winds. That's a stressful thing for a fishkeeper.
I had cranked the heat in the house seeing what would probably come (we have electric heat) and at the start, the fishroom was at 23, and the house at 21.5.
The Hydro crews were amazing, and we got our power ten hours later. Outside temps ranged from 1 at the start to -7, and the winds were wild.
My two stand alone (most vulnerable) tanks dropped from 25.6 to 22 in the family room, and from 23 to 20 in my study. In the fishroom, tanks dropped from 22 to 20.
I'm posting this because new aquarists panic in blackouts. You have about 12 hours on average before there is trouble. Even then, it is manageable (a blanket on the tank, a 'space blanket" wraparound, etc).
I'll keep an eye out for Ich, but I don't expect any. In the nasty Ice Storm of 1998, I learned that tropicals don't start dying til the water hits 16, and most hang in til about 12. In winter, in most houses, that would give you more than 24 hours.

by alexmtl Mon Jan 05, 2015 6:14 am

It was also the 17th anniversary of that same 1998 ice storm.

Yesterday we only lost power for a few hours but I was anticipating much longer. I do not have a backup system for the fish tanks but I have been contemplating a battery backup unit for a few months now. For the home electronics and computer network I have two battery backups which keep the internet running for at least 24 hours and up to a few days if I need it. However for the power required to heat tanks, I am not sure what to do.

Perhaps the best insurance is to spread around the species so that if you have a die out, someone else has the stock. While this does not help the fish that you have at least you can preserve the strains.

by vince0 Mon Jan 05, 2015 6:44 am

This makes me thankful that majority of our power lines are buried under ground. The worst I had to worry about in the past, was a power surge which would reset my aquaclears (they would sometime fail to start again) Now with the majority of my room working on HMF filters, that is less of a problem. I don't know what I would do with a total loss of power for a day.

Ps. what do you do when you have no power? I moved from montreal the summer of 98 and never experienced extended power outages. Do you take the time to catch up on good old analog reading? (books)

by **Shell** Mon Jan 05, 2015 2:20 pm

We discovered that our generator cord was chewed to bits! Thank goodness the power did not go out yesterday, it was pretty nasty weather here. Today, the winds are quite high, I am surprised, yet very happy, we have not lost power as of yet!

Vince - we dust off the old board games during a power outage, and we play by candlelight....kind of fun!

by **hello_rockview12** Tue Jan 06, 2015 8:57 am

A 12 hour power outage here in Regina would be DEVASTATING! We don't get the ice storms like you do out east. Glad everyone survived. This is good information for folks with frequent power outages.

by **Biulu** Tue Jan 06, 2015 3:36 pm

I don't like these stories at all! You know here in Mexico and also in the Netherlands we have gas for heating and cooking so we don't depend upon electricity so much.

Honestly, I don't understand that almost 20 years after that terrible ice storm, they still haven't able to put lines underground in residential areas! But then, they also haven't been able to avoid concrete parts falling from under passes, improving and maintaining road infrastructure and health care.... pale

by **Sbenson11** Tue Jan 06, 2015 4:52 pm

On the Rock power outages are a part of life and until Muskrat Falls comes on line it will seem to stay that way. Back up generator, wood stove, candles and batteries are all close at hand. We had one last year almost to the day that lasted for three days.

Steve

by vince0 Tue Jan 06, 2015 5:05 pm

Biulu wrote:I don't like these stories at all! You know here in Mexico and also in the Netherlands we have gas for heating and cooking so we don't depend upon electricity so much.

Honestly, I don't understand that almost 20 years after that terrible ice storm, they still haven't able to put lines underground in residential areas! But then, they also haven't been able to avoid concrete parts falling from under passes, improving and maintaining road infrastructure and health care....

the overpasses of quebec are a joke. I was shocked last year when I drove around montreal... I do have to give it to the genius who came up with the idea of using chain link fence and landscape fabric to prevent the concrete chunks from falling on the cars below. Also, what is the deal with all the new bridge pillars all over the place, with no bridge on top of them. I have an aunt that lives there, and all she can repear is 'quebec sait faire"

by **Biulu** Tue Jan 06, 2015 5:42 pm

vince0 wrote:

the overpasses of quebec are a joke. I was shocked last year when I drove around montreal... I do have to give it to the genius who came up with the idea of using chain link fence and landscape fabric to prevent the concrete chunks from falling on the cars below. Also, what is the deal with all the new bridge pillars all over the place, with no bridge on top of them. I have an aunt that lives there, and all she can repear is 'quebec sait faire"

Welcome to Latin America of the North!

by vince0 Tue Jan 06, 2015 6:45 pm

Biulu wrote:
vince0 wrote:

the overpasses of quebec are a joke. I was shocked last year when I drove around montreal... I do have to give it to the genius who came up with the idea of using chain link fence and landscape fabric to prevent the concrete chunks from falling on the cars below. Also, what is the deal with all the new bridge pillars all over the place, with no bridge on top of them. I have an aunt that lives there, and all she can repear is 'quebec sait faire"

Welcome to Latin America of the North!

Now that is funny! I mentioned to all my coworkers how I kept getting the 1970s latin leftist feel. Pierre Trudeau airport would belong in an old Columbian city or something... I expected Che or Fidel to pop out of a restaurant while I was walking around.

by Fishypastor Wed Jan 07, 2015 10:36 am

hello_rockview12 wrote:A 12 hour power outage here in Regina would be DEVASTATING! We don't get the ice storms like you do out east. Glad everyone survived. This is good information for folks with frequent power outages.

I'll say... when its -35C outside, inside would get cold fast!

by **guppyguy** Wed Jan 07, 2015 11:44 am

I had a blackout here once but it was in mid summer and lasted 21 hours. It was very hot outside I had to try to keep the tanks cool as they were overheating as the room temp keep going up. I never slept the entire time just babied the tanks.