Emergency Protocol

⚡ Power Outage Plan

When the power dies, your tank starts a countdown. Filter media starves, oxygen drops, and temperatures swing. Here's exactly what to do — bookmark this page so you can find it offline if you need it.

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First 30 minutes — DO THIS NOW

Check tank temperature

Note the current temperature on a thermometer. This is your baseline. Tropical fish are fine for 6-12 hours if temp stays within 4°C of normal.

Prioritize oxygen, not heat

Fish die from lack of oxygen MUCH faster than from temperature drops. A 30°C tank that drops to 24°C is fine. A 30°C tank with no oxygen exchange is dead in hours.

Open the lid

Removes the trapped CO2 layer above the water and lets fresh air contact the surface. Free, immediate, helps for hours.

Manual surface agitation

Every 30-60 minutes, scoop water with a clean cup and pour it back from height. This breaks the surface tension and oxygenates. Do this for ~2 minutes each round.

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Battery air pump (most important emergency item)

A $10-20 battery-powered air pump is the single best emergency purchase you can make. It runs on D batteries for 30+ hours and keeps oxygen levels safe indefinitely.

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Recommended: Penn-Plax B11 Silent Air, Marina Battery Operated Air Pump, or any "battery backup" air pump on Amazon. Avoid the cheapest no-name ones — they fail when you need them.

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Always keep: 4-6 fresh D batteries stored separately from the pump (batteries leak over time when installed).

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Test it monthly: Run for 5 minutes once a month to make sure it still works. The number of dead pumps people discover during an actual outage is heartbreaking.

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Keeping heat (cold climates)

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Wrap the tank in blankets, towels, or styrofoam panels — sides, back, and top. Leave the front clear so you can monitor.

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Float sealed bottles of warm tap water in the tank. Replace every 2-3 hours. Don't pour hot water directly in.

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Move smaller tanks closer to body heat — bedrooms, under blankets, even in a pre-warmed cooler.

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Don't panic about temperature drops. A 4-6°C drop over 24 hours is survivable for most tropical species. Slow drops are far less dangerous than rapid ones.

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Critical mistakes to avoid

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Do NOT feed your fish. Without filtration, food breaks down into ammonia. Fish can safely skip 3-5 days of feeding.

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Do NOT do a big water change. Without a working filter, you risk shocking the system. Only do small changes if ammonia is clearly building up (test it).

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Do NOT run your canister filter dry. When power returns, if your canister has been off for 4+ hours the bacteria are dying and the water inside is anoxic. Pour out the canister water before restarting, or it'll dump ammonia and dead bacteria into your tank.

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Do NOT use generator exhaust near the tank. Carbon monoxide dissolves into water and is lethal to fish faster than it harms you.

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Do NOT add prime/dechlorinator unless doing a water change. Some hobbyists dose Prime to "detoxify ammonia." It works but is temporary and you can overdose.

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When power comes back on

Wait 30 seconds

Don't immediately plug everything in at once. Give the breaker time to stabilize.

If the canister filter was off > 4 hours

Disconnect it. Pour out the water inside (it's anoxic and full of dying bacteria). Rinse the media in old tank water — never tap water. Then reconnect and start.

Start the heater LAST

Heaters can crack if they turn on while not submerged or in cold water. Start filter and air first, wait 10 minutes, then plug in heater.

Test water 24 hours later

Check ammonia and nitrite. If ammonia > 0.25 ppm, do a 25% water change. The bacterial colony may take a week to fully recover.

Resume feeding gradually

Day 1: skip. Day 2: half normal feeding. Day 3+: back to normal. Watch for stressed behavior.

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How long can your tank survive?

0-2 hrs

None risk

Open lid. No action needed yet.

2-6 hrs

Low risk

Manual agitation every hour. Most tanks fine.

6-12 hrs

Moderate risk

Need battery air pump or constant manual agitation. Heavily stocked tanks at risk.

12-24 hrs

High risk

Battery pump essential. Test ammonia. Watch sensitive species (discus, shrimp, marine).

24+ hrs

Critical risk

Filter bacteria dying. Plan emergency water change on restart. May lose sensitive livestock.

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Stuff to buy BEFORE you need it

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Battery air pump + spare D batteries ($15-25)

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Emergency air stones + tubing (you'll need to connect them in the dark)

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Liquid ammonia test kit (API freshwater master kit covers this — strip tests are unreliable)

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Aquarium thermometer with min/max memory so you know how cold it actually got

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Headlamp or rechargeable lantern stored near the tank

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5-gallon buckets labeled "tank only" — never use them for cleaning chemicals

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UPS battery backup — for the truly serious. A $80-150 unit can run a small filter and heater for 30-60 minutes, enough to bridge most short outages.

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Special cases

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Reef tanks: Most fragile. Coral suffers within hours of no flow. Battery air pumps aren't enough — you need a battery-powered powerhead too. Skimmer can stay off but corals NEED flow.

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Discus tanks: Very sensitive to temperature swings. Prioritize heat retention more aggressively. Don't let temp drop more than 3°C.

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Shrimp tanks: Sensitive to ammonia spikes. Keep a TDS meter handy and test on restart. Plants help massively here — heavily planted shrimp tanks survive outages much better.

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Newly cycled tanks (< 3 months): Bacterial colony is fragile. Even short outages can cause mini-cycles. Test water for 7 days after restart.

💡 Save this page to your home screen so you can find it offline during the next outage.

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