The Puffer Forum

So I lost power this morning for no reason at all. It's been out for 15 minutes exactly and I'm not sure when it's going to come back on. How long before I have a serious problem with dying bacteria in my filters? And is there anything I can do??

The bacteria won't die per say, but the lack of flow and aeration will cause a problem for both the bacteria and the fish. It really depends on how heavily stocked the tank is.

Some people on the board have battery powered air stones, and others have a small generator or an inverter.

I only have one GSP in a 20 gallon tank. How long before I have some problems?

could be a few hours or more, but keep an eye on it and the water clarity.

It depends on how small the puffer is. This is one of the many reasons we suggest going as large as you can for your fish. If it's an adult in a 20g, he doesn't have much time before he uses up all the O2 in there. Let's say he was in a 55g, then he'd have much longer. I kept my fish alive with an overnight power failure, by using a pitcher, scooping up the water & from as high as I could get, pouring the water back into the tank. Did that all night, for 7 tanks, with my wonderful hubby. Still lost 1 fish & my mantis shrimp. Rented a generator in the morning. I just finally purchased my own generator.

I'm going to ask for a generator for Christmas.

Got one at Amazon for $419 free shipping.

Power came back within 45 minutes, tested water with no problems and my little guy is doin just fine=] Pufferpunk I gotta give you props on what you did with your 7 tanks when you lost power. That must have been some night! lol btw my puffer is only about 2 inches long so he was fine in the 20g. Will be upgrading soon.

Last year mine was out for like 14 hours with none of my tanks showing any problems with breathing or bacteria problems after the fact.

JRC3, are your tanks under-stocked?