Tropical Fish Forum

Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => Fish Tanks and Equipment => Topic started by: Bazza2000 on September 12, 2018, 10:21:54 PM

Title: Disaster Recovery Planning
Post by: Bazza2000 on September 12, 2018, 10:21:54 PM
Hi, I've recently started on my new aquarium journey and the more I read, the more I feel that my fishes lives
 are resting on a pump and a heater.  If either fails for more than 24 hours the fish are gonners.  So I'm wondering, do people have backup heater and pumps at the ready just in case the worst should happen and the shops are closed?
Title: Re: Disaster Recovery Planning
Post by: fcmf on September 12, 2018, 10:56:33 PM
Yes, I tend to think of the filter as the fish's life support machine, so I do have spares of filter and heater, as well as the quarantine tank which would serve as a temporary home in case anything untoward happened to the main tank. It's also wise to keep some medicines to hand, in case quick treatment is required, such as one for bacterial infections and one for whitespot.
Title: Re: Disaster Recovery Planning
Post by: Helen on September 12, 2018, 11:10:46 PM
I have a largish (240l) heavily planted tank. If the pump fails I'd put the filter media straight into the tank. And there have been odd occasions when I've done a large water change and forgotten to put the heater on again. Because of the volume of water in my tank, it changes temperature very slowly. So I could survive a sunday night. I do however agree with having a basic medecine to hand - I have Waterlife Myxazin (I think that's how it's spelled)

Edit: I should also add that I have designed / evolved my tank set up and inhabitants to be hardy towards my less than perfect maintenance regime. (It nods towards Diane Walstead type of tank)
Title: Re: Disaster Recovery Planning
Post by: Bazza2000 on September 13, 2018, 07:05:38 AM
Thanks for the info, just ordered a spare pump and will look for a heater over the next few days. In terms of medicine, are there are preferred suppliers you use or is everyone just as good?  Are there are gotchas when buying, storing?  Also is it possible to use one of these mini quarantine tanks that sit in the upper corner or your aquarium? or does that cause the medicine to mix with the main tank anyway?
Title: Re: Disaster Recovery Planning
Post by: Matt on September 13, 2018, 07:24:31 AM
Most of the quaranteen tank things that sit in the top corner of an aquarium are either made of mesh/netting or are plastic and full of holes. So yes they would let the medication through.

You are not far off having enough kit to be able to rig up a temporary tank though. A spare pump can be made to pump water through some media quite easily (think about strapping a drinks bottle to it for example with some media in it and some holes at the far end for the water to come back out). And the spare heater could be used of course. You just need something watertight then... it doesn't have to be an aquarium... just a big plastic tub would do!

The medications are all branded so you should get the same thing from different shops if that makes sense.
Title: Re: Disaster Recovery Planning
Post by: Bazza2000 on September 13, 2018, 07:48:28 AM
 :) never thought of that. I have a couple of 30 litre plastic containers I use for water changes which I could rig up in an emergency.  Might need a quick photo or sketch to understand the water bottle filter though.
Title: Re: Disaster Recovery Planning
Post by: Littlefish on September 13, 2018, 08:26:41 AM
I have spare everything, but this is why my house is full of stack boxes (as well as tanks).
Title: Re: Disaster Recovery Planning
Post by: Sue on September 13, 2018, 11:41:50 AM
I too have spare everything, collected over 20 years.

With heaters, always buy a reputable brand rather than an cheap unbranded heater from the far east. They are less likely to fail. And while it won't harm the fish too much if it stops heating, they can also fail by sticking in the on position, which will kill the fish if the water gets much above 30 deg C.
Get in the habit of touching the tank gently as you walk past. That is enough to tell you if the tank feels too hot or too cold, then you can check the thermometer. Though don't forget the tank will feel cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter and still be the same temp.

Keep a spare filter impeller in the cupboard as they do wear out. And if the impeller shaft is ceramic, always have a spare in the cupboard as they are very easy to break when cleaning the impeller well. If you do break one and use the spare, order another one the same day! I have Eheim aquaball and biopower filters which use ceramic impeller shafts, and I know just how easy they are to break.
Some brands use metal shafts, which are shiny (obviously!) while ceramic are white.


Medication. They all have a use by date, and only last for 12 months after being opened regardless of the use by. The same applies to test kits.
I prefer the brands eSHa and Waterlife. On your trips to the shops, look to see which brands they stock so you'll know where to go if you need some medication in the future.
Title: Re: Disaster Recovery Planning
Post by: Matt on September 13, 2018, 07:37:24 PM
Take a look here for the filter design I mentioned.

https://youtu.be/CNQrcAHWf7k (https://youtu.be/CNQrcAHWf7k)
Title: Re: Disaster Recovery Planning
Post by: Bazza2000 on September 13, 2018, 08:44:04 PM
Thanks @Sue , good advice, more things for my shopping list.

Like that @Matt , nice and cheap solution ;)  ta