# Power Outage..All Cichlids Dead



## Mcxnarf (Feb 10, 2014)

Looking for some advice..
75 gallon tank of Lake Malawi Cichlids..Yellow Labs, Rusties, Acei, Plecos.

Power Outage for 5 days has killed all my fish. Approximately 15...Have had the tank up and running for three years. Only one fish lost in those three years.

My question is this..power has now been restored. I have (2) Emperor 400's plus two bio-heads for circulation. What do I need to do now besides remove the dead cichlids and get the temperature to 76-78?

1) Do I need to re-cycle the aquarium again?

2) Is there still enough good bacteria in the tank after 5 days?

3) Do I need to complete a full water change?

4) When can I proceed to introduce new fish after the aftermath?

Thanks...I know this is sad and out of the oridinary..


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

Sorry to hear about your loss. For the next time, you can often keep the fish alive using a battery driven air pump, or even by doing small water changes to keep both oxygen levels and temperatures up. That said, 5 days without power might be a stretch, and I still have not bought a battery powered pump myself 

After those 5 days, the water in your tank is no doubt foul to the extreme. The dead fish and the stress they had before kicking the bucket would have created plenty of ammonia. You want to do a really large water change to get rid of all that dissolved gunk - say 90%. At the same time, your bacteria should be in top shape, because they got so much food! Low temperatures won't kill those guys off. After a water change and bringing the temp up to normal, you should be ready to re-stock.

One caveat - if you are filtering via carbon, discard it before adding new water. If you are not using carbon, don't worry about it, there is no need to.


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## Chester B (Dec 28, 2012)

I agree with Frank. I had a similar situation over Christmas except my outage was 6 days. Make sure you keep your filters running to give oxygen to your bacteria, an do a big water change. After that you should be ready for fish.

I ended up buying a whole house generator to combat this problem. I recently moved to a rural area and I've been told power outages can last a few days. The $$ in fish I lost justified the price of the generator.


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## Mcxnarf (Feb 10, 2014)

Thanks Frank & Chet.....

So remove dead fish....do a 90% water change...add some PRIME....get temperature up to 78 or so..
I have two Emperor 400's as my filtration....replace the carbon filter/charcoal combo prior to adding water..right?
Do you think there is enough good bacteria left on the (4) bio-wheels on the Emperor's?

Sorry for all the questions guys...just want to make sure I am doing everything correctly prior to spending another $300 on Cichlids.

Thanks again...look forward to your response.

FX


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

Mcxnarf said:


> So remove dead fish....do a 90% water change...add some PRIME....get temperature up to 78 or so..
> I have two Emperor 400's as my filtration....replace the carbon filter/charcoal combo prior to adding water..right?


Sounds like a good plan, and yes, definitely get rid of the old carbon!



Mcxnarf said:


> Do you think there is enough good bacteria left on the (4) bio-wheels on the Emperor's?


Yes, should be no probem.



Mcxnarf said:


> prior to spending another $300 on Cichlids.


If you are spending $300 on 15 mbuna, you need to hook up with breeders in your local fish club. You are spending crazy money!


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## Mcxnarf (Feb 10, 2014)

Thanks Frank....I'm glad I don't have to go through the whole "cycle" process again.

FX


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## pablo111 (Dec 10, 2013)

***I have two Emperor 400's as my filtration....replace the carbon filter/charcoal combo prior to adding water..right?*

No need to use carbon unless removing medication, tanins, etc. Normal use just depletes trace elements in the water that are actually good for fish.
BTW now that your tank is down is a good chance to add a canister filter, or swap the Emp 400's for Aquaclear 110s. They're much better IMO.

***Do you think there is enough good bacteria left on the (4) bio-wheels on the Emperor's?*

If you took the biowheels out of the filter and soaked them in the aquarium, maybe. If they just sat in the filter and dried out, the bacteria is stone cold dead.

*
**Sorry for all the questions guys...just want to make sure I am doing everything correctly prior to spending another $300 on Cichlids.*

Sounds like you were doing everything right. But you lost power for too long and your tank ate the big one. Re-cycle, buy new fish and hope for the best.
Whole home generator and a good fuel supply would solve the problem. 
Or a battery powered airpump, tonnes of batteries, a large plastic bottle and some elastic bands (put the airstone in the mouth of the bottle, cut of the bottom, put your biomedia in there when the power goes out, and put elastics on it to hold the thing together. Keeps your biomedia alive, and does some filtering of ammonia/nitrite while the power is out.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

I agree with Pablo on carbon being unnecessary unless you have some special purpose to use it for. That said, I realize a lot of HOB filter users like o buy those ready made filter cartridges that contain carbon. There is nothing majorly wrong with using those - as long as you ditch the used one after a major disaster like this. When a tank goes south, the carbon will soak up any nasty chemical in the dirty water - and release it back into the new water after you did a water change.

An established tank has beneficial bacteria on all surfaces - substrate, decorations, hoses, glass, and so on. This is especially true for a tank filtered with HOB filters that have a comparatively small bio filter capacity. Even if you loose the bacteria in the filter, the stock of bacteria elsewhere in the tank can usually continue to do the job without the tank experiencing a measurable ammonia spike. That feel-good stuff about keeping the bacteria alive doesn't do any harm, but frankly it's just not necessary. The main thing you come to appreciate after decades of fish keeping is all the stuff you thought you needed and don't. Case in point, I have a 75G and a 125G filtered by an Eheim 2217 and 2260 respectively. Both filters are filled with filter floss, no other media are used. When I clean the filters, I discard all the old floss and replace it with new. It's really quick and I don't have to wash old smelly media. I have never experienced any problems because of this dip in the bacteria population.

Regarding the bacteria dying when they don't get enough food or dry out, they don't. They simply go dormant, and will be back in business very quickly when water and food come back. Dr. Timothy Hovanec (aka Dr Tim's One and Only) has done some wonderful scientific research on this issue. You can look up his publications if you have access to a science library. It is really very interesting work.

Last but not least, about Pablo's recommendation to get a whole home generator, I couldn't agree more. I still don't have one myself, but I feel one day I will regret this!


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## Mcxnarf (Feb 10, 2014)

Thanks Pablo and Frank..once again for the helpful information!!! I have been very happy with the (2) Emperor 400 Power Fitlers I have on the 75 gallon tank..
I have had no problems for three years and counting...The tank remains crystal clear along with the additional Hydro Power Drivers I have. I have been doing 
a weekly water change of about 50% every week....every other week I change the Blue cloth/carbon filters in the Emperors'. Next step...being today, is to begin
the 90% water change and get things going again. Glad to know I won't have to go the three week cycle process again...I guess after I do the water change..I'll
check my nitrate and ammonia level and hopefully start the hobby all over again.

Thanks guys! :fish:


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

To remove any guesswork from the equation, simply dose your tank with pure ammonia to 2-3ppm prior to restocking. 24 hours after dosing, you should see 0ppm ammonia and nitrite along with a nitrate reading above 0, indicating a sufficiently large bacterial colony.


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## Mcxnarf (Feb 10, 2014)

Sounds good...I'll probably just do the water change first then check my levels in a day. I'm pretty sure that I'll be in the ball park!
Not sure if this is the place to ask...but any suggestions regarding a new stock of fish? As mentioned previously, I had
Yellow Labs, Rusties, & Acei before...they were really beautiful. Not sure if I want to try something different this time
around.
FX :fish:


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## kd5exp (Mar 21, 2014)

I use an UPS for power outages. They run off 12 volts and I can charge the with the car, wind gen or even my solar panels. Keep at least my under gravel filter going and keeps my fish safe. I lost all my cichlids years ago during a power outage with very over stocked tanks due to breeding explosion. All you need to keep running are a couple air pumps.


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