I tried searching and never got a solid answer. Last night I had a power outage for 6 hours+ luckily I had a generator and was home. But what if I wasn't home... I've read that people have had canisters off for x amount of time then restarted it and it killed all their fish. My question is how long can a FX5 be off and then restarted without fear?
How fast does a FX5 become toxic without power?
- Thread starter bond007
- Start date
It never even crossed my mind... I have had my power off for about 6.5 hours and just put some aerators in my tank. I had to do a clean out on the fx5 after the power outage because my tank had a bit of a smell to it when the power came back on and the filter began to work. I would not say my water was toxic because I did not lose anything but I do not think it would take long. Hopefully that kind of gives you some sort of an idea. I know its not an answer.
Why would it be toxic and kill the fish. How would a canister filter be any different then a HOB during a power outage?
This all really depends on how much air can get into your canister filter. The reason that the water in the canister filter can go toxic is because after the O2 is used up in the canister filter, you will start having anaerobic bacteria take over from your aerobic bacteria. The anaerobic bacteria will produce hydrogen sulfide which is toxic to your fish. Best way to prevent this from happening is after an extended period of time when your canister filter is not powered, if more than 4 hours to be on the safe side, I would drain the water from the canister then reprime the canister to prevent the hydrogen sulfide from getting into your tank. Hydrogen sulfide is what gives rotten eggs their smell. Remember that canister filters aren't open to the air like HOB filters so the gases can build up in the canister.
RedDwarf;3909847; said:
Hmmm thats very interesting and something that I never about before but after reading this it makes a lot of since. It would be like putting your fish on deathrow and sending them to the gas chamber.
I've had a canister filter die totally in 1 and a half hours. They dont die because of anaerobic bacteria. They die because the aerobic bacteria are not getting any oxygen (or food).
If you've had no power for 6 hours then you've been lucky and only had a partial die-off, and enough have lived to repopulate fairly quickly.
Safest thing to do in a power outage is take the media out and leave it wet in a bucket or something, so it has some kind of oxygen supply.
If you've had no power for 6 hours then you've been lucky and only had a partial die-off, and enough have lived to repopulate fairly quickly.
Safest thing to do in a power outage is take the media out and leave it wet in a bucket or something, so it has some kind of oxygen supply.
hmmm. very interesting. my fx5 is what i call a "piece of s**t" so ive gone through this once or twice.
when it goes into its daily prime cycle, there is a good chance than it will not restart. most of the time i catch it the following morning. a little banging on the side of the pump, plug it back in, and we're good to go. that is usually 6-8 hours elapsed time. no harm no foul.
a couple weeks ago i realized i didnt hear the normal hum. sure enough the fx5 was silent. got it restarted and it instantly spewed out cloudy water, and the smell was not pleasant. apparently it had been off for multiple days. i immediately went into damage control by stopping the fx5 and removing it for a full cleaning. threw some new carbon in and started it back up. because it was late in the evening, i scheduled a 50% water change for the next morning.
no casualties. just some unscheduled maintenance and a smelly tank for 12 hours or so.
when it goes into its daily prime cycle, there is a good chance than it will not restart. most of the time i catch it the following morning. a little banging on the side of the pump, plug it back in, and we're good to go. that is usually 6-8 hours elapsed time. no harm no foul.
a couple weeks ago i realized i didnt hear the normal hum. sure enough the fx5 was silent. got it restarted and it instantly spewed out cloudy water, and the smell was not pleasant. apparently it had been off for multiple days. i immediately went into damage control by stopping the fx5 and removing it for a full cleaning. threw some new carbon in and started it back up. because it was late in the evening, i scheduled a 50% water change for the next morning.
no casualties. just some unscheduled maintenance and a smelly tank for 12 hours or so.