just wanted to ask how to keep a tank warm if there was a powercut . comin into winter and the electric was off for a little while today and kinda worried about oscar if it goes off for longer

Small generator or UPS as used for computers although it won't last long.

havnt heard of a ups before , you will have to tell me more

If your house is fairly warm, your water won't drop to a dangerously low temperature. Remember that Oscars are okay down to 70°F 21°C. If your house is warm, your water shouldn't drop below that. At the moment on my big tank , I've got no heating, the heaters packed up. The water is just less than 23°C. Obviously I would like is a little warmer but the fish seem okay.

Anyway, if your electricity goes off, the heat is the least of your worries, it's the filtration you should be worrying about. Bacteria in a biological filter will last for a few hours if the media is kept wet. However, without any water running through the filtration system, they don't really like it so if you do get a small generator, make sure that your filters connected up so they are running.

You can get a backup power head and a backup air pump that works on battery(torch battery) ive neva seen these untill i moved to NZ but im sure you should get them all over the world google it!!!
they must be available world wide

UPS is "un-interruptable power supply". Its nothing more than a sealed battery with built in charger that will power electrical devices for a limited time about twenty minutes. Used in the computer industry so that there is time to do a proper shutdown in case power in interrupted.

Oscarfishlover wrote:


This is why it is a good idea to keep a spare heater


Larger tanks take longer to cool down than smaller tanks, however if you are worried about your tank cooling down you can always wrap your tank in blankets if you power goes down


OFL is right you need to worry about your filter more than the heater. If you are going to get a generator for anything put it on the filter

thanx folks , have to get a generator from somewhere . where and what would be the best one to get