Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Hi All,

I've only just set up my AP system and was wondering if the power was to go out and you didn't have backup power, how long before the plants and fish suffer?

Thanks

David

What size system and stocking rate?

Plants will be good for at least a day. They need water more than anything, so splash a bucket of fish tank water over their roots a couple of times a day and they should be good for a week if it's not really really hot..

Fish on the other hand get dead pretty quickly, but it depends on your stocking density.

It also depends on temperature and how oxygen rich the water was when the power went out. When I received my silver perch fry, they were in a bag of half water, half oxygen. I was told they could stay in the bag for a few days. But I'm guessing if the bag was filled just with air it would be a lot less.

When I was stocked a bit more heavily than I am now, I had a four hour blackout and just moved buckets of water into my grow bed until the siphon triggered. I did that every hour just like it was before the power went out. It only took 3 or 4 minutes.

There are lots of people here who will be able to answer your question, but they will need to know more about your system.

How many fish
what kind of fish
how much water

what was the condition of the water before the power went out
pH
ammonia
Nitrites
Temperature