Power cuts how to handle best?
#1
180L community tank, in-tank filter with filter floss then bio balls. No heating (I'm in the tropics).
I get frequent power cuts for up to 8 hours, normally with warning, and am not sure how best to handle them.
I have a battery operated air pump and I see 2 choices as to how to use it best;
1. Just use it to feed an airstone in the tank.
2. Use it to power a home-made water lift (like an undergravel uplift tube} with an inverted U at the top, with the top hooked into the filter. Water level reduced a little so that the tank water won't flow into the filter and the water from the uplift has to flow out through the (non-functioning) pump back into the tank, thus aerating it a bit, though not as much as method 1.
I used 2. today, but a mate with much more experience than me said I was wrong and I should just ignore the filter.
OK folks, 1. or 2. Or.........?