Power Failure

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#1
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#1
Okay I just spend a nervous 3 hours while our power was out. I am now looking to find a generator to power my tanks in the even we lose power for more than a couple of hours. What does everyone else use for back up?

I had visions of mass death and detruction......thank goodness nothing happened but the stress is a bit more than I like my tanks to suffer.
 

rohnds

rohnds

Large Fish
#2
Apr 23, 2005
408
1
0
Austin, TX (born NYC)
#2
If you have adequate amount of LRs, your fish will survive an emazing long time without power.
LRs should (not necessarily) be your main source of filteration and thus power failure will only effect circulation, skimmer and thermometer.

Better than buying a generator, try a UPS.

Rohn
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#5
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#5
Okay I am not worried about temp fluctuations only about disolved oxygen in the water and the demand by the fish. For this you would need something to power the powerheads to increase the oxygenation......a battery operated air pump would probably work....or a 12 volt marine battery with a current converter....I was wondering if anyone used one or had plans to build one? otherwise I may just bite it and go the generator route that way I could use it for the well pump etc also.....
 

Joe Fish

Joe Fish

Superstar Fish
#6
Apr 21, 2006
2,126
1
0
Penn State
josy.isa-geek.com
#6
Here are two methods to try;

1. Take water out of the tank, say 1 gallon at a time, then pour it back in the tank creating oxygen.
2. Buy a battery backup like you would get for you computer. Even the cheapest ones out there would run a air stong for hours and hours.

Hope this helps.
 

TRe

TRe

Elite Fish
#7
Feb 20, 2005
3,645
1
0
ft. lauderdale
#7
iving in south florida we always get hit by hurricanes like last year my whole county was without power for 2 weeks so i have battery power pumps kinda like the ones ina bait bucket and they kept almost everything alive 4 two weeks ... and u can see i got mad tanks (just like $100 for batteries lol)
 

Lotus

Lotus

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
#14
Aug 26, 2003
15,115
13
38
Southern California
home.earthlink.net
#14
The bottom of this article has some info on UPS for tanks: Safeguarding Your System from Meltdown - Stopping Murphy in His Tracks: Part I by Greg Hiller - Reefkeeping.com

Basically, a UPS is the thing they use for computers to keep them running for a while if the power goes out. You could probably run a powerhead or two and a heater (if needed) for a few hours. They usually run less than $100, I think.

Battery-powered pumps are always useful to have around. Remember that if you're using it for emergency aeration to put the stone near the surface of the water, not deep in the water. It will aerate the water better for longer.
 

rohnds

rohnds

Large Fish
#15
Apr 23, 2005
408
1
0
Austin, TX (born NYC)
#15
UPS, Uninterrupted Power Supply can run a computer, terminal, printer and other devices for few hours depending the brand.

I ran my pump for the sump close to 24hrs without any problem. Simply plug it into your outlet and plug the device to the UPS.

Rohn
 

Lorna

Lorna

Elite Fish
#17
Mar 3, 2005
3,082
4
0
NE Indiana
#17
These all sound great. I can't believe that I have this much invested in livestock etc and don't have a back up plan. I looked at the AZOO airpump that runs on a 6 volt battery and automatically kicks on if there is an interuption in the ac current then goes off when power is restored and recharges. Sounds like the ticket. I will also look into the UPS system for longer outages......just in case... :) don't want to go through another harry day like saturday.
 

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