ichiromariners
Member
i have power now so don't worry, but what would you guys recommend to do if my power went out? how long is too long?
power outage what to do?
- Thread starter ichiromariners
- Start date
fishfanny79
Member
If I were you, I would invest in a UPS (a power supply for when the power goes out) Kind of like a generator I guess you could say...for the cost of your tank and everything in it, it's worth the few hundred (if that much) on a good backup. IMO
iechy
Member
How long do your backups run? I ran by office depot the other day and even the good ones only ran for a half hour which is long enough to backup any computer info but not long enough to hurt anything in your tank if power were to go out. I turn off my pumps for an hour or so whenever I feed my corals so everything doesn't float away. I bought two battery operated air pumps for my tank I figure I could just put them at the bottom of the tank and hopefully this would cause enough movement to keep everything ok for a few hours. If my power is out longer than that down here my house probably has more water in it than my tank so it is the least of my problems.
Stay away Hurricane Isadore or whatever name it is!!!
Stay away Hurricane Isadore or whatever name it is!!!
fishfanny79
Member
How much did the generator cost you?
clarkiiboi
Active Member
Try to do a search, I know for sure this subject was addressed not long ago, and there were many replies. HTH
buyitjody
Member
We got a UPS 650 to attach to our tank. We did this because we got a notice from the electric company that power would be cut for 6+ hours one day for neighborhood repairs. You have got to keep in mind that you can't necessarily go by the box when it tells you how much time it can run a computer. You must remember that computers eat a lot of wattage. We just hooked up one pump and an air pump with air stone bar so that there was still water movement. We figured that was enough. They don't have to have light. (We have plenty of natural light in the room anyway.) Well, that one pump only takes up like 9 watts and the air pump was not that much either. Our calculation is that the battery in the UPS (since it was new) would last upward of approx. 14 hours with such little wattage being used.
You do need to test whatever equipment you decide to hook up to one though. I don't have the all the terminology right, but bear with me... When we hooked up both circulation pumps that normally run in the tank and cut the power, the UPS kicked on, but the pumps shook for a second or two trying to figure out the new electric cycle. One kicked in fairly quick and was running normal and the other had problems (just shook, but little to no circulation taking place). So, we just have one pump plugged in to the UPS that will run when the power goes out. We didn't trying adding on the protein skimmer or maybe just the actinic lights, but we didn't feel it necessary. To me, the minimum was fine....no need to have everything running during brown outs, just enough for the animals to be comfortable and safe.
All that to say that UPS will run longer than what the box states for a computer depending on how many items you plan on trying to run through the UPS if the power goes out.
That's my unprofessional take on this...
Jody
You do need to test whatever equipment you decide to hook up to one though. I don't have the all the terminology right, but bear with me... When we hooked up both circulation pumps that normally run in the tank and cut the power, the UPS kicked on, but the pumps shook for a second or two trying to figure out the new electric cycle. One kicked in fairly quick and was running normal and the other had problems (just shook, but little to no circulation taking place). So, we just have one pump plugged in to the UPS that will run when the power goes out. We didn't trying adding on the protein skimmer or maybe just the actinic lights, but we didn't feel it necessary. To me, the minimum was fine....no need to have everything running during brown outs, just enough for the animals to be comfortable and safe.
All that to say that UPS will run longer than what the box states for a computer depending on how many items you plan on trying to run through the UPS if the power goes out.
That's my unprofessional take on this...
Jody
frankl15207
Member
Battery operated air pumps - $10. They make one now that will go on when the power goes out automatically - $12. Usually our power is back on before anyone has the chance to put the pumps in the water. The longest that our power was ever out was 8 hours. One set of batteries was still working at that point.
I have a friend that operates a aq. maintenance business and has over 5,000 gallons of tanks. His was out for 2.5 days in the same storm. He uses wet/dry filtration, did nothing, and lost nothing. That tells me that we make more of an issue out of it than needs to be made.
I have a friend that operates a aq. maintenance business and has over 5,000 gallons of tanks. His was out for 2.5 days in the same storm. He uses wet/dry filtration, did nothing, and lost nothing. That tells me that we make more of an issue out of it than needs to be made.
buyitjody
Member
For the most part, I think you are right, frank. We kinda panicked when we got the notice. But, it gives me peace of mind that hopefully the circulation will keep the temp down with the surface water agitation and evaporation (it's hot here in texas). Since someone is not always home and wouldn't be there to float ice or something, this gives us peace.
Well, wish we wouldn't have freaked out so much when we got the notice. Would have saved us ~$120.... Oh well...live and learn. Although, I'd hate to tell someone not to have a back-up if power went out for an extended time and have lots of their livestock die. Maybe your friend was lucky.
Well, wish we wouldn't have freaked out so much when we got the notice. Would have saved us ~$120.... Oh well...live and learn. Although, I'd hate to tell someone not to have a back-up if power went out for an extended time and have lots of their livestock die. Maybe your friend was lucky.
frankl15207
Member
Jody
I wasn't commenting on your post. I was responding to the original post. We have occasional power outtages here that are normally fixed very quickly, so in my case the pumps serve the purpose. If we were prone to longer power failures or rolling brownouts (what a bunch of bull that is), I would probably go with something more reliable. The eight hours that we were out is the longest my power has ever been out in my life, and I'm 47. Ours is usually on quicker than most because we are in the same power block as most of the University of Pittsburgh hospitals. That makes restoring it a priority.
I wasn't commenting on your post. I was responding to the original post. We have occasional power outtages here that are normally fixed very quickly, so in my case the pumps serve the purpose. If we were prone to longer power failures or rolling brownouts (what a bunch of bull that is), I would probably go with something more reliable. The eight hours that we were out is the longest my power has ever been out in my life, and I'm 47. Ours is usually on quicker than most because we are in the same power block as most of the University of Pittsburgh hospitals. That makes restoring it a priority.
javatech
Member
here is some thing to find out what you need
http://www.apc.com/template/size/express/
http://www.apc.com/template/size/express/