What do you do during a power outage?

[tome]

I was just wondering. We all have tanks and i'm sure this is happened to all of us. I was just wondering what you do during one to try to keep everyone safe. I bought a battery operated air pump, that i place in the tank and helps. The great thing is that they are real cheap! I was just wondering if anyone had any other suggestions to help keep the fish healthy. I had the idea of warming water in a pan using a gas stove. But i'm not sure if it is possible with out power lmao. Well post away!

 

[miked0523]

i have used a $60 power invertor , and run an extension cord to run my pumps and heater. the only problem is I have to keep my car running which was like 7 hours last time. but at least everything in the tank was fine. now i use a gas generator.

 

[maxalmon]

When I had my last tank up and running, I was so paranoid about power outages that I purchased a super quiet honda generator, it's really small portable. It will power everything in the tank and a few extra lights around the house. It's been a great little toy to have, take it on camping trips etc...

 

[sufunk]

during Wilma, we were out of power for 7 days. During the day we had the tank hooked to our generator but at night we just had the battery air pump. no heat but luckily it was in the 70's here in florida that week. Everything in the tank was fine, just a little algae afterwards

 

[stanlalee]

I have a 12V to 120V power inverter. I run a cord from the garage to the tank and run it off my car. It has enough wattage to run my whole tank and TV/suround set up. So while I may burn up, freeze and starve at least I can remain entertained and without dead fish. I should just spring for a generator and probably will but this winter and past hurricane season here has been so mild no power outages have occured.

 

[mrdc]

I use an APC battery backup for a small power head for outages while I am at work. I have a power inverter and trolley battery for the outages while at home. I haven't had to use the inverter yet but it's a guarantee that it will be used this spring and summer! Dang thunderstorms and hurricanes!

 

[petieaztec]

We are going to have no power over night for 13 hours what should i do. this is happening Friday march 10th. sorry for the thread steal but i really need options.

 

[nytrillium]

If you have a generator, i woudl recommend filling it with gas and having a few spare tanks around. Otherwise, I would say if you house temp will maintain around 65-70 (if you have a wood stove or propane that doesnt need electricity), just get yourself a couple 12 volt car batteries and an inverter of 100-300 watts and use that. You really only need a couple powerheads running to keep the water moving. Idk if you have a sump and/or how big your return pump is but you could get away with just running that if its not too big... if you figure out the Amperage of your pump and you know the capacity of the battery you are using...
Length of time you will have power = (Amp-hour rating of battery) / (Total amperage used by pumps, PH etc.) This is an extimate because everything is not 100% efficient so its probably like - 15% or so.
So, try and limit the number of things you need to run. IF you must run a heater in your tank, go invest in a cheap 100 watt glass one. As long as your house temp. doesnt get too low it will be able to maintain your tank. And you can probably just run it for a few hours at a time, water takes a long time to change temp.
OH and BTW... the little portable generators that maxalmon was talking about are really pretty cheap and can be very handy. Camping, power away from a house, emergencies, and especially power outages. I believe someone even makes a 2-cycle portable that is really efficient. I have no idea on the wattage ratings on them though.
And if you cant do any of those.... Get yourself a big woden spoon and a propane torch...

 

[cain420]

well, that is when i have seafood for dinner! JUST KIDDING.. please dont torch me for that joke!

 

[petieaztec]

I priced the generators and they run about 300 dollars. I can't spend that much. someone recommended putting a small propeller battery operated in the tank to keep water flow moving do you all think this will do or will i need more?

 

[petieaztec]

i guess i should tell you what i have. a 30 gallon, with two damsels and two clownfish. live rock and a hammerhead coral. three snails and four hermit crabs.

 

[petieaztec]

thanks everyone for your help i got a hold of the fish store and they said some battery operated air stones will work.

 

[nytrillium]

for a 30 gal, you can probably get away with just an air stone for that length of time.

 

[tome]

Yeah an air stone would work, also if you have a non-electric stove and can warm some water every so long, that would work. Or hold a under a pot of water for bout 5 hours till it warms lol

j/k Well Good luck

 

[fraggle_a]

When I get my bigger tank. I fully intend to hook up some UPSs from a computer dealer.
The pump draws little power, and if Im still running fluresents, they dont have much power draw either.
I also intend to have myself a large solar generator on the roof of the house. (Possibly a small wind turbine for those hurricaine days...:- )
Its sunny a lot in florida, so it should work well.

 

[nytrillium]

dont bother with a UPS for a computer.
THey are only designed to run for 8 min. or so. Just long enough to shut down programs and such. Your better off getting a couple car batteries with an inverter/charge controller and do your own UPS that will last longer...
I think a computer transformer draws 300 watts or so. Your UPS will power that for 8 minutes.... Figure your flourescent lights draw 20 watts for one NO bulb, your powerhead draws 20-50 for a small one. Your still only looking at under an hour of power....
As for your renewable energy ideas, that is my favorite solution.... I am a big fan of alternate energy. I know quite a bit about it and i have done some looking. I have also seen a bunch of installations. For FL, The way to go would be Photovoltaics. I live up in NY and i worked on a house where the guy put in 2 10'x11' solar panels, he can generate almost 2000 watts continuous on a bright day. Imagine what you could do in FL with wide open flats... :cheer: :jumping:

Put that into an inverter with a battery bank of ~20 12 volt deep cycle marine batteries and you could be self sufficient for a few days or up to a week with no power. (conserving power usage of course) Wind, if your near the coast is also a great idea. I dont know how strong your winds are consistantly, but most turbines can start at only 5-7 mph of wind. THey have the potential to generate alot of energy for you.... I know up here in NY the state research association (NYSERTA) gives tax breaks and installation grants for alternative energy systems. That system i was talknig about was around 22,000$, nyserta paid over half and the guy only paid $10,000 for the whole installation.
Sorry for the wayyyy off topic and long post but i kinda got on a rant there.... If you want to continue the convo. feel free to email me.

 

[cain420]

Originally Posted by Fraggle_a
When I get my bigger tank. I fully intend to hook up some UPSs from a computer dealer.
The pump draws little power, and if Im still running fluresents, they dont have much power draw either.
I also intend to have myself a large solar generator on the roof of the house. (Possibly a small wind turbine for those hurricaine days...:- )
Its sunny a lot in florida, so it should work well.
probably a good idea.. if it can power a computer for 15 minutes, im sure it can run powerheads and pumps for longer.... computers use alot of watts...
thanks for that idea.. im gonna look into that myself..

 

[nytrillium]

Originally Posted by NYTrillium
dont bother with a UPS for a computer.
THey are only designed to run for 8 min. or so. Just long enough to shut down programs and such. Your better off getting a couple car batteries with an inverter/charge controller and do your own UPS that will last longer...
I think a computer transformer draws 300 watts or so. Your UPS will power that for 8 minutes.... Figure your flourescent lights draw 20 watts for one NO bulb, your powerhead draws 20-50 for a small one. Your still only looking at under an hour of power....

Yeah.... Not worth the investment.

 

[fraggle_a]

(sorry about this, i missed the thread)
Well, the 8 minute rule only applies when you buy an APC thats rated to run for 8 - 10 minutes.
Thats for those over the counter BestBuy crap.
If you want soemthing to crank your system for a few hours, you can find it.
I know of an APC that will easily power an average 125 gallon fish tank for 24 hours.
However, running a cheap APC does benefit your systems.
The ballasts and pumps would benefit greatly from a stable power supply. What most of us get from the power company is close to stable, but theres always spikes and dips in the current. Those can degrade the performance and life expectancy of our equipment. Especialy the Ballasts, and at $300 for a good one, Im willing to cough out $50 for an APC to stabilize the power it recives, and act as a saftey during possiblt lightning storms.
The APC will also work amazingly well if its placed between the equipment and Generator. As we know, generators put out a very bad current, so the APC would function to clean it up and help your lights and pumps work during those powerouts.
The solar pannel idea is actualy quite viable it seems. The wind generator isnt.. LOL.

 

[1journeyman]

I pray... the longest my tank has been without power was 9+ hours (Texas thunderstorm)... man was I scared.