What Plan do you have for a power outage?

plum70rt

Active Member
What kind of plans do people have if the power goes out ?
How long do you think is safe for a reef tank to go with no power?
Just curious Hurricane season here in florida,
 

almarktool

Member
i just pray alot, had one power outage here in nj 4 months ago luckly only lasted 1 hr, but i was getting ready to take my airmattress battery operated pump and put a hose on the end of it and stick it in my tank if needed
i know some people have generators setup
 

stacyt

Active Member
I have UPS setup on all my tanks. They will run the filtration systems for approx 15 minutes. If power still hasn't kicked on I power up the generator.
 

sterling

Member
I have a separate battery pack that was made for computers, but works great to keep my overflow and sump pumps going for up to 6 hours.
 

musipilot

Member
We have UPS's on our big tanks that will run the filters and one powerhead for about an hour. After that, we're in trouble!
 

frankl15207

Member
Battery operated air pumps. Cost about $10. The longest our power was ever out was 8 hours. One set of batteries was still operating when it went back on.
 

volitan

Member
IME, the only thing you really have to worry about in a power outage is temperature. Last winter we had an ice storm that knocked out the power for about a week and a half. I wrapped the tank up with a couple of comforters for insulation, and called my lfs for help. She said that everything would be ok as long as the temperature didn't get too low, and that I shouldn't feed anything. The temp got down to about 62 degrees by the time the power came back on. After about a week everything was fine. It took alittle time for everything to perk back up, but I didn't loose anything except my serpent star.
 

richard rendos

Active Member
I have no plan. We have lived here for about 4 years and only had one power outage. It lasted about 20 minutes. I am not really worried about it.
 

broomer5

Active Member
3000 watt gasoline powered electric generator back up.
Only good if I'm here to fire it up during the outage.
 

jonthefb

Active Member
man this summer we were having power outages here left and right because the transformer that converts the line to the meter, was installed in the 70s and hadnt been changed since. it sucked, the longest the power was out was like 3 hours. kept an eye on the temp, and it stayed stabel, but was kinda scary. i dont really have any plan, though, other than to call the power comp and yell at them on my cell phone!:D ;)
good luck
jon
 
I have a BIG generator at the ready any time the sky looks threatening. I bought it after a recent power outage that lasted 7 hours and flooded my finished basement (where my tanks are) with 6 inches of water. Tanks had to be broke down and moved to replace the walls and flooring and then broke down to be moved back. Lost several things in the process. I learned my lesson. Bought a generator big enough to manage constantly running sump pumps AND my reef systems. Wouldn't you know...haven't had a drop of rain since then to test it out!
 
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