how do you prepare for a planned power outage (8 hours long)?
- Thread starter almogim
- Start date
Battery UPS for computers work ok if you have or can borrow one, connected to a small power head or one set to a slow speed. Just enough to keep water moving. Heaters use a lot of power, so maybe heat up your house more than normal before the outage.
Flow through the sump, lights, skimmer, dosing pumps, etc are not important to have online if you have limited backup power.
Generator or large backup battery is the best if you can get one.
Flow through the sump, lights, skimmer, dosing pumps, etc are not important to have online if you have limited backup power.
Generator or large backup battery is the best if you can get one.
For powerheads and a small air stone, you can get a small 200W inverter to connect to your car battery.
Run car occasionally as needed, but likely not. (Outside)
For heat, if you have a gas stove (home or camping), you can pull out salt water, heat it up, but it back.
A lot of hassle, but you can go a long time that way.
Beyond that, generator is the only realistic option.
Run car occasionally as needed, but likely not. (Outside)
For heat, if you have a gas stove (home or camping), you can pull out salt water, heat it up, but it back.
A lot of hassle, but you can go a long time that way.
Beyond that, generator is the only realistic option.
Kensington Reefer
Supporting Member
start a new fish list...
Doh!
who said that?!!
very bad for livestock
very good for LFS
best fishes and happy reefing
another possibility...insure the tank for electrical failure
oh, and one more thing:
battery backups (UPS) state that they do NOT warranty aquariums
be sure to read the fine print
Doh!
who said that?!!
very bad for livestock
very good for LFS
best fishes and happy reefing
another possibility...insure the tank for electrical failure
oh, and one more thing:
battery backups (UPS) state that they do NOT warranty aquariums
be sure to read the fine print
Vincerama2
Guest
Do you have a gas range or a camp stove? Might need to boil up some aquarium water if it gets too cold. Maybe boost the heat up a bit before the outage, if you know the exact time of it, and maybe wrap the tank with a blanket or something.
V
V
Coral reefer
Past President
Water movement/oxygenation is by far the most important. Temp won't matter. I have never bolied saltwater, but that would worry me considerably.
RandyC
Supporting Member
I just recently bought these air pumps from Cobalt Aquatics. They have an internal rechargable battery that's supposed to last 24 hours and can also be run off of an external USB battery pack (unfortunately you have to use the included adapter to plug into the external USB battery pack). I think they are quieter than the Penn Plax battery air pumps.
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07GRL366W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_hjdhCbWWFGV2H
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B07GRL366W/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_hjdhCbWWFGV2H
jccaclimber
Supporting Member
Adding for future reference, I had the misfortune of dealing with an unplanned winter time outage during a blizzard in Ohio. I was much less experienced at the time, and was fish sitting several dozen freshwater tanks for my cousin's boyfriend. What started as some simple feeding obviously became more complicated during a several day power outage with the apartment quickly going below freezing. Fortunately the water heater was gas and continued to operate.
Short term a warm home and battery powered air stone get the job done. If there if a large refugium or live rock are in the sump I like to put an air stone there too.
Longer term even when generators are out of stock you can usually find a 700ish watt car inverter. Larger ones need to be connected to the battery, but usually come with cheap clamps for that. Small ones generally work in the cigarette lighter. Hook it to the car idling out front and run an extension cord inside to power the tank. AC needle wheel pumps don't run well on cheap inverters, but DC ones do fine and everything else is normally fine as well.
If it's cold out and the house isn't warm get a lid on the tank even if that "lid" is a clean plastic trash bag. Cutting down on evaporation can cut your heating needs in half.
If the power outage goes on more than a half day I usually pull the foam media from filters that aren't getting flow. I store it in humid but not wet areas (like a plastic bag), and give it a quick rinse before returning it once the power comes back on.
It doesn't get all that cold in the Bay Area, but I'll keep going for reference.
Next is a blanket around the tank, or foam, clothing, whatever. After this if things get too cold too long water changes with warm water are a big help. In a freshwater tank it's easy, in a reef if can be harder. If you have gas heat from a stove you can just heat water in a pot. If not, consider a grill, camp stove, or really anything you can get to. That car that's idling out front, blast the heater at the foot well and keep a bunch of water there that you periodically swap out.
If your water heater is the only source it will be fresh water, Put it in bottles and float them in the tank. Be really careful putting really hot water directly in to a tank. I've actually watched fish swim in to the stream of hot water, which I was moving to keep away from them. Really hot water for a few seconds too long and you have a dead fish.
In general, I consider backup power to be an insurance policy. If you spend $1000/year insuring a 10,000 car, I don't consider it unreasonable to spend $100/year providing backup power to a $2000 reef. I have a backup battery for my MP60, and I test it annually. I keep spare batteries for my battery powered air stones, and I have an arrangement with my neighbor across the street who usually works from home. I was about to add a generator, as I now have a larger tank with more to lose, but now that I'm moving that will wait until I have a new permanent address.
Short term a warm home and battery powered air stone get the job done. If there if a large refugium or live rock are in the sump I like to put an air stone there too.
Longer term even when generators are out of stock you can usually find a 700ish watt car inverter. Larger ones need to be connected to the battery, but usually come with cheap clamps for that. Small ones generally work in the cigarette lighter. Hook it to the car idling out front and run an extension cord inside to power the tank. AC needle wheel pumps don't run well on cheap inverters, but DC ones do fine and everything else is normally fine as well.
If it's cold out and the house isn't warm get a lid on the tank even if that "lid" is a clean plastic trash bag. Cutting down on evaporation can cut your heating needs in half.
If the power outage goes on more than a half day I usually pull the foam media from filters that aren't getting flow. I store it in humid but not wet areas (like a plastic bag), and give it a quick rinse before returning it once the power comes back on.
It doesn't get all that cold in the Bay Area, but I'll keep going for reference.
Next is a blanket around the tank, or foam, clothing, whatever. After this if things get too cold too long water changes with warm water are a big help. In a freshwater tank it's easy, in a reef if can be harder. If you have gas heat from a stove you can just heat water in a pot. If not, consider a grill, camp stove, or really anything you can get to. That car that's idling out front, blast the heater at the foot well and keep a bunch of water there that you periodically swap out.
If your water heater is the only source it will be fresh water, Put it in bottles and float them in the tank. Be really careful putting really hot water directly in to a tank. I've actually watched fish swim in to the stream of hot water, which I was moving to keep away from them. Really hot water for a few seconds too long and you have a dead fish.
In general, I consider backup power to be an insurance policy. If you spend $1000/year insuring a 10,000 car, I don't consider it unreasonable to spend $100/year providing backup power to a $2000 reef. I have a backup battery for my MP60, and I test it annually. I keep spare batteries for my battery powered air stones, and I have an arrangement with my neighbor across the street who usually works from home. I was about to add a generator, as I now have a larger tank with more to lose, but now that I'm moving that will wait until I have a new permanent address.
, seems like I need to invest a bit in my backup systems.