I hear quite a number of horror stories concerning filters during a power outage,,,,,,ie, canister filters siphoning all the water out of tank onto the floor,,,or filters burning out when the power is restored due to being unprimed,,,,i live in canada and power outages can occur frquently during the winter months,,,,,so what is my safest plan ??
Filters and power outages
- Thread starter ramman
- Start date
make sure your home when the power goes out! seriously though if your around you can take precautions (i.e. un plug filters and heaters) ive never personally had any horror stories with any of my tanks and power outages (and ive had a lot over the years, sometimes i was home, sometimes not) even my hangon filters eventually reprimed thereselves w/o any problem, ive also never had a sump overflow or a canister overflow a tank, when the pumps start back up it usually fills the tank back up and the overflows begin working like normal - maybe im lucky but in my experience most filters will start up w/o any problems (ive used just about every brand)
Power outages
We need electricity to run or various devices,and power outtages and cuts can be devastating to us and our fish.How you deal with it requires some advance planning.It can be as simple as have battery operated
airpumps to UPS back ups to power invertors to back up generators below are some options.
UPS(Uninterruptible Power Supply)
is basicly a large battery which will takeover and keep electrical
things running in a power loss. How long it will keep them running depends on;
1. the watts the appliance uses
2. the size of the UPS.
It's hard todetermine how long a system will be able to sustain a
power outage without loosing it's cycle. I say system because in an
established tank bacteria is practically on every surface both in and
outside the filter chamber. What that means is that although we know
the bacteria itself is unable to go much longer than a few hours
without oxygen before starting to die off,An established tank can re-seed the filter even after
a 24 hour outage at times (depending on bio-load ).
I've left my canisters unplugged for up to 24 hours by mistake(oops)
after servicing without noticing any ammonia or nitrite spikes in the
following days or weeks, obviously plants took over the role of
removing ammonia but even in non-planted tanks I've only witnessed
small spikes following such an outage. I do overfilter all my tanks
so I'm not sure how well that would have gone if I had a HOB filter only
rather than canisters.(some HOBS do not selfstart well and lose their prime during outages)
As for UPS units my Eheim( 2217 )canister ran for over 10 hours
at 10 hours but there was a lot of juice left in the UPS. A 250VA UPS is capable
of running the pump there,than it is anywhere else. Obviously
just connect one filter to the UPS, don't worry about temperature or
lighting as this will cause the UPS to run out of battery very
quickly. Plus the temperature drop will be very gradual so little
harm in most cases, if anything you can cover the tank with some
heavy blankets to insulate it.The bigger the tank the slower the temp will
drop simply because theres more volume.
Backup generators
If you have several tanks and or expensive fish and live in an area with frequent
power outages a back up generator may be you solution.Make sure its autostart one that
detects the outage and starts automaticly.these are capable of running most of the electrical equipment
in your home.(selling point to win over the other half)
Power inverters
possibly the cheapest solution power inverters,invert 12VDC to 120AC running off
a charged 12Volt battery.However don't expect more than 4 hours usage.or
long wires and use your car as a power source(check gas prices)
To really see if the above are options shut off your filter.Does it start back up?or do
you need to prime it to get it working again?If so I make the following suggestion
consider an air driven filter with a battery backed up airpump they make a cpl
models that switch to battery mode anytime the power cuts out.At least it will save
some biofliter to reseed the other filters.
Temperature
keeping it warm in winter during a power outage is hard heres some things you can try
if you have a gas grill
do small water changes with warm water
float bottles of warm water in the tank or if you don't have a heat source
wrap the tank with blankets,and sheets of styrofoam if you have them
Keeping it cool in summer during power outages
small water changes with cool water
add extra filters and airstones to move the water
float bottles of cool water in the tank
If you are using any form of power back up add airstones to circulate the water
I hope this gives you some ideas how to deal with a situation that can be devastating-Anne
We need electricity to run or various devices,and power outtages and cuts can be devastating to us and our fish.How you deal with it requires some advance planning.It can be as simple as have battery operated
airpumps to UPS back ups to power invertors to back up generators below are some options.
UPS(Uninterruptible Power Supply)
is basicly a large battery which will takeover and keep electrical
things running in a power loss. How long it will keep them running depends on;
1. the watts the appliance uses
2. the size of the UPS.
It's hard todetermine how long a system will be able to sustain a
power outage without loosing it's cycle. I say system because in an
established tank bacteria is practically on every surface both in and
outside the filter chamber. What that means is that although we know
the bacteria itself is unable to go much longer than a few hours
without oxygen before starting to die off,An established tank can re-seed the filter even after
a 24 hour outage at times (depending on bio-load ).
I've left my canisters unplugged for up to 24 hours by mistake(oops)
after servicing without noticing any ammonia or nitrite spikes in the
following days or weeks, obviously plants took over the role of
removing ammonia but even in non-planted tanks I've only witnessed
small spikes following such an outage. I do overfilter all my tanks
so I'm not sure how well that would have gone if I had a HOB filter only
rather than canisters.(some HOBS do not selfstart well and lose their prime during outages)
As for UPS units my Eheim( 2217 )canister ran for over 10 hours
at 10 hours but there was a lot of juice left in the UPS. A 250VA UPS is capable
of running the pump there,than it is anywhere else. Obviously
just connect one filter to the UPS, don't worry about temperature or
lighting as this will cause the UPS to run out of battery very
quickly. Plus the temperature drop will be very gradual so little
harm in most cases, if anything you can cover the tank with some
heavy blankets to insulate it.The bigger the tank the slower the temp will
drop simply because theres more volume.
Backup generators
If you have several tanks and or expensive fish and live in an area with frequent
power outages a back up generator may be you solution.Make sure its autostart one that
detects the outage and starts automaticly.these are capable of running most of the electrical equipment
in your home.(selling point to win over the other half)
Power inverters
possibly the cheapest solution power inverters,invert 12VDC to 120AC running off
a charged 12Volt battery.However don't expect more than 4 hours usage.or
long wires and use your car as a power source(check gas prices)
To really see if the above are options shut off your filter.Does it start back up?or do
you need to prime it to get it working again?If so I make the following suggestion
consider an air driven filter with a battery backed up airpump they make a cpl
models that switch to battery mode anytime the power cuts out.At least it will save
some biofliter to reseed the other filters.
Temperature
keeping it warm in winter during a power outage is hard heres some things you can try
if you have a gas grill
do small water changes with warm water
float bottles of warm water in the tank or if you don't have a heat source
wrap the tank with blankets,and sheets of styrofoam if you have them
Keeping it cool in summer during power outages
small water changes with cool water
add extra filters and airstones to move the water
float bottles of cool water in the tank
If you are using any form of power back up add airstones to circulate the water
I hope this gives you some ideas how to deal with a situation that can be devastating-Anne
any thoughts on siphoning issues. And don't post "its never happened to me" I want solutions. It HAS happened to me and it sucks!, especially when it happens twice 
!! I've had a Fluval 404 siphon gallons of water all over my living room after a power outage. I would put a check valve inline but my Fluval has ribbed hoses - any ideas how to add one on a 404???
!! I've had a Fluval 404 siphon gallons of water all over my living room after a power outage. I would put a check valve inline but my Fluval has ribbed hoses - any ideas how to add one on a 404???
make a siphon break in the intake. about an inch below the water level on the intake tube
cut a small 1/8'' opening.When the water level drops to or just below the opening air enters breaking the siphon-Anne
cut a small 1/8'' opening.When the water level drops to or just below the opening air enters breaking the siphon-Anne
FunkSkunk said:
Get an Eheim!
You said you don't want to hear it, but I say it: It has never happened to me. 25 years of Eheim canisters under my belt.
True, the tip about drilling a hole in the inlet below the water surface prevents excess damage if siphoning should occur. But keep in mind that as a result, with every water change, air enters your filter system and you have grinding noise in you canister for a while due to air bubbles in the filter.
HarleyK
beblondie - thanks, for a simple solution
HarleyK - PM me about where to mail the money for the Eheim
HarleyK - PM me about where to mail the money for the Eheim
Never had a problem with power outages. If your filtration is set-up properly then emptying your tank on the the floor should never be able to happen?
My sump has a syphon break like Anne mentions and is big enough to hold the few inches of water that does syphon out of the main tank before the syphon break kicks in. This is good thing as it keeps the bio media in the sump wet during the outage. The sump has a submersible pump in it so as soon as the power comes back on everything starts up again. The sump is fed by a corner overflow with a self priming stand pipe.
I actually turn the pump off when I'm feeding floating pellets so as not to lose them into the corner overflow - basically simulating a power outage.
Before this I used a canister and it was fully enclosed system so no leakage and the only time I needed to prime it was if I opened the canister up or removed one of the hoses and introduced air into it.
I have done a few stupid things like knock a hose off my 3500lph pump, creating a nice water fountain in my living room! Or syphoned water on to the floor whilst doing a water change!
My sump has a syphon break like Anne mentions and is big enough to hold the few inches of water that does syphon out of the main tank before the syphon break kicks in. This is good thing as it keeps the bio media in the sump wet during the outage. The sump has a submersible pump in it so as soon as the power comes back on everything starts up again. The sump is fed by a corner overflow with a self priming stand pipe.
I actually turn the pump off when I'm feeding floating pellets so as not to lose them into the corner overflow - basically simulating a power outage.
Before this I used a canister and it was fully enclosed system so no leakage and the only time I needed to prime it was if I opened the canister up or removed one of the hoses and introduced air into it.
I have done a few stupid things like knock a hose off my 3500lph pump, creating a nice water fountain in my living room! Or syphoned water on to the floor whilst doing a water change!
FunkSkunk said:HarleyK - PM me about where to mail the money for the Eheim
Howdy,
Fluval 404: $165
http://www.petblvd.com/cgi-bin/pb/HAG10215.html
Eheim 2217: $159
http://www.petblvd.com/cgi-bin/pb/EHP22211.html
Eheim 2028: $278
http://www.petblvd.com/cgi-bin/pb/EHP20147.html
The 2217 is the classic model, I have been using that type (an old 2211) since 1989 continuously!!! Needless to say it is extremely reliable. It also has more power than the Fluval.
If you want to be fancy, the 2028 has more comfort. The price difference, assuming you keep the filter for at least 5 years, is a bit less than $2 per month. You spend more than that for water conditioner, after shave, french fries, or beer.
I honestly think that buying quality pays off in the long run. **cough cough haven't had a siphoning accident cough cough ***
HarleyK
I have never heard of a canister filter siphoning out the water, it is a closed system. Case in point, today the power went out for about 30 min. I have two established tanks set up at the moment, one a 35 Gal with a HOB type filter. The other is a 90Gal with twin XP3's and they simply stopped...then started when the power restored. No issues. I think you may be thinking about an air pump with no check valve (omidirectional valve.). you will not get siphoning with a canister filter.