Kinda new here so I don't know if this subjects been covered before, we may have some power failures due to the summer heat. Aside from buying a generator, any suggestions on what to do to save my fish if this happens?!?!?
Power Failures...
- Thread starter Gr8KarmaSF
- Start date
If the power failures are only for a few hours or so look into a "uniteruptible power supply" online or at a computer supply store, they are relatively cheap and come in a wide variety of power reserve sizes.
If power failures are just a couple of hours.. it shouldn't e an issue.
However, do invest in a AC/DC airpump where the DC rechargeble batteries take over the airpump when power cuts off. It is an essential thing.
However, do invest in a AC/DC airpump where the DC rechargeble batteries take over the airpump when power cuts off. It is an essential thing.
I believe that what the UPS that I mentioned above consits of is a storage battery, a trickle charger, and a switching unit so that if your power goes out it cuts in to run what ever you have hooked to it. Under $200 will get you one that could power several large tanks for at least 24 hrs.
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
Thanks Beblondie, sounds like you've had experience with this before. Great ideas and solutions, I especially liked your idea about placing bottles of warm/cold water in the tank to stabilize the temp, while possibly placing blankets around the tank. I will probably look into power inverters now.
I'm not worried about rolling blackouts in my particular area. What worries me is that Edison will use it to up the price of electricity again....
I'm more worried about the next big quake living in the Landers area.
I'm more worried about the next big quake living in the Landers area.
If there is a freakin' earthquake who gives a damn about the fish I would worry about your own life.Isis_Nebthet said: