Back up power

[corwise]

Watching the news about all the storms working through Denver and the rest of the country had me thinking about what would happen if I lost power for a week. I'm in a tiny suburb on th edge of Choctaw, I would be pretty low on the priority list of getting power fixed if we had a storm. What kind of back-up power systems do people have? Is there a reasonably priced generator that is enough to keep a fish tank (at least pumps and airflow) going, or do I have to be buy a $500 monster generator? Thanks.

 

[TimV]

Re: Back up power

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8953095#post8953095 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by corwise
Watching the news about all the storms working through Denver and the rest of the country had me thinking about what would happen if I lost power for a week. I'm in a tiny suburb on th edge of Choctaw, I would be pretty low on the priority list of getting power fixed if we had a storm. What kind of back-up power systems do people have? Is there a reasonably priced generator that is enough to keep a fish tank (at least pumps and airflow) going, or do I have to be buy a $500 monster generator? Thanks.

Your cheapest bet would be a power inverter and a marine battery or two. That would run a couple of powerheads and the like for quite some time.

T

 

[eddybabyhd]

The power inverter method works very well. I had a 400 watt inverter that ran my return pump for close to 36 hours. The next thing i buy is going to be an AIR-X windgerator, it will generate 85 watts DC 12 volt on 8 MPH wind. Then I am going to rig a Tunze to run directly from the power coming from the generator. I also might rig a battery operated air pump to it as well.

Right now, the big generator will have to do

 

[corwise]

I'll expose my ignorance (not really a surprise to most people), and ask: "what's an inverter?"

 

[pwhitby]

unless you spend around 500 plus on a generator it will not allow continuous running. If you think there is a likelihood of a 24hr or more power cut, then a generator is the way to go.

Alternatively you can get a low end inverter that basically plugs into you car cigarette lighter. Run an extension cord from that to your main tank components, such as a pump. Thats a good short term option. The inverters can be purchased from radio shack for under $50.

----if you have a lot invested in livestock, a generator is a good investment.

Paul.

 

[Dtking]

just to let everyone know, alot of the lowes in the state have ran out of generators, there have been massive shipments to all stores, I know the edmond store got 128 lastnight, and the enid store got 120, but they are not the cheap ones, they run $699 but they are the 5550 watt gens. Its made by troybuilt with at brigss&stratton engine.

I will be working on my generator today to get it up and running! :-(

-Dustin

 

[TimV]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8953249#post8953249 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by corwise
I'll expose my ignorance (not really a surprise to most people), and ask: "what's an inverter?"

As Paul alluded to, an inverter converts a DC power source, like a car battery, to AC current. If you go one of these routes, you can use an inverter and a marine deep-cycle battery to run a powerhead for at least a day or two. You can use it with a car, but the car will have to be running or you'll drain the battery. You can only drain a non-deep cycle car battery a few times before you'll ruin it.

Computer UPS devices can run powerheads, but only for a few hours and they'll cost you quite a bit more than an inverter and battery.

T

 

[captbunzo]

Let's step back a bit - in the case of a power outage of say 48 hours, what is on the priority list for keeping a tank alive?

I would assume this is 2 things: Oxygen & Heat. Do you guys agree? Also, what are the best methods for providing these needs? (or anything else that you guys identify as essential)

 

[TimV]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8953559#post8953559 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by captbunzo
Let's step back a bit - in the case of a power outage of say 48 hours, what is on the priority list for keeping a tank alive?

I would assume this is 2 things: Oxygen & Heat. Do you guys agree? Also, what are the best methods for providing these needs? (or anything else that you guys identify as essential)

The question will be: what can you reliably run? A generator is the best situation, assuming you have adequate gas and a neighborhood that won't freak about having a noisy generator going.

If you don't think this is possible, you have to go with some sort of inverter solution. The most important thing for your tank is air and circulation. You could get that with quite a few air pumps or a powerhead. Temp wise, you'd be surprised just how low the temp in your tank can go without creating a problem.

If all you needed was a powerhead, you could run a maxijet 1200 on a single 8D marine battery for about 56 hours. If you can recharge the battery, you could clearly go longer. You could shift to a car running the inverter to run more pumps and heaters every few hours (inject more air, stabilize temps). BTW, you could run two maxijet 900s for the same length of time.

If you really are concerned about power being out a long time, a mix of inverters and a generator would be the best solution. You could run the generator during the day when it is less likely to annoy the neighbors and an inverter with a few pumps at night.

Also, if you have the inverter and marine battery, one of us in the club could probably build you an automatic power backup system that would power a few pumps in the event of a short term power outage.

T

 

[eddybabyhd]

correction Tim, in the event of a power outage, there is nothign your nieghbors can do about running a generator. I forget the statute, I would have to look it up

 

[2ras]

Mr. Haney would be proud of me......

All,

You can buy a generator with an eco throttle & have inverter technology (This process takes the raw power produced by the generator, passes it through a special microprocessor that provides ultra-clean power, good enough to run computers on)

This can be found in a Honda 2000i generator (they make smaller & larger models of this type).
It is very quiet, 59 dB @ rated load, 53 dB @ 1/4 load. You can carry on a conversation without raising your voice!
Has a fuel tank capacity of 1.1 gallons & can run, depending on load, from 4 to 15 hours.

ac output: 120V
2000W max.(16.7A)
1600W rated (13.3A)

The generators that you can purchase at Lowes or HD send out ac power but it's VERY noisy (signal wise), you run the risk of damaging sensitive electronic equipment. You can purchase a filter system for some of these generators to clean up the power.


As you know, Honda generators are not cheap.
Like anything else, you get what you pay for.

Ray

FYI, my entire system uses ~900W

 

[corwise]

I've also heard that Honda makes the best generators. Gotta be better then the old "Tactical Quite Generators" we used at my last unit. We' were in Iraq getting mortared and wouldn't notice because the generators were so loud.

 

[fishyface]

good article here on the subject:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/aug2002/feature.htm

 

[jjmcat]

Ive got a small honda generator I use after my 6 gel cells run out of juice.I picked up my 500 watt inverters at sams for 30 bucks.

 

[TimV]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8953805#post8953805 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by eddybabyhd
correction Tim, in the event of a power outage, there is nothign your nieghbors can do about running a generator. I forget the statute, I would have to look it up

There may be nothing they can do legally unless your neighborhood covenant bans them. However, I'm speaking of keeping them happy in terms of good relations. I have excellent relations with all my neighbors and I'd like to keep it that way. Further, for those living in an apartment, I'd imagine the complex would have a say in the matter and probably wouldn't be pleased with the complaints of a generator running at 3 AM.

T

 

[captbunzo]

I love the low cost solutions to this. I mean, I can't afford to go buy a generator. However, a couple marine batteries can't cost that much, cn they? Add the power inverter to that, which I already have, and some air pumps or powerheads, I think we'd be in business.

Now, a couple of follow up questions:

First: I think that air pumps are going to be significantly more efficient, in the long run, to run. And I know that bubbling air can move a WHOLE lot of water. Perhaps is the air pump method better for the amount of time that the pumps can run on a battery?

Second: Is there any sort of specific power inverter that is required to efficiently use the power from one of these batteries? For instance, I have some simple ones that plug into a cigarette lighter in a car to provide AC power in a car. Could this simply be wired to the marine battery? Or is that going to strip the power out to fast or something?

Third: Something that hasn't been brought up.... I have heard suggested by Anthony Calfo in the past to have pieces of that 1/2 inch thick insulation precut the size of your four tank walls (or 3 if you can't get one on the back). Then, in the case of a power outage, simply tape them up to the side walls. This will, supposedly, save a LOT of heat (which has got to be a good thing), or keep the heat OUT in the case of a summer outage.

Fourth: When we get this all figured out, the topic deserves a presentation at a COMAS meeting and a writeup for our website.

 

[captbunzo]

Oh yeah, I should add in that obviously the answer for a big tank (like Paul's, or even a 180 or so, whatever) is probably the generator route. And the answer for a small tank (like my 55g) is probably something inexpensive like the batteries.

Just a thought....

 

[JimmyS]

Lots of options out there, but if I have a problem I will be using the inverter for my seios and if needed a smallish heater.

 

[eddybabyhd]

hopefully they would be compassionate for a 10,000 dollar glass box needing to have power to keep it alive. Heck, I never get mad at my neighbors for roaring their harleys up and down the street

 

[pwhitby]

could someone --with the knowledge to do so--- assemble a list of parts required for an inverter running on deep cycle batteries and approximate costs ?

Paul.