gainesvilles 2 hours power outage! and what to do in this situation

Zestay

New member
so needless to say i got caught with my pants down ( literally ).. try to turn the fan on and it wont turn on.. oh no! my first thought. oh the powers out.. my second thought FISH TANK OMG!!! i run down stairs to see a still tank all my corals closed up . this was in a matter of minutes after power failure.

so these are the steps i took
1. dont be concered if the power comes on in like 2 minutes.. after 10 minutes... move to step 2
2. panic! did lots of that
3. stir tank with piece of PVC while blowing bubbles in it... did that too..
4.run around like chicken with headcut off trying to find a battery operated pump , air stone. anything to create some water movement and get some o2 into my water
i run to my LFS ( street lights are out long drive ) to buy one.. they got one.. 40 bux wth i only got 22 dollars.. 411 pet supermarket got one for 11 dollars so needless to say drive across town again

2 hours after powerfailure i manage to put a battery operated air stone and 3 minutes after that, the power comes back on. my pumps start churning and everythings happy.

long story short. i wont let this happen again. going to rig a UPS to a deep cycle marine battery to power my return pump + CF lighting.

anyone else effected by this situation today?
 
Not today, but I've been there. Believe me you'll only want to go though that once. Circulation and heat/cooling is the main concern during power outages. You are very smart to get the backup going. :)
 
Unless your tank is seriously overstocked, 2 hours is nothing. Most tanks can go 8 hours if they are not overloaded.
 
just make sure that the tanks surface can breath... you might want to invest in a battery opperated air pump in the future in case that the next one last longer
 
it sooooo depends on the tank setup.

I did 14 hours once. my concern was keeping it warm actually

if you don't have a huge bioload or a monster wad of macros, the water surface exchange will be more than enough to let everything sit and idle for a long time.

and maybe add a couple valiums to your "emergency power outage kit" :D
 
Welcome to my living nightmare. I go through this on a daily basis. I have a UPS hooked up at the moment. We have generators at home. 2 monster generators actually. Each one is about the size of a VW Golf. Lebanon has a major energy problem. The power cuts in our area twice a day. So there is basically a few hours each day with no electricity. Thats what our generators are for.

Only reason i need a UPS is cause there is a 5-7 second delay between normal electricity and generator. Soon as the power goes out, it takes a few seconds for the generators to start providing power.

Make sure you get an "ONLINE" type UPS. Online UPS's continually draw power from the battery inside them. When the power cuts, there is no switch from regular electricity to battery. That way, you avoid surges and burned motors (pumps, filters, etc.). Ive burnt my share of pumps, trust me...it sucks.

Good Luck:beer:
 
Re: gainesvilles 2 hours power outage! and what to do in this situation

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9821527#post9821527 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Zestay
2 hours after powerfailure i manage to put a battery operated air stone and 3 minutes after that, the power comes back on.

Hahahahahaha, isn't that the greatest! I recently had a power outage that lasted about 2 or 3 hours. I did nothing more than stand between 4 tanks taking turns churning the waters with a cup. Gave me lots of time to think about all the times I saw those battery operated air pumps and made the comment: "We should really get one of those in case the power ever goes out." A month later and I still havn't gotten one....some people just never learn.
 
Re: Re: gainesvilles 2 hours power outage! and what to do in this situation

Re: Re: gainesvilles 2 hours power outage! and what to do in this situation

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9823885#post9823885 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by papagimp
Hahahahahaha, isn't that the greatest! I recently had a power outage that lasted about 2 or 3 hours. I did nothing more than stand between 4 tanks taking turns churning the waters with a cup. Gave me lots of time to think about all the times I saw those battery operated air pumps and made the comment: "We should really get one of those in case the power ever goes out." A month later and I still havn't gotten one....some people just never learn.
Dont feel bad, they do not work very well in open tanks. The gas exchange they create is pretty minimal.

I am pretty sure if you connect it to a air powered sponge they work better as they create a "column" of moving water as the bubbles head for the surface through the tube.
 
I wouldn't use an air stone.
I use three eighths ridged lines in each tank and the large bubbles make sure there is a lot of turbulence at the top of the water for decent exchange.
I have a gas hot water heater so if the power is out longtime in winter, like the 12 and 14 hr sessions we get, then I put hot water into the 2 litre pop bottles and set them in the tanks right where the air bubbles are rising. This will circulate the warmth throughout the tank.
Lights I don't even worry about unless it's going to be out for a week, and that isn't too darn likely as it's never happened here.
 
I live in Polk County Florida. 4 hurricanes came through here in a span of about 3 months a few years back. Power was out to some people for over a month. Virtually everyone lost thier tanks. I hate to think of all the coral and fish that died durring this time. I now own a generator and will never live without one again.
 
I'm picking out my generator now... I have too much invested in my tank not to plunk down the $1000 to rest easy. I plan on being prepared this hurricane season.
 
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