Power for black outs

[cruzin94066]

Hi I was wandering what people are doing when they have blackouts for their fish tanks. Besides using battery operated pumps or gas powered generators. I work long hours so I may not be able to get to my fish tank right away to turn on a battery operated pump or generator.

 

[Shooter7]

Integrated house generator that is set to go on automatically in the event of a failure. I believe there are some computer power sources that are made to kick in, in the event of a failure, but I don't know how much equipment they can power. Not sure what else there would be unless you or some other person was there to address the situation.

 

[leoslizards]

This is an interesting question.

What about a battery backup made for computers or some sort of solar powered cell to power up a pair of powerheads in case of a power failure? We have alot of hurricanes here in Miami so we sometimes go weeks without power.

 

[snorvich]

I do what shooter7 suggested. Saved me a few times. While I was doing it, I also put other stuff e.g. refrigerators on it. If you have a lot of expensive animals, a generator can sure justify itself quickly.

 

[leoslizards]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11549169#post11549169 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by snorvich
I do what shooter7 suggested. Saved me a few times. While I was doing it, I also put other stuff e.g. refrigerators on it. If you have a lot of expensive animals, a generator can sure justify itself quickly.

Yeah but that's a bit expensive. I've see those go for about $2,000 - $6,000

 

[Shooter7]

The question was, what options do you have to maintain your power in the event that you're not around....those were the only ones I could think of. Most anything requires that somebody take some kind of action to address what's going on. Without the integrated automatic system set up, you're pretty much screwed, unless there is some ingenious, inventive folks around here somewhere. My stepson is supposed to be going away to engineering school this fall, I'll tell him to rig me up something that's solar powered and bring it home.

 

[leoslizards]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11549451#post11549451 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Shooter7
The question was, what options do you have to maintain your power in the event that you're not around....those were the only ones I could think of. Most anything requires that somebody take some kind of action to address what's going on. Without the integrated automatic system set up, you're pretty much screwed, unless there is some ingenious, inventive folks around here somewhere. My stepson is supposed to be going away to engineering school this fall, I'll tell him to rig me up something that's solar powered and bring it home.

LOL I want one too!

 

[C. Friesen]

Hi, I use a UPS for a computer. The onlt thing I run is my return pump off it to reduce the draw and the amount of time the pump will run for. My MAG 12 should run for about 4 hours off the UPS. In Winnipeg, where I live we only experience short power outages, but they are long enough to stop the water flow in the tank.

I got my UPS from DELL in Canada and it turns on automatically when the power goes out.

Hope this helps,

Chris

 

[rfdoc]

I just posted a reply on this topic in one of the vendor forums - I would love to see someone make a controller with a built in mini-UPS so I could program what outlet(s) I want running when the power cuts out. If you could only run the essentials such as 1 powerhead and either a heater or chiller depending on the time of year, it would last a lot longer than having the entire tank running on a UPS.

 

[enkin]

Necessity was the mother of invention for me.
Lost most of my tank to an ice storm/power outage last year.
My prep for power outage on the cheap consists of a 12 volt jump pack and a high wattage power inverter(already had it for camping). The jump pack could be a deep cycle RV/Marine battery if you are looking for permanent install.
I use jump packs at work so we always have 2 or 3 fully charged at any given time. From my experience many tanks can go without flow and heat for several hours without major damage.
In my catastrophe a sailfin tang lived thru 4 days of no power and no heat. Also recovered 7 or 8 bubble tip anemone that still thrive in my tank today. Not exactly an answer but it is what I am doing.
I live in a second story condo so a generator would be nice but difficult.