Power Outage How To Keep Tank Warm

I hear ya dude. I live in NH, and with this storm coming today I expect my power to go out. I put blankets around it and hope for the best. Its also in my living room, so I can get the fire place going, but I havent bothered. The tank is 120g and has made though a 12 hour outage at below freezing temperatures without any issues. I need to get a generator, but all I can do now is cross my fingers.

From your signature, it looks like you have a nano. If thats the case you probably have less time before it turns into an ice cube. I have no idea how long a computer UPS can keep a heater going. An average computer can last 20 minutes. Might be something to check into.
 
A ups generally wont run a heater, IIRC. They dont like purely resistive loads. They will run pumps though, which would do the same thing.

I've seen tanks go down into the 50s and not lose any livestock, so just insulate the tank, (styrofoam, blankets, whatever) and hope.
 
I would suggest using a kerosene type heater to heat the entire room. (BE CAUTIOUS OF CO2) Not to 80deg but it should keep it from doing major damage. Also if you have a way of boiling water you could do that and pour it into zip-loc bags and float them in the tank.

Nothing except a generator is going to keep it perfect but for short periods of time you just need to keep it 'warm enough' until the power comes back on.
 
Generator. I picked one up at Home Depot for $398. Best insurance policy there is. I can run everything but the lights with it. Oh....I have used it twice in the past year.
 
I bought a generator yesterday, it will run 2500 watts so I can keep lights, couple of powerheads and maybe even cycle in a light here and there. Problem today is the generator is at home and there's no power at work, where my 29 reef tank is. :( One of my coworkers was able to use some kind of generator/battery to keep the heater on today but it quit on her at 4. I asked her to wrap the tank in blankets, unplug the lights (just in case the power comes back on during the night, don't want to catch it on fire!), and keeping my fingers crossed. I'm trying to prepare myself for the worst though. It's too icy for me to risk going over there to rescue the fish. All that I can do now is wait until morning to see how this pans out. I'm going to be heartbroken if my onyx percs don't make it. :(
 
I am definitely getting a generator as well for the storms this summer. I worry more about things getting to hot than to cold. At least there is a fireplace for heat...

For the time being a marine battery is my back up it will run the overflow and heater for quite some time. Not sure exactly how long though because I haven't had an outage over a couple of hours.
 
I live on a military base so they cut the power from time to time without telling us. I have 2 24gal aquapods and a 29gal w/sump. Before setting up the second 24 and the 29, I was able to use a $25 power inverter from wal-mart to power everything but lights for a few hours when needed. With a bigger inverter, I could probably do the same for all 3 tanks. I just started my van and left it idling for the hour or two the power was out last. Just need to run a few extension cords and make sure that the stereo, lights, etc in the van are off so I don't kill my alternator.
Really just need to invest in a generator soon. Especially after the wife started talking about setting up a 120gal reef.
 
I thought this was a creative idea. Out here in the Seattle area when we had the big power outage, people ran out and bought up all the generators. What to do? Wrap your tank in those "instant heat" bandages that are meant to ease back pain. The warmth emits for 6-8 hours. Depending on the size of the tank this may cost a lot of $$$$ but it's better than nothing!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9233882#post9233882 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by catdoc
I bought a generator yesterday, it will run 2500 watts so I can keep lights, couple of powerheads and maybe even cycle in a light here and there. Problem today is the generator is at home and there's no power at work, where my 29 reef tank is. :( One of my coworkers was able to use some kind of generator/battery to keep the heater on today but it quit on her at 4. I asked her to wrap the tank in blankets, unplug the lights (just in case the power comes back on during the night, don't want to catch it on fire!), and keeping my fingers crossed. I'm trying to prepare myself for the worst though. It's too icy for me to risk going over there to rescue the fish. All that I can do now is wait until morning to see how this pans out. I'm going to be heartbroken if my onyx percs don't make it. :(
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They should be able to make it in pretty cold water. While it's not the best thing that can happen, they should be able to survive a gradual decline in temp at least into the 50 or 60s. I'd be careful not to warm the water up too fast though when you get back. That could do more harm than good. Best of luck.
 
In a pinch during a power outage from an icestorm I boiled water on my gas stove. I poured the hot water using a funnel into 2-liter bottles and floated the 2 liters in my tank.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9234657#post9234657 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TitansFan
In a pinch during a power outage from an icestorm I boiled water on my gas stove. I poured the hot water using a funnel into 2-liter bottles and floated the 2 liters in my tank.
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I've read some threads in the summer about people placing a frozen ice pac (like BlueIce) in a zip lock freezer bag and placing it in the sump.
 
I guess my job gives me some bennies. I work and live in a 9 floor apt building. We have a 75 kilowatt deisel generator to run emergancy systems. Being the person that decides what these systems are, my entire reef became one of them. One thing I did for my metal halides was to install a 15 min time delay normally used for a/c systems so the bulbs didn't try to restart while still hot. Generator transfers 5 seconds after a power loss. Really works great!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9234209#post9234209 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by vessxpress1
They should be able to make it in pretty cold water. While it's not the best thing that can happen, they should be able to survive a gradual decline in temp at least into the 50 or 60s. I'd be careful not to warm the water up too fast though when you get back. That could do more harm than good. Best of luck.
Click to expand...

They said the clinic temp was still about 65 when they left for the evening, but the furnace won't power up with the electric thermostat working. It's a shallow tank with a good bit of surface area, so hopefully O2 levels will stay up. I'm just feeling pretty helpless since I'm not there to do anything about it. It looks like our ice has stopped, now it's just the fluffy white stuff coming down. Too bad it's not warm enough to melt the 1/2" of ice that's built up.
 
creative ideas? How 'bout some sterno cans under the tank ~ those things that keep fondue hot? Also a propane single burner camp stove, but BOTH consume ox so be very careful. Set on "very low" in a closed space below a tank could heat it if dire straights time comes. There are also some "tent heaters" for camping that would work. The hot water bottles will do as well.

I have often frozen water in a tupperware container (a big piece lasts longer) to cool things when emergency arises.

The slow re-warmup us very important good advice too.

I hate admitting this stuff :)

birdfish
 
I survived a power outage last year. Thankfully I had a friend that lived nearby that kept power because i was out for over a week. Initially, covering your tank with thick blankets does wonders. It started to get cold pretty quickly in my house and it was about 50 degrees that morning and my tank had only dropped about a degree. I tried heating pads, like the hot hands things, and they didn't do a thing. I had them taped all over the aquarium under the blankets and they had no effect on the temp.
 
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