Power outage - lesson learned

[reg828]

Last night we had a power outage. It happened while i was working in my tank, doing aquascaping as i wasnt satisfied with the aquascaping. while my hands were in the tank, suddenly lights went off. it was pitch black. it happened at 10:00pm. I was surprised but not worried because i never experienced here that the power outage last longer. however, it was my first experienced with power outage with tank. Here in oregon at this time it gets real cold at night. The tank temp can go down quickly. so, the most important thing in my mind is temperature. how am i going to at least maintain the temp. I thought, maybe i'll just wait and power may come back in few hours and my temp was at around 80 deg. so, waited, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00. no power yet!! oh man, i was really worried. I looked at the temp it went down to 76. I have to do something, first thing in my mind was "need hot water". so, I realized i can get some hot water in my tap water, and i was glad i bought tap water conditioner just two days ago. I felt relief after testing the hot tap water with my hands it was hot but not much. at least it could help slowly put temp up. so, i added about 10 gallons slowly at a time to 75 gal tank. that really helped put the temp up slowly and i really felt better. however, I really hesitant to put lots of tap water in there, but anyway i had to do something quick. the power outage lasted till 9:00 am in the morning. man, that was long, but i was glad i saved my tank and lessons learned. I also, didnt notice that we have a gas grill in the backyard, which i could have use to boil down water fast but too late for that and i didnt want to boil water out in the freezing cold and my neighbors would think i am nuts grilling in the morning outside freezing cold and thunderstorm. anyway, experiencing power outage was good because I learned somethings and will be prepared in the future. this i can say, we that have aquarium need to always have a back-up plan in case something like this happens. Does anyone have better plan in case of power outage?

 

[shag26272]

http://www.jcwhitney.com/autoparts/...Id-100000192007/Pr-p_CATENTRY_ID:100000192007


run a heater and a circulation pump from your car, its what I plan on setting up for hurricane season this year

 

[Blown 346]

Instead of pouring in new water, I use the water from the tank and get that to as close as 90 degress as possible and then dump back into the tank.
Also wrapping the tank in blankets will help keep the heat in.

 

[bruffin]

You could get a car battery and a power converter and use them as a generator. Run an air pump, heater, and something for circulation from the car battery until the power comes back on . . .
I made mine for under $60.

 

[Canadian Reefer]

A generator from the home depot gives me enough power to run all of my tanks nessesarry equipment and my fridge. I got it on sale for 200$

 

[sslak]

I have a UPS battery backup that runs my Tunze powerheads so I at least have circulation.

If I'm home I can plug one of my heaters into it as well, but I refuse to run a heater without a controller. I have them hooked up to my RK2.

Would rather risk the tank cooling down to room temp than the heater getting stuck on. I'll be looking into a generator...but that only works if you're home when it happens.

 

[coketech]

There are some generators (eg Honda) that will automatically turn on if the power drops out (they have a small starter motor and battery) using one of those and a mains transfer switch is what Im planning to do for my tank so that if the power drops out it will be back within 30seconds, powering the fridge, freezer, some lights, and the tank!

 

[mistacheese]

I'll second the generator and an ATS (Auto transfer switch). You can get a 3000 watt generator at Canadian Tire and an ATS from ideal supply, or where ever for around $1000.00 Not free, but sure beats fixing a crash... And you could run a fridge also.

 

[dixiedog]

$399.

Runs the tank - plus the fridge, the TV, the computer, the lights ... everything but the well pump and the AC, basically. :dance:

 

[scubasteve06]

This happened to me the other night and I stayed up till 2 in the morning with a wooden spatula stirring the tank for circulation boy did that suck. Didn't lose a fish though temp dropped to 74-75 from 79-80 I can't count on that next time though. I never thought about using the inverter from the car, I have one that I use whenever I transport my fish for a long time. I plug a heater and powerhead into it. Since I park my jeep on the back porch anyways (damn thieves) it would be close enough to actually use it. Or I guess I could use an extension cord too.

 

[jnc914]

I bought a 6500 watt Generator with a Suburu small engine from a local Lowes for $600. It sounds like alot, but it is easily the best investment I have ever made. It has paid for itself at least 10 times over. In the 3.5 years since its purchase, I have had to use it around 7-8 times due to power going out from storms. Definitely look into a generator, you will have no regrets.

Next up, I would like to get a full home generator from Home Depot or Lowes for around 3-4K. It automatically kicks on and powers the entire house when electric is out. Maybe I'll be able to go on vacation again without worrying about my tank crashing.

 

[cbadrik]

A must have, too much money invested to worry about $600

 

[moondoggy4]

whole house generator

whole house generator

I bought a 6500 watt Generator with a Suburu small engine from a local Lowes for $600. It sounds like alot, but it is easily the best investment I have ever made. It has paid for itself at least 10 times over. In the 3.5 years since its purchase, I have had to use it around 7-8 times due to power going out from storms. Definitely look into a generator, you will have no regrets.

Next up, I would like to get a full home generator from Home Depot or Lowes for around 3-4K. It automatically kicks on and powers the entire house when electric is out. Maybe I'll be able to go on vacation again without worrying about my tank crashing.

I know that some gas companies do not like those generators they will charge full price to increased the size of your meter to handle it. So what you tell them is that you will be installing a spa with a natural gas heater they will do the upgrade for free, of course every gas company is different so you need to ask in general first.

 

[keith sprague]

i gotta invest in a generator too.previous winter we lost power alot, and it was cold every time it went out. id get a big blanket and have to wrap my tank tight to conserve heat.whatta PIA, i cant imagine loosing just a 40 BR with all the time and $$$ invested.it took a while to peice it all together and if crashed i couldnt afford to get it up and running for a while. i think if we all were smart a generator would be a top priority, i best get to lookin.hurricane season is bound to kick in soon!!!

 

[IAReefer]

$399.

Runs the tank - plus the fridge, the TV, the computer, the lights ... everything but the well pump and the AC, basically. :dance:

Where did you get this from?

 

[Dog boy Dave]

I live 45 minutes from North Florida coast. (on very high ground) Without a generator we would loose our tank several times a year during a normal season. I have two. Every time we crank one up it pays for both of them. Very important investment.

Oh, try to get a quiet one. Most neighborhoods get much quieter when the electricity and all the ac's turn off. Especially the morning after when the wind quits blowing.

 

[TAB Studio]

Seem in Fl we have the affinity to generators...
I also have one and it has been used unlimited times
I would not want to be with out one the power is so often out

 

[jjsan]

you can get a cheap computer battery back up. iirc, you just need to have circulation and something to induce air into your system.

maybe cheaper than buying a full blown back up generator.

 

[slumlord]

I guess living in AZ we just don't see power outages that often so I've never really given this much thought. After reading this thought I will defiantly work on a back up plan.

 

[jonathansruelas]

i had a problem due to a power failure one night that lasted 9 hours, i had no backup plan, all i could do was just wait and pray. luckily none of my fish died except for my blue devil damsel. i want to make sure next time i have an power failure , ill have a backup. that power horse generator looks like a great idea.