Power Outage

[kg221]

I just started my 90 gallon tank last night and I was curious if the power went out, how long could the system survive without circulation? With no stirring of the water or stiffening water and pouring it back in. If I am home I have sufficient means to providing power to my tank in the event the power goes out, but I if I am at work and not able to provide power I am curious how much time I have before things start dying off.

Kyle

 

[aquavista99]

Unfortunately, within the first 4 to 10 hours of no flow or oxygen, the corals and reef fish begin to die during a power outage. Depending on the time of year, a tank crash can happen much quicker in extreme temperatures (ie, extreme hot or extreme cold weather).

Back in 2008, the Hurricane-Ike related windstorm that hit many parts of Ohio was the costliest Ohio natural disaster in recent times with $1.255 billion in insured losses and caused many tank crashes throughout the state. I personally lost power for almost 5 days in a row and if it wasn't for my Icecap/Vortech battery backup units and a gas generator, my SPS reef would have crashed within the first 6 hours or so of the storm.

I have since upgraded to a 400 SPS system and I now run 5 Icecap/Vortech battery back up units on my reef at all times and have a very reliable Honda gas generator as a back up for long-term power outages. I even run a small Hurricane battery backup unit for my QT system as well. In warm climates such as Florida, during short-term power outages, it is a good idea to keep frozen bottles of water in your freezer as well to place in your reef during power outages to help prevent your tank temperatures from rising to fast until power is restored. A gas powered generator is a required piece of equipment to have on hand for all reef tanks in my opinion, especially if you live in a hurricane zone or other areas subject to long-term power outages.

 

[njudson]

Just to share an experience that might give some people hope. I just went through a 5 day power outage (electrical fire in my building) where my tank temp got as low as 64 and there was nothing but a battery air stone running and I didn't lose any fish just some sensitive SPS.

 

[Jackie Blue]

2 birds one stone.

2 birds one stone.

What I have done to help me out incase of a short temporary outage is buy two uninterruptible power supplies for the two computers in my house. These power supplies are also battery back up units so on top of keeping my computers from getting fried in the event of an outage all I have to do is disconnect them and drag them over to my fish tank and plug in the hater and a vortec. Not the most graceful solution or long term but it can give me a couple hours before I have to really start worrying.

 

[kg221]

All great information thanks. I was thinking that If i couldn't get to my generator in time that I could plug into my car the a/c power converter and run a long extension cord to the tank and power up via my car. An idled car in the drive way wont use up a lot of gas. Let me know what you guys think, this was just one of my thoughts I had so i can be mentally ready if a power outage every occurs. *knock on wood*

Kyle

 

[JTL]

Totally agree about having a backup gen. Keeps the fish/coral alive and the beer cold.

 

[thebanker]

They've had a couple scheduled outages here, but fortunately not in my neighborhood. Because of that, it's got me thinking about planning for an outage.

What kind of airstones do you guys use? Any old freshwater variety?

 

[geaux xman]

the tough part is not being at home when the power outage occurs and not returning home til 10+hrs later.

if its often that you have a family member at home, then its not too much to worry about. either that or you have a close neighbor that can send you a text/call when the electricity is out.

 

[thebanker]

Anyone who uses battery back up, battery air pumps, etc. Please post links to online stores so we can all benefit from the knowledge you have.

Not everyone can afford a large, expensive generator setup. What are some of the cheap and easy backup ideas?

 

[aleonn]

I believe I saw an Azoo battery operated pump on the Marine Depot site recently. I'm considering getting a UPS battery backup from Office Depot or similar store.

 

[jeff@zina.com]

Anyone who uses battery back up, battery air pumps, etc. Please post links to online stores so we can all benefit from the knowledge you have.

350W APC UPS (Battery backup) from Office Depot. Battery air pump from LFS, though Foster and Smith has them, among others. 100W inverter for car battery from Walmart. 5000 Watt gasoline generator from Home Depot. Wait for a hurricane to blow through and FEMA will reimburse you for that one.

Jeff

 

[CreatiVe2]

For those of you who are using the APC style backups for outages when you may not be at home. there are some things to consider when running a GFCI power

read here
http://www.reeferscafe.com/reef-discussion/2142-gfci-outlets.html

 

[Alunai]

I actually had this happen to me about a week ago. We had a wind storm here and the power went out at around midnight. It didn't come back on until a quarter to 4 in the morning. I spent those three hours running up and down my stairs with water bottles filled with hot water to keep my tanks warm. Everyone made it through alright, thankfully, but it definitely got me thinking about some sort of backup.