Power outage

[OneReef]

What the heck. Perfect weather and there's a big power outage around us. Dropped an air stone in my tank, not that it will do any good, but my generators buried in the garage and out of gas. Bah. Hope this isn't a long term thing. Transformer near us caught fire and blew out. Just what I need, another tank crash.....

 

[OneReef]

And I was in the middle of installing a refugium.....

 

[Blindside]

Quick send over the dragon!!!!

 

[Rudolph]

Don't you have MP40's? Don't they have a back up battery that runs 36 hours or so?

 

[OneReef]

Power came back on after about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. I think the airstone was fine for that short time. All is fine today. Yes, the MP40s do have a battery backup, which I need to buy, just have been putting it off. I'll probably order one this week, ha. We all need to prepare better for power outages I'm sure. I need to get out my generator, clean it up, drain the old gas out and get some gas in some storage cans.

 

[Larson]

Don't know the cost of those , but you might look into battery backups they use for PC's , they might be easier on your wallet. They are meant to hold PC's that consume way more power for hours. Running a single or double MP40's would prolly be nothing for them.

 

[Rudolph]

If I remember correctly, I think the ones for PC's are only rated for a few hours. I looked into a battery back up last year and didn't find any real good solutions. However, I had a generator I brought up from florida (need them for hurricanes) and decided to have my house hard wired so I can just start it up and plug my house into it. I lose power in my neighborhood several times each year for some reason. So I have used it several times.

 

[Inexplicable]

On the subject of battery backups, I got an Enercell 90W portable inverter for $8 online. It isn't the most efficient unit, but it comes with a 4Ah battery inside and one outlet. I tested it out and it powered a Koralia nano (425 gph) for 6 hours before it ran out of battery. A lot cheaper than the Vortech backups, though it won't last as long. At this price, it is probably a modified square wave, but I didn't notice any strange cycling of the pump and it didn't heat up at all, so I'm fine with it. I'd rather drop in a powerhead during a blackout than an airstone. Plus, the unit can be charged with either AC or DC power, so I could add an extra 12V deep cell battery to extend the amount of time it could run during a blackout.

 

[Mako Shark II]

Wait.... you own a Generator, and didn't use it????!!!


Dude.... The generator ALWAYS stays at the top of the garage (closest to the door), is filled with Sta-bil-ized fuel and gets runs once a month for ten minutes to cook any condensed moisture out of the engine oil. It's all about Readiness, in the event of an emergency.

Sorry Jay! I'm callin' foul. C'mon Man!!!

These things are BEAUTIFUL!!!

 

[OneReef]

There was no need to drag it out. The power was only out for a couple hours....

 

[Mako Shark II]

Yeah... But that's why we buy these things: More Power!!!! Oh! OH! OHHH!

LOL!

 

[Mako Shark II]

Did Tim Taylor ever build a Reef Tank?? The imagery is fabulous.