power outage

[corbett_n]

My power has been out for 24 hours now, what can I do to save my tank. The electric company should have the power back on hopefully by tonight.

 

[barbra]

If you can keep your temp in check then next work on circulation...in worst case remove large glasses/pitchers/buckets of water and pour them back in to create movement and facilitate oxygenation and gas exchange.

 

[barbra]

Also - try not to let it get the best of you. It can be horrible to watch so much hard work teeter on the brink of disaster. Whatever happens is going to happen, just do your best because no amount of fretting is going to alter things.

 

[rsw686]

Go buy an inverter from the local store and an extension cord long enough to go from your vehicle to the tank. Since you have a 30gal tank the electrical load won't be that higher. From your sig your HOB filter and light look to take 100watts total. You probably also have a heater so say 200-300 watts.

Make sure to get an inverter that handles atleast 300 watts. Should cost around 50 bucks or less. If you don't feel like having to clip it directly to the battery make sure it is one that plugs into the cigarette lighter. The higher watt inverters mostly 700+ will pull too much power and blow the cigarette lighter fuse so they have to be directly on the battery.

I would recommended starting your vehicle every hour to keep the battery charged. Car batteries are not meant to be deep cycled and draining it too low will take life off of it.

However in my Jeep I have a 700watt directly wired to the battery and use it all the time with no ill effects.

To give you an idea of the load it will place on the battery 200 watts is around 17 amps draw from a 12 volt battery. Most vehicle alternators put out 60-100 amps, so if you kept the car running you would have no draw on the battery.

 

[markandkristen]

i would take a cup and every hour or so just fill it up with tank water and pour back in. as long as the room where the tank is around 70-85 you should be fine until tonight as far as temp.

 

[Lpabsolute]

Good Luck....I agree that the temp and water circulation are your biggest worries. The above info on circulation are good ideas. Again,....Good Luck

 

[drummereef]

RUN to your local PetsMart and buy a couple Penn Plax Silent Air Battery Operated Air Pump. Runs off of 2 D batteries. They will do an ok job with aeration/circulation. Heat is your other issue for sure.

 

[bunkerboy]

My power is off also, trees down in my yard, what a snowy mess... i am at work now wondering how my fish are doing. Bunker Bunghamton NY

 

[rickh]

Get the inverter.
Don't let the car battery totally discharge--it will kill it. I idled an old Civic for 24 hours several winters ago before I bought the GENERATOR.
If you are in this hobby you need a generator. Not a UPS, not deep cycle batteries and a inverter, a generator. Look at what you have invested in your tank in time and money. You need back up power. R

 

[rsw686]

The Honda EU series generators are one of the nicest portable units you can get. They have 1000, 2000, and 3000, 6500 watt models. They are quiet, generate dc and use an integrated sine wave inverter to convert that to AC. That means you get clean power, probably better than what you get from the power company. Most generators will either run at a set rpm as the rpm has to be divisible by 60 to get AC in 60Hz. With the Honda EU this doesn't matter since it is converting DC to AC. This also allows it to throttle up and down dependent on the load saving you money on gas.

1800 watts is what you can get from a 15A circuit in your house.

Heres the link for the 2000 watt model
http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/ModelDetail.asp?ModelName=eu2000i

 

[comfort_racing]

sounds like everyone hit it on the mark so i cant add anything, but Good Luck and i hope your tank survives.