power outages

[donkey77]

what does everybody do if theres a power outage, and it doesn't come back on for a few hours,

[Reef Pilot]

I use an inverter battery box (the kind you can buy from Canadian Tire) to power in-tank pumps on and off, and a heater. Had this carry on for almost 24 hours once, a couple years ago with no ill effects. Having a canopy and covered tanks help keep the heat in.

[mike31154]

I have two battery operated air pumps that automatically kick in when the power goes. And although I use VorTechs for water movement, I don't have the battery backups for them. I've been meaning to rig something up with an old car battery, just haven't got around to it. It's pretty simple really & I have the little connector that goes to the backup connection on the controller. I guess because I'm not away that much and when I am my daughter looks in on the tank every day, I don't need anything too complex capable of running things longer term during an outage.

In the almost 7 years the tank has been running, I've only experienced several outages lasting more than a couple of hours & I was usually home for those. There have been plenty of short outages, come home to all the digital clocks flashing, but that's not an issue for the tank. The gfci outlets running my pumps & lights generally don't trip so when the power comes back, everything starts up normally.

There was a longer outage about 5 years ago where I had to pull the battery out of my car, hook up an inverter to run essential items like a pump, heater a few lights & my skimmer. Some day soon I'm going to have solar panels & a battery bank to supplement the power in my home. I already have a small wind generator, but haven't installed that yet either.

[reef-keeper]

I have a generator.

[mseepman]

Whole Home Generator here. It was way cheaper than I thought it would be and it powers my cold food storage too along with my furnace and a couple key lights throughout the house.

[globaldesigns]

generator, this way fully operational on tank and can use on home stuff also if needed.

[jagermaier]

Oxygen is the biggest concern for power outage so I have my mp40's on a Vortech battery back up. Temp won't drop fast enough to worry about as the fish and corals will adjust.

[Reef Pilot]

Oxygen is the biggest concern for power outage so I have my mp40's on a Vortech battery back up. Temp won't drop fast enough to worry about as the fish and corals will adjust.
Depends on time of year. Where we live, power outages tend to happen in late fall and winter, and the house will cool more quickly. 5 or 6 hours is no big deal, but after 12 hours there could be harm to your livestock, especially your fish. So you will definitely want to operate your heater after 5 hours, IMO.

That's why I like a battery inverter, to operate pumps (intermittent and low setting) and heaters. And it has enough capacity for 12 hours and more, depending on what you have. I can add an RV battery (or car battery) to mine to more than quadruple its capacity if I need to. I had to go through this a couple years ago, when our power was out for more than 24 hours. Everything survived just fine, and fish and corals did not suffer in the slightest.

I actually use this equipment during the summer at our lake cabin, charged by our solar panels. Then I just bring it home in the fall, and use it as a power back-up for my reef tanks. So no extra cost for me.

[jagermaier]

Depends on time of year. Where we live, power outages tend to happen in late fall and winter, and the house will cool more quickly. 5 or 6 hours is no big deal, but after 12 hours there could be harm to your livestock, especially your fish. So you will definitely want to operate your heater after 5 hours, IMO.

That's why I like a battery inverter, to operate pumps (intermittent and low setting) and heaters. And it has enough capacity for 12 hours and more, depending on what you have. I can add an RV battery (or car battery) to mine to more than quadruple its capacity if I need to. I had to go through this a couple years ago, when our power was out for more than 24 hours. Everything survived just fine, and fish and corals did not suffer in the slightest.

I actually use this equipment during the summer at our lake cabin, charged by our solar panels. Then I just bring it home in the fall, and use it as a power back-up for my reef tanks. So no extra cost for me.

Obviously for long outages especially in winter heat becomes a concern. Water retains heat fairly well so if you cover your top so should be good for most power outages that are only a few hours long. I have yet to experience a power loss longer than that!

[reef-keeper]

I went to a generator after we had a 16 hour power outage. That was 10 years ago and haven't had a power outage since. KNOCK ON WOOD!!!

[toxic111]

if I am home.. the 4Runner has a 120 outlet.. I have ran the entire system off it no problem.

If I am not home, well hopefully not more than a couple hours.

[Midway]

Generator here. That thing is powerful, 4.5 HP I bought it new and cheap from someone that needed some quick cash. I think its worth it to have some of those when you have a lot of $$$$ invested in fish and corals. You never know when one of those long outages are gonna hit. Here in Calgary we don't have that many power outages at least in the area where I live but like I said before, you never know. Better safe that sorry.

[Craigdillman]

I use an inverter battery box (the kind you can buy from Canadian Tire) to power in-tank pumps on and off, and a heater. Had this carry on for almost 24 hours once, a couple years ago with no ill effects. Having a canopy and covered tanks help keep the heat in.

Do you have a name of the thing you use ive been looking for one and their are couple to choose from ?

[Reef Pilot]

Do you have a name of the thing you use ive been looking for one and their are couple to choose from ?
I have the predecessor older model to this one.
http://www.canadiantire.ca/AST/browse/4/Auto/SolarPortablePower/PowerPacks/PRDOVR~0112014P/MotoMaster+Eliminator+800A+Powerbox.jsp?locale=en
If you wait for a good sale in the fall, they are sometimes 1/2 price or less. I think I paid $99 for mine, but that was a quite a few years ago. Comes with battery cable hook-up (very important feature), so you can add extra capacity (like your car battery).

There are many similar brands and sizes to choose from other sources, and less money. Much more competition now with these.

[Craigdillman]

ok thanks! good to know never thought of the adding battery feature

[Craigdillman]

http://www.duracellpower.com/backup-power/power-packs/powerpack-600.aspx

Was looking at this one but the moto master might be a bit cheaper

[donkey77]

wow great responses
thanks everyone

[neoh]

what do I do in the event of a power outage?

panic of course.

Generators are good to have. They are kind of like a gun. It's better to have one and not need it, then to need one and not have it.

[Son Of Skyline]

I use an air pump powered by two D batteries and an air stone. Moves a surprising amount of water in my 36" 70gal tank when I drop the stone right in the centre of the tank.

[kien]

I picked up one of these little portable generators from Canadian Tire.

http://i1002.photobucket.com/albums/af144/muzanji/A6DB68B8-53C6-4B96-90B6-69C2B2AA6575-5379-00000718DDA454DA_zps63ad458d.jpg

My advice to everyone who plans to have a tank long term is to definitely get one. DO NOT wait until you NEED one to get one. I got extremely lucky but chances are that if you're out looking for one when you NEED one, there are probably dozens if not hundreds of people doing the exact same thing! It wasn't that expensive either, $399 for a 1200/1500 watt generator. That was a small price to pay compared to the cost of replacing my entire tank!

Something else that helped me recently was a 1200watt UPS battery backup. Also very handy and recommended.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Yup, have a generator in my closet & even got one for my father-in-law. Also have a UPS and a couple of battery packs from CT.

Anthony