Sad Sad Day Without Power
 

A Sad Sad DAY,
I have been without power for about 30 hours out here in Langley, Lost both my clowns and a couple of chromis's. My anenome and my corals. I have taken the surviving fish out of the tank and into a big bucket and transported them to where there is power and I have the skimmer and heater going, I almost lost my Koran angel he is the only one that is looking a little shaky still. Disappointing to loose everything!

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. Its sounds like you guys are really getting pounded hard.

What happened to your power.

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/canada_weather_col

Strongly considering one of them power inverters from Crappy Tire for such a situation in the future.

That would have been nice to have, but we dont usually lose power often, it is suppose to be back on early morning tomorrow. So i will have to keep them in the bucket till then. Then start the rebuilding process of the corals.

I have a frag of xena and star palups if you want.:smile:

well, I had no power for over 48hrs, but luckily I have three different power packs / power inverters. So that got my tank through, but today I thought I would buy a nice cheap generator for any future power outtages.

Now, I realize that generators do not produce a proper sine wave but I asked this guy and he replied that it could run a TV etc. Perfect, would love to watch some TV and keep the tank happy. Well, I put the TV on the generator, everything looks good.. but then all of a sudden there is a fizzing.. oh and smoke.. oh.. Opps. TV is now gone! ... so is the DVD player. then the fan is gone that I was using to air out the now stinky room. I call up the guy who sold it too me. and he says " you can only use it on Analoge TV's" WTF!!! I asked him specificly. Sigh... getting my money back but that is it.

oh man
 

Chad
thats a bad story about a generator. Can you post the make and model that you bought so we all can learn what not to buy?

I feel your pane.

My power was only off for 15 hours and I worked all night long to keep even the slightest water circulation. By 12:30 my corals were well stressed and the fish were suffocating. I decided to spend the night with a turkey baster and a 2 liter juice container to try and keep even the slightest circulation. By 4:00 am it was looking pretty bad. I had 4 fish and 2 shrimp that looked like they were dead. I was desperate. My large majestic had lost all its colour and was laying lifeless on the sand. At 4:20 am the power came back on and within a half hour the majority of the fish and the corals were starting to show some life. By 8:00 am I started to take inventory thinking for the worst.
After all this I lost my Cherub Angel and a cleaner shrimp. Tonight the rest including the Majestic angel were looking like they will all make it.
I was extremely lucky and I will now as we all should develop a disaster plan hoping that we never need it.

krisalexander I have some soft corals that may help to get your tank back into the hobby.

Tom R

I appreciate the condolences, I have lost all fish now except my yellow tang, and two gobies. And all my frags of softies, I would definately appreciate some frags Rob that would be great. It will be acouple of days until I get everything back up and going, so i will send you a litte PM then, Thanks again

kris

Kris,

Give me a call when you're back in town. Sorry to hear about your losses man. I have 2 battery back ups, so if things go wrong, I'll plug in the powerheads on one & bring the other to my in-laws or my parents to keep it charged & just keep switching them out. Hopefully it won't ever come to that, but we lucked out in Burnaby & didn't have any outages here.

Anthony

Speaking of UPS's, ...and sorry for the hijack...., but where? can one get a simple UPS to plug, just that, a powerhead into....oh and a heater would be good too. All I seem to find are computer oriented UPS's that have unecessary fax, modem and USB port plug-ins. Anyone know where to get just a basic UPS?

EDIT: Oh...and my condolences on your losses. In my mind this is one of those things that we don't like to think about or don't prepare for. (I'm not). The "It'll never happen to me syndrome". Stories like these make me rethink that. Thanx for sharing.

Thanx much,

Sorry for your losses, that really sucks. I'm in Langley too and went without power for over 16 hours. It was a sleepless night and I thought I'd get up to a crashed system and all my fish dead but I got lucky and didn't lose anything. Any longer and it probably wouldn't have been pretty, it was cold in here. I guess I just got lucky.

Luckily, my power was only off for about 8 hours. After about 7 hours I plugged an inverter into the van and ran a powerhead and a 100 w heater. By this point I was probably getting pretty tough to live with :redface: Seems to be no end to the stuff I have to buy for this hobby!! Now I have to buy a generator.

I bought my battery packs from Canadian Tire. Its the ones you can use to jumpstart your car. Works great for that too:biggrin:

Hi Anthony

Have you tested the back on your system to see how long it would run a pump and heater for.

Tom R

Yikes, we had a some client's tanks with no power but luckily two of them had a generator to hook up to. We are not sure how long the power was out on the other tank, but everything seems to have pulled through with only minor stress. Its a good reason to stock the tanks lightly!

If people cant afford one of those back-up power supplies, I suggest hunting down some battery-powered air pumps. I know you can get them at Petcetra. They are noisy as hell but will provide airation and flow to a tank in time of need.

:)
-Diana

I bought the big Battery pack from Canadian tire as well, the one with the wheels, unfortunately I cannot find it on their website. Anyways.. I was running a Tunze 6060 on it for over 12 hrs and it only dropped 1 notch on the power scale. So.. it was a beauty! I didn't use it for the heater as the heater just sucks up the juice. Instead I swapped out 3 large zip lock bags of hot hot water every 1 hr or so. Kept my temp at 80 the entire 48 hrs of this mess.

My regards to those that lost stuff. My tank seems good.. a few stressed corals maybe.. but my tank is doing crappy as it is.

Good news is I fixed my TV and the DVD players seems to be just a fuse. I tested the generator at work today with a volt meter, was producing over 220volts at one point. So, needless to say.. stay away from the D & J power - DJ950 generators.. They say there is a regulator on it, but if there is its not working.

Hopefuly the guy I bought it from pulls through and gives my money back.. Looking to get a Honda Generator now.

Is this it?

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/pr...romSearch=true

It's not a UPS however, is it? In other words....one has to be there to "fire" it up, correct? It's not an automatic reserve that is otherwise passive to the house circuitry?

Thanx much,

Test
 

OK Chad and Anthony
I propose each of you conduct tests with your respective Canadian Tire bought units and use your most efficient powerhead in terms of power consumption and water movement (aka Tunze) and give everyone an approximate time that the charge lasted to keep the powerhead running. Things to note should be something like as follows:
Power Unit - model and make
Powerhead used - model, make, watts rating
Length of time - hours and minutes

If you could do the test for us and let us know the results.
I also know the battery pack unit that Anthony has can be recharged by plugging into the cigarette lighter. If you could let us know how long it takes to charge it up with the cigarette lighter.

Unfortunately I sold my Tunze (too powerful for 3' long tanks). I have Seio 1500s, but I think I would plug in my 4.5w Hagen Maxima air pumps for the fw & the Seios (26w) or Maxijets (20w) on the sw. I also have another spare Maxima so if it looks like a long outage, I'll plug that in instead for circulation. Our central heating system is natural gas so hopefully that will still work & I won't need to worry about temperature.

My Motomaster Eliminator is the 300 amp version, not the 1200 amp like Chad's. I think for you guys (Chin & TomR), the 1200 amp version would be best, but I got mine on special (1/2 price) so that's why I went with the 300 amp one. I also had another small battery pack & I will be picking up the battery operated air pumps for back up to my back up:biggrin:

Chin, if you want to test it out on your Tunze, you're welcome to borrow it.

Anthony

Yes, that is the one. No, it is not a UPS. However, my friend is making a little device for me, so that it is a UPS. I will have my Tunze connected to it for any future power outages, the supply will simply switch when the power disconnects and disconnect when the power is restored. A few dollars in parts.. for worry free reefkeeping :)

I also use a smaller Eliminator Power Box, and a 300w Inverter that I used with my Deep Cell boat battery. I am pretty well prepared. So long as someone is home to connect stuff.

Chin, I will run a test and see how long it lasts. I meant to do that test a while ago but forgotten about it.

FYI, its not worth hooking up a heater, they will drain the battery quickly. The hot bags of water was perfect. Of course, I had a gas heater so.

Finally Power is back on! After over 60 hours of no power. I took this opportunity to change my substrate, so i now have a 1.5 inch fine sand substrate which is much better than my crushed coral substrate. But going to the LFS really brightened up my take on the incodent. I will start the building process soon! I still have my Blue Linkia Star and my pink and blue spotted shrimp gobie.(but no shrimp). I appreciate the ideas of this thread. Anthony I will give you a call I am coming back to town tomorrow.

KRis

I'm thinking of getting this thing:

http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/pr...romSearch=true

For that price I would just buy a used Honda Generator. Atleast then you are set for a while :) plus the honda ones are nice and quiet.. so not so bad.. tho that does look nice.

i got 5 hours out of a cheap 3min computer back up runnign just airstones and hot water bags the cheaper version of that one (last 12 hours - running a fridge) will probably last like 24 running a powerhead or practicaly forever with a air pump (unless i'm wrong about air pumps barrly using any power ?)

Kyle

Yeah, there's a cheaper version of the same thing for just under $200. I've actually seen it on special a couple times for even a little cheaper. Could probably run a couple of powerhead or even an efficient return pump for days. But I'd probably want to hook up the fridge to it as well since there's nothing else to do during a power outage other than to sit around drinking beer. =)

any update
 

Hi Chad
any update to this testing? that unit looks like a monster.

There is always the possibility of lengthy power outages no matter where you live. I happen to live in a rural area that quite frequently experiences power outages. With the amount of $ I have invested in my systems it would just be silly not to have a plan for power loss.
I bought a Honda 3000is generator a couple of years ago now and it is sufficient to run all my Tunzes, heaters and return pumps on my big systems. I have battery powered air pumps for my small systems and if need be could always move my livestock to my larger systems or to one bucket with a small powerhead.
This generator is very very quiet, electric start (I hate pulling cords on stuff like this) and I have had so much use out of it for multiple applications. I think I have only actually had to use it twice for power outage but I have used it for camping - for powering lights when I had to do some fence repair and also for running TV, lights etc. for a little log cabin I have on my place. My son has also borrowed it a few times to run lights on thier soccer/rugby field (obviously not serious games that require stadium lighting - just enough to see shadows and be sure to find the beer cooler). He of course knows that if I phone or he knows the power is out he has to pull out his Clark Kent outfit to get the generator back home.

yup, I am looking into getting the Honda EU1000 or 2000. I am of the very same mind set, how can we have +1000$ systems and play russian roulette when it comes to power. Since day 1, I've had some sort of power backup plan. It has slowly been changing to the point that I will now get a generator, for my peace of mind and so I can watch TV or use the computer!! :D .

Chin, I have not tested it yet. Since we have still been experiencing some weird weather I am a bit hesitant to drain this puppy. But no worries. This week it shall be done and I will post the results. The unit is actualy not all that big. Its tucked neatly beside my tank.

Anyone considering a a honda 2000 might want to check out this thread:
http://thesqueakywheel.com/complaint...plaint8000.cfm. This guy is having a really bad day.

Doug

Interesting. Actualy I have been doing some research and may pick up a Kipor generator instead. They are one of the best at manufacturing generators.

I am surprised at his comment though with the Honda, I have heard only good things up till now. One of the most reliable generators out there.

We had about 7 or 8 Honda generators at the fishfarm I worked at near Powell River & we all swear by them. They were on floating farm sites out on the Lake with only a plywood box (with an open front) protecting them from the water & weather. Very rarely had any problems with them & we used them all the time to charge the batteries for the auto. feeders. And those were the old ones using pull cord starters.

Anthony

Funny, I was reading this thread yesterday, and then my power went out last night at 10. I got up 4 times through the night to give my tank a little stir. By the time I got back from first morning practice (I am a full time athlete and cannot skip practice), the temperature in my suite was down to 11 degrees C and my tank was at 67 degrees F. So I got out my campstove and heated up water and put it on a drip back into the tank. Did that about 10 times with a gallon each time and managed to get the temperature back up near normal. When the power came back on 20 hours later the few corals I have all seemed to be okay, a few in rough shape, but all my fish seemed to have made it (only one really showing any trauma).

A backup power source would defiantly have made my life a lot easier. And without the campstove maneuver I don't think that much would have made it through.

Sorry double post

Boy I have never had any problem with my Honda - even starts in -30 with no problems. I would not hesitate to buy another one and in fact may buy a bigger one so I can run more "stuff". I live in a rural area so if I buy a bigger one I don't have to worry about noise. The 3000 that I have is very quiet so is great for camping etc. and would work well in a city but I wouldn't mind going bigger.

[quote= So I got out my campstove and heated up water and put it on a drip back into the tank. .[/QUOTE]

Good idea, but I hope you were doing this outside or had good ventillation to avoid a buildup of CO (carbon monoxide) in your place. A few people have gone to hospital or died from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Doug

While I do not expect my power to go off on a regular basis I feel as a Reef Keeper with an investment of 1000's you must have some kind of back up plan. I looked into the Battery Back Up idea and the Canadian Tire Power Kits and my major concern was as always with batteries they are dead or dying when you need them ( 3 years later). I looked into the Honda and Yamaha generators and they are very expensive $1000 to $3000. I saw an ad for the Army & Navy and they had a gas generator made in China 950W for $169. I to a look at my circulation pump an AMP Master 3000 and it only uses 143W through in a 250W heater and this should do the job. I can also use it when I go camping. Is this the answer to my DISASTER PLAN I don't know, but it is certainly a start.

Sorry to hear Kris, I lost a lot of fish/corals from heat about 6 years ago, for some reason my basement temp went through the roof and my tank cooked. I got out of the hobby after than but am trying to get back into it now. Best of luck.

Doug

I have a Honda EU 1000 and have used it extensively for camping for the past 3 yrs and I just finished using it to keep my Hammerhead recirc pump operational for the last three hours of no power...works great and the oil and gas are separate. I have metered it and it has never gone over 117 Volts.
Mike