A discussion on protecting your tank during power outage.

[stingythingy45]

With hurricane/tropical storm season as well as that odd, but possible Oct. snow storm that can happen.
Have you taken precaustions to make sure you can go at least 3 days to a week without power?

I know a few people that lost everything and were so discouraged they dropped completely out of the hobby.
It's a terrible thing to go through watching live stock dying slowly from no heat or loss of aeration.
I know,went through it years ago with a freshwater tank.

I personally have 2 small 800-1200 watt peak generators.I picked one up for short money off Craigslist.
The other I bought from Harbor Freight.I also have a 800 watt inverter and a Silent air battery powered air pump.
I've made it through a couple 3-4 day power outages during the last tropical storm(Irene) and the Oct. snow storm.
Not fun,but way better when the tank is being powered despite no electricity.

So,next time you're looking to spend big bucks on a coral.You might want to use that money to beef up your(SHTF) precaustions.
And keep the live stock and your investment safe.

 

[nemodan]

I though about this a lot before going again into the hobby this year. At this moment it is not bothering me the generator issue, because I got a new one last year. I have 2 nano tanks (12 and 14 G) so the generator has more than enough power to run the items I have set-up to be run by the generator and these 2 small tanks equipment.

What is bothering me is how much time our live stock can survive till you are at home to plug the generator. Let say it take me 8 hours from the moment a lost in power happens and I know about it at my return to home. Will coral survive 8 hours ?

What Bob wrote at the end is so true. We spent so much money on lights, corals, equipment to keep all under control (apex, RKL, etc) and the generator cost me $850. Yes, it is money, but if I compare it vs the money I spent in those 2 nano tank, it was cheap

 

[dz6t]

I use computer UPS power supply to run Seio and Maxijet to circulate water.
The good old Seio and MAxijet works very well with cheap computer UPS power supplies that do not generate true sine wave.
I though about a generator and it should be a better solution for long period of power outage.

 

[dz6t]

I though about this a lot before going again into the hobby this year. At this moment it is not bothering me the generator issue, because I got a new one last year. I have 2 nano tanks (12 and 14 G) so the generator has more than enough power to run the items I have set-up to be run by the generator and these 2 small tanks equipment.

What is bothering me is how much time our live stock can survive till you are at home to plug the generator. Let say it take me 8 hours from the moment a lost in power happens and I know about it at my return to home. Will coral survive 8 hours ?

What Bob wrote at the end is so true. We spent so much money on lights, corals, equipment to keep all under control (apex, RKL, etc) and the generator cost me $850. Yes, it is money, but if I compare it vs the money I spent in those 2 nano tank, it was cheap

You can use a computer UPS to keep the tanks running for 8 hours before you get a chance to start the generator.

I also though about a solar panel, but worry that a solar panel will be useless during a storm, is it correct?

 

[LoveTheReef]

Corals and fish can survive 8 hours without lights and circulation easy. Think about it ... they spend a lot more time in a bag when getting shipped. There is a minute possibility that your corals might get unhappy and start producing slime etc ... shouldn't be too bad though. As long as the temperature doesn't drop or rise drastically you should be alright for 8 hours

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[JohnK]

For everyone who is a little overwhelmed at the thought of spending many hundreds on a generator for their fish tank there is a very inexpensive back up device that will turn on automatically and can save the day;
http://www.amazon.com/Silent-Series-Battery-Operated-Aquarium/dp/B000256502

 

[this is me]

Generator is best!
UPS is better than nothing but don't plan on running your return pump, your heater, or your metal halide.

 

[mchartier]

I lost my 90 with the Oct ice storm a few years ago. Since then I have a my system plugged into UPS that can run my whole system for 3 hours (6 at night with no lights). I also have the battery operated air stones (B11s I believe) and a small generator. Last year I made it thru a full week with no power with no losses.I would run on UPS then plug the UPS in the generator to charge the battery.

 

[stingythingy45]

One thing about those "Silent"air from Pennplax.
They're not so silent.

I would suggest getting extra hose with the pump.I ran my B10 down in the fishroom and snaked the hose up through the floor next to my overflow(basement sump).
That way I could run the pump all night without keeping everybody in the house awake.

John makes a good point.Those battery powered pumps can last a long,long time on just a D cell battery.Short money for some reassurance.
I keep a 4 pack of D cells and the pump in my stand.

 

[dz6t]

Corals and fish can survive 8 hours without lights and circulation easy. Think about it ... they spend a lot more time in a bag when getting shipped. There is a minute possibility that your corals might get unhappy and start producing slime etc ... shouldn't be too bad though. As long as the temperature doesn't drop or rise drastically you should be alright for 8 hours

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2nd that, that is a very good point Archit.

 

[STiTCH87]

I have an airstone pump with line split one to my sump one to my DT that runs off a battery set to run at moment of power outtage.
I also have a battery powered fan and a mini propane tank powered space room heater that's safe for indoor use.
All 3 things cost me under $100 total and keep me covered year round.

 

[jarrodsanborn]

Corals and fish can survive 8 hours without lights and circulation easy. Think about it ... they spend a lot more time in a bag when getting shipped. There is a minute possibility that your corals might get unhappy and start producing slime etc ... shouldn't be too bad though. As long as the temperature doesn't drop or rise drastically you should be alright for 8 hours

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IMO, its not the coral, and fish that are the problem, but the whole tank. When the power goes out, that's a lot of life consuming O2. The fish just get the short end of the stick.

The harbor freight 800w generator is $90 on sale,
battery air pumps are $15
125w car inverter+50' extension is $75.
So many cheap options, its worth it, whether you believe its mandatory or not, just to be safe

 

[LoveTheReef]

IMO, its not the coral, and fish that are the problem, but the whole tank. When the power goes out, that's a lot of life consuming O2. The fish just get the short end of the stick.

The harbor freight 800w generator is $90 on sale,
battery air pumps are $15
125w car inverter+50' extension is $75.
So many cheap options, its worth it, whether you believe its mandatory or not, just to be safe

I absolutely agree I myself have a 8000w generator (I think ... could be 6000w) that I purchased last year to be on the safe side

I was simply stating that the tank can survive for 8 hours without lights or flow ... it's not the ideal thing, but it's not something that should give you a panic attack ... that's all

 

[Flame Angel]

This discussion is great! I wish someone would take time to break this out into bullet points and we could have it posted as a sticky on the forum for others.

Maybe it is worth having Greg Hiller or someone else give a detailed disaster recovery plan that would include a list of fixes to keep on hand.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Some times you need not spend big money when there are easy cost effective short cuts all around you.

 

[wdebenedettojr]

The livestock in a tank should have no ill effect up until the 8-12 hour range depending on bio load. Like Archit said, these animals are transported at crazy temps/altitudes for a full day and come in alive. Back to my days of working at a fish store for 6 years I was shocked at first when I saw the amount of water damsels, shrimps, urchins, crabs, snails among other things are shipped in, hardly any at all. Best thing to do is get battery powered air pumps with air stones and put them on the tank. Also you can take tin foil and wrap the glass of the aquarium with it to keep the tank warm if there is a power outage in winter months. I had the power in my tank be out for 3 full days before my parents (I was 16 and in high school at the time, lol) bought a generator and everything lived! The tank got down to about 58 degrees at the lowest point but it was a gradual temperature decrease and the fish slowed down naturally a lot after a while with no water movement to conserve oxygen and energy.

 

[STiTCH87]

There was a meeting in Taunton last year on disaster prevention. ;-) Or was that early this year? I forget. Time goes by too fast.

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