Emergency Measures to use NOW for Power Outages for your Saltwater Aquarium

[Chiefmcfuz]

FYI Stan and Deb had this to say:

http://saltaquarium.about.com/b/2008/06/06/are-you-ready-for-a-power-outage.htm

 

[daisy]

for the time when you're home and awake, though, you could give the batteries a rest and just scoop water out of the tank and dump it back in - it cools the water, as Kathy said, and it provides tons of oxygen exchange as it not only breaks the surface tension (CRITICAL) but also infuses the tank water with big bubbles (particularly if you dump the water fast from high up)

in about 30 hours with no power a few summers ago, I floated frozen RO/DI water and did the scooping of water out and dumping it back in every 20 minutes. I went 30 to 40 minutes during the night (that was painful!) but didn't lose fish or softies (that was before LPS for me...)

 

[carpediem212]

Thanks KathyC

 

[House of Laughter]

or you can do what i did a few years ago and take out your 18v drill, a 1" paddle drill bit and duct tape a wooden spatula or spoon to it, tape the trigger 1/2 way down and put that into your reef.

i got about 4 hours out of a full battery charge and had to precariously perch the drill so that it didn't fall into the reef -so, be careful.

I also have 2 batteries if needed

house

 

[rgun2515]

UPS and Generator is the way to go. Wednesday I lost power for about 20 hrs.



It went out at 9:00 Tuesday night. At that time I setup a Hydor Koralia 4 in a APC UPS 1500 pointed towards the top of the tank. That lasted all night. Wednesday when I saw the power was not back up, setup the Generator. That ran till 4:00 before I got power back.



After power was restored, I did a 20% water change just to be sure. Everything made it with no problems...

Home Depot has small inexpensive ones for camping if you don't have the room.

 

[Domboski]

Thanks for the reminder Kathy! I bought 4 heavy duty battery operated air pumps for my tanks.

 

[mray]

I found this interesting solar powered air pump on ebay that is relatively cheap considering the cost of a battery powered one. I was wondering if anyone here has one.

 

[KathyC]

I found this interesting solar powered air pump on ebay that is relatively cheap considering the cost of a battery powered one. I was wondering if anyone here has one.

Do you have a link to the item?
Interesting thought but I'd be concerned about how long it would hold a charge and you'd be up a creek if the sun wasn't out and it needed charging.
For the price of the battery operated units, I'd certainly feel safer with a supply of those rather than depend on the sun to be shining

Keep those ideas coming..we've just started summertime officially!

 

[mray]

Here you go: http://cgi.ebay.com/Solar-Fish-Aqua...ryZ20507QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I don't know how many people keep their tanks near a window so I doubt this is useful. If your tank happens to be near sunlight you can run this during the day and save your battery powered one for when the sun goes down.

 

[gimincorp]

Here you go: http://cgi.ebay.com/Solar-Fish-Aqua...ryZ20507QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I don't know how many people keep their tanks near a window so I doubt this is useful. If your tank happens to be near sunlight you can run this during the day and save your battery powered one for when the sun goes down.

I would want to buy one, can someone ask him what is the air pump rated (Wts)? - I don't have my secure ID on me today... :grumpy:
I can buy more than one so we can save on shipping! I'm on Manhattan near GCT 5 days a week!
Anyone?

 

[mray]

EDIT

Ok, I just read that the wire is 10ft long and the air line is 7 ft long so it would work. It might just be worth it because if it is large enough to oxygenate a pond then it should be enough.

 

[stdreb27]

There are alot of places to get power from when there is no power. Ultimately a generator is the way to go. But if you don't have 300 bucks to pick one up. (before hand) the pouring water method isn't bad. If nothing else, pull the battery out of your car. Run your stuff, let it run down, then drive around a bit to recharge your battery. (if you have a boat battery even better, the deep cycle batteries are designed to be charged up run down then charged back up)
I lost power for 2 day in houston for some big spring thunder storm. Depending on your tank size, the ice stuff might work, for me it didn't 2 -2 liter bottles of water lasted an hour and didn't lower the temp in my tank. (think about how much ice you put in your soft drink...) That (especially in a heat wave can kill your tank faster than keeping it oxygenated.) If you can wrap a blanket around your tank. And run some fans to get the evap up and lower your water temp.

 

[Paul B]

My 3 SCUBA tanks could provide airation for my reef for a few days.
I have used them many times before I had a generator.
You could get a used SCUBA tank fairly cheap and it's about $15.00 to fill it.
Or you could borrow one from a diver. You do need a preasure regulator though which I made from an old SCUBA regulator.

 

[ShaunW]

An extra chiller would have only saved my latest reef related problem, .

Every summer I take a step backwards, my beautiful tank took an unfortunate hit when my chiller died and it took 2 months to fix.

 

[georgelc86]

You can also take a booster pack for your car battery and attach a power inverter to the booster pack, the kind you plug into the cig lighter on the vehicle and that should give you some power until something with a little more juice is available. But it should at least run an air pump and a powerhead to get that oxygen to those corals. Some of these packs have 600 amps of jumper so they should buy some time if your in a pinch. Its also useful for the car when your stranded and a power inverter is useful if you need to charge a cell phone a lot while in your car.

 

[masterswimmer]

You can get the power inverters for $35-$$$$ depending on the amount of wattage (not amps) and how 'clean' the electricity is. I've got this setup and its proven invaluable in a pinch. I highly recommend a deep cycle marine battery. It'll hold the charge a lot longer than a standard car battery.

swimmer

 

[mray]

Gas generators are about $200. I think it's worth if especially if people are willing to pay $300+ for chillers.

 

[masterswimmer]

Gas generators are about $200. I think it's worth if especially if people are willing to pay $300+ for chillers.

Totally agree....however, lots of MR members live in apartments in and around NYC that don't permit gas engines even on terraces.

swimmer

 

[georgelc86]

Just a thought, my setup is really meant for quick fix not for a long term blackout solution.

 

[KathyC]

With the expected storm coming up the East Coast on Saturday, it's a good idea to re-read some of the suggestions in this thread.

While it was originally started as a thread for heatwave emergencies, power interruptions from high winds will also leave us with the same challenges.

Today would be a good time to fill up a few empty soda bottles (with water of course..) and get them into your freezer (Sunday is supposed to be warm again!).
Check the batteries that you purchased earlier this summer for your battery driven air pumps, and pick up an extra set.
Make sure your UPS is fully charged, if you have one.
Squeeze in a quick water change today so that your parameteres are in order and your oxygen levels are at their best.

Remember, if you only have a limited amount of power available to you, the MOST important thing to concentrate on is getting oxygen into your DT and creating gas exchange at the surface of the water. Even if it means isolating your DT from your sump.

If you have a canister filter on your system and you lose power, you MUST empty the contents completely before you restart your system or the dead bacteria in that canister can easily wipe out your tank.