Power outage

[Droneshooter]

Lost power at 5am now 10:30pm have a mixed reef and the water is now down in the low 60s what can I do to try and save my tank

 

[jbarre03]

You can get a power converter and car battery to run the equipment. Cost you around 100 bucks and found at either Lowes or Home Depot. I keep one for back up in case something like that would ever happen.

 

[ezy33]

Warm open bottles of tank or RO water cap them and drop them into the tank to slowly bring the temperature up. Wrap your than to insulate it with blankets or towels. Stir the water to keep it moving and oxygenated. Good Luck!

 

[Budaman]

I used to put a blanket over my tank or most of it, when and if I lost power. It helped maintain the temp for longer.

 

[Jmkb02]

If you still have gas, maybe try and boil some tank water or rodi water. Pour it in slowly. Also cover your tank and wrap it in towels, it should help it to stay from getting cooler. Other than that if day buy a generator or get a hold of one.

 

[dmolavi]

Floating water bottles does little to raise the temp, but it can hold the temp steady (I found this out yesterday when I lost power). Boiling tank water, or RO water to top off is your best bet, just be *super* careful when adding it. Depending on the size of the tank, you may not need to boil it, just bring it up to 90-100F so that the tank temp increases slowly.

Heaters kill UPS batteries, so either an inverter for the heaters, or a generator, are the only things that will keep a tank alive through the long run.

 

[ezy33]

As a short term back up a computer UPS ( uninterrupted power supply ) will work short term. Depending how large it is and how many watts you draw from it it could keep you running for several hours. For longer outages a inverter or generated will be needed. I use a 1000 watt inverter and my boat battery's or car battery in a long term outage. During a outage I'll run only the heater and a small return pump.
Good luck!

 

[dmolavi]

Like I said, a UPS will be drained in under an hour with a heater running. I have a 1500VA UPS, and a 75W heater in my 20G tank. When the heater is on, I get ~45 minutes out of the battery.

 

[Holygral]

UPS are a total waste to run a heater, they will run a ph for 3-4 hours, the only practical solution for power outage is a generator, so it is just like everything else in running a reef, a required piece of equipment, the only difference is the side benefit of power to your house.

 

[Gregcoyote]

You can use a larger inverter (2000-3000 watts) connected to your car engine. Car has to sit and idle, but that's better than losing everything. Cars also start easier and more dependably than any generator will. Otherwise be sure to use a fuel additive and start the generator at least every 30 days and let it run 5 minutes. Keeps the jets clear. I am in emergency management and we obviously use generators all the time, big ones, little ones. Honda makes the best consumer generators by far. EU2000 is a deluxe one to use. I have a Chinese built diesel generator in my garage that will power the whole house including the reef. But it weights a ton and a half. Diesel doesn't go flat like gas does, so with a trickle charger on the battery it has been very dependable, if not quiet.

 

[dmolavi]

Did you put stacks on it to get the exhaust out of your garage?

 

[Gregcoyote]

Yes. That's what's what I did.

 

[huma-huma]

darn it! i thought the stacks were a performance addition!
in all seriousness, if you are going to buy a generator, esp one you plan to keep and possibly power your fridge or a space heater in addition to your tank, go diesel. not only does diesel fuel not settle like gasoline, but diesel generators tend to hold their output ratings better than gasoline. (prob due to much lower and more linear torque curve in the motor)

 

[dmolavi]

Finding diesel *portable* gennies is harder than it sounds. Not many places carry them, and those that do are $$$.

 

[Holygral]

My gas 3500 watt generated, starts every time with one pull, by the time you depend the money on a large inverter, and run your car for 4-8 hours, consider the gas your car will burn and the engine wear, its cheaper and more convenient to have a stand by generator. My 3500 watt powers 90% of my house. I also installed a transfer switch so, plug it in outside and throw a few breakers inside and power to the most of my house. I use stabilize in the fuel and fire it up every few months

 

[Gregcoyote]

That's the preferred way to go, but many don't get their act together to do it right. It is also fairly costly. But losing a tank full of fish and coral is worse. My biggest danger is I am not home when the power fails. Would like to have one of those auto start systems that runs on natural gas but again, lots of bucks. It's on my Xmas list.

 

[Holygral]

Its more the cost of having them installed, the price of the units is double and then 50% more for installation, so they end up being 3-4 times the cost of a stand by. But it sure would be nice

 

[Jmkb02]

Something the wife and I have agreed on is a whole home generator that runs on natural gas. We had rolling blackouts a few years ago and got tired of them. I have a honda 2500 that does pretty good, but taking it out of the 5th wheel and setting everything up plus bringing it up the driveway is a pain. Works but def gonna do the whole home gen in the next year. Just gotta figure out how to run the important stuff only when power goes out.

 

[jbarre03]

My inverter is 500W and battery is 300 CCA and it runs my 38 gallon with light heater and return pump for about 6 hours. If the battery would die just take it out and recharge it with your vehicle.

 

[Jmkb02]

Some of these larger tanks may not get that long of a charge because of the pull, but I'm curious if you were to maybe stack them...