Powerloss question

[Agnate80700]

With a reef tank in mind...

Say you have a power failure (summer thunderstorm lets say.) About how long would the tank be ok with the power out?

 

[tecwzrd]

What size tank and how much stock? Oxygen is the major concern and that starts to be an issue around 6+ hours and if overstocked could be an issue in as little as 2-4 hours.

Lighting isn't an issue till after a week of power outage as long as you can keep the tank circulated. Typically power isn't out longer than a couple of hours in most places unless it's an ice/snow storm or hurricane related.

Do you have a backup plan?

 

[Frogspawn]

i went out last year and got a PC battery back up. for when the power goes out i have my surge protector routed through that so when a power outage occurs its switchs automatically. u can get cheap ones. from wal-mart or circut city. the bigger ones are more $ but i see it as its a small price to pay for all the stuff i have in my tank.
but i think dr.fostrsmith.com sells some cool stuff to help out.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

HTH

 

[roka64]

I only have 1 ph hooked up to mine. Forget about hooking up a heater, it will suck the juice out really quickly.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

If you hook up a battery backup to your tank, think about the GFIC implications I mention in this thread...

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=90677&highlight=ups

Short story - make sure you have a GFI on the outlet side of your backup power supply or you might be in for a surprise if your GFI outlet back at your wall trips out, (the one your battery backup is plugged in to) and then your battery backup kicks in! 8O

 

[Ziggy953]

Thanks for sharing that again!

As for the power outage issue it is best to have a pump that uses very little power on your backup system, what ever that may be. I faced this problem on Monday with the storms that came through my area. I was without power from 6:10am to 5:45pm. I was lucky that heating the water wasn't a problem as I heat with a wood stove. My problem was the water movement. I do not have a battery back up (UPS) system yet, so I had to imporvise. I used a car batter with a 12v converter that I was able to plug one pump into and ran it for the majority of the time the power was off. As has been stated heating and lighting are 2 things that aren't as important as water movement! I WILL be buying a UPS system for my tank so I don't have to worry again!

 

[roka64]

I have my ph hooked up to my excercise bike! LOL! Sorry, that is not true, but I just couldn't resist.