Power Outage

[SaltyTemple]

Hey all,

I'm wondering about backups - it's getting to be that time of year in the NW when the wind is whistlin' and boughs are breaking (lost one in the yard today) so I'm wondering about what to do if the power goes out? I have a 125gal with 110lbs LR with around 15inches of fish. What do you think?

 

[Kensn]

I bought a small generator for the tank. Just need to keep my return pump going and the heater. Bought it last year when the power went out, and as soon as I got home and got the oil and gas in it, fired it up, plugged in an extension cord, and at that exact moment the power went back on. So it has all of 5 mins on it, but it is there if I need it.

Ken

 

[Krish]

Shauna, what do you have in your sump/refugium that might need power? I know some people just use their sumps for extra water volume and also a place to keep equipment. Also, do you have any corals that require light? If your sump doesn't have anything that will suffer from lack of flow or your tank doesn't have anything that will suffer from no light, then with 125 gals of water, I don't think anything in your tank will suffer much if power was off for a day or 2 if all you have is LR and fish. I live in the Bahamas where power outtage is common. During the summer months the power company does load shedding where they'll shut off power in one area at a time and then switch to another as their generators can't handle the load and need upgrading. I haven't, nor has any of my friends lost any fish etc. during a power outtage with a tank over 55 gals. We went without power for a week after a hurricane one year and my fish still survived it in my 90 and didn't have any real water quality issues.. A little generator is always nice to have and also, you can maybe get some battery powered lights to keep things going a bit that might need it. I think in your case a wind powered battery system would work good for you. Just let the wind charge up your batteries to run your tank if you have as much wind you say you usually do. I don't know how expensive they are, but atleast you wouldn't need to buy gas!

 

[clayswim]

Krish, the problem around here isn't so much the lack of flow or filtration as it is temperature. The winters in the Puget Sound area can get down to around 15F, and when they do the tanks can drop into the 50s and 60s very quickly; which is enough to completely kill a tank off. I use a generator that's connected to all the tanks (and the rest of the house too). All you really need is a small unit for just your tanks, which should cost under a few hundred bucks if you look around. I also keep a battery backup for the fluidized bed filter on my pond. That particular type of filter will die off within minutes if the pump fails.

Clayton

 

[Krish]

Oh....I forgot about the temperature issue. I never have a problem with a tank getting too cold so I didn't even think of that. Good point though.

 

[clayswim]

It's strange the things we don't think about when we're not used to them. Before I met people from Alaska I had no idea what a "fall pickup" was. It turns out that's when everyone goes around and picks everything up before the snow comes in the fall. When it snows you can't see anything in the yard or in the parking lots; so you can drive into them or walk into them without knowing they're there. Being from an area that doesn't get a lot of snow I didn't even think about that.

Clayton

 

[SaltyTemple]

Thanks for the advice - I do have a few SPS's so I gues light would be an issue. I will start looking for a small generator - ebay here I come!

 

[Blazer88]

What about keeping a spare car battery and an invertor around? The power outages in the Puget Sound never seem to last more than a few hours and the battery could keep the return pump running no problem. Seems like the poor mans route, but I don't have a lot of room for a generator in my condo. Some of the invertors can get fairly large and have the power to keep probably most of the tank running if it has to. How much does a smaller generator cost though? I've never looked into one before.

 

[Blazer88]

Something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-1000-2000-W...ryZ85805QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
My Mag 9.5 return pump only takes 90W, my Coralife super skimmer can't be much more than 100W, and 100W just for one VHO. It probably wouldn't be worth it for the 250W MH to be running to spare some amps. An optima yellow top would be able to run all of that stuff for about 2.5 hours, or 5 hours without the light on. Should be able to purchase everything for under $150. Just a thought.

 

[Kensn]

Shauna, the small honda generators are really nice, small, and very, very, quiet. I would of got one of those, but had to get mine spur of the moment. They are a little more expensive, but well worth it for their reliability, and low noise.

 

[DonW]

I saved my entire neighborhood from loosing power. I have a 6500 that is switched and powers 95% of my house with the tank and halides. The only thing we cant use is the dryer when the halides are on. Havent lost power in my neighborhood since the day I brought it home.

Don

 

[Krish]

If you wanted to go with a really good car battery like what Blazer88 recommended with an inverter, I'd go with a deep cycle battery like an Optima Battery. We use them when doing big stereo installs because they can take a big load and will take recharging repeatedly over and over again without killing the lifespan of the battery. They are usually good for 5 years of normal use in a car and we have had them go even longer believe it or not. If you are really interested, I can get you a good price on them from our distributor in the US and have them ship it to you. You'd get it for my price and no extra...Just let me know. Here is a link if you are interested on seeing the batteries specs if a generator is not in your budget. The dual yellow top retails in the US for about $190 I can get that battery under $120 http://www.dcbattery.com/optima2.html

 

[DonW]

Optima batteries suck. I stock and sell them for $99. Out of all the batteries I warranty the Optima is #1. The shelf life is terrible unless you use some sort of maintainer. They spend so much money on advertising and making people think its the greatest thing since sliced bread. The stereo shops sell them and I warranty them for all the local rice burner kids.

Don

 

[Krish]

LOL...Well, we haven't had any problems with them this way...Them nor the Tsunami or Orbital batteries. We've had 2 go bad after about a few weeks for us within the past 2 years, but other than that no other problems. I've always used them inside of my personal vehicles and have gotten over 3 years of use out of each running a pretty good load. Also, they are a top seller in boats! That honestly is strange for them to be as bad for you as you say they are. You sure they aren't "throw aways" they are selling you for $99 bucks? (LOL JK) I wish I could say that I could check into it and maybe re-think selling them, but it's hard for me to do when we can't keep them in stock and no-one has complained about them yet. Is it the yellow top you have the problems with because that is the only one we sell (PP880-BTY and the slimmer ones for the Hondas)? In any event Don, I'm glad you shared your experience with me. I'll have to keep an eye out for any problems in the near future andwouldn't recommend it to Shauna if you guys are experiencing problems with them over there. I guess a big difference with the usage of these batteries between the US and here in the Bahamas is our Island is only 21 by 7. You don't get much usage out of it on any given day. Just think about this...The average Bahamian only puts 4,000 miles on their car a year! My car is 13 months old and it just rolled over to 5,000 miles the beginning of this month.

 

[DonW]

I sell both. The kids like them for their toys and adults like them for their trucks and suv's. They make a super boat anchor, when you die out in the sound. The water can get rough while your waiting for the coast gaurd to come loan you a battery.
I dont sell them for boats any longer, just had to many upset customers.
The battery rep gave me 2 freebee's for my new boat that I only used a dozen times this year. Neither one will last near as long as my 5 year old Kmart branded spare.

Of the batteries I stock the only one Ive never had a warranty claim on is the Delco.

Don

 

[clayswim]

Some areas in the Puget Sound experience longer outages. During winter wind storms it's not unusual for my area to be out for a couple of days. We've been out a week before.

The problem is that most batteries sold as deep cycle aren't really true deep cycle. For decent performance you have to use a battery rated for solar homes or communications backup. The two most common are Trojan and Rolls-Surrette. Both of these batteries are designed for deep cycle only, top-quality built. Even with these though you're very limited on the runtime. For about $180 you can buy a 200 amp-hour battery; which will run a small pump (9 watts), a heater (200 watts), and a light (250W) for around four hours. That's adjusting for the lost time due to an overrated load (amp-hour rating on deep cycles is adjusted for 20-hour runtime). You should also only drain your battery 80%, which brings us down to just over three hours. About six hours into your outage and you'll be wishing for a generator. Unless you're going with something big, I'd recommend a generator running a Honda engine. The one I use has a Honda engine and Dayton generator; after years of service it still works flawless.

Clayton

 

[Krish]

Of the batteries I stock the only one Ive never had a warranty claim on is the Delco.

That's pretty good...Are they dry cell also? They sell them here also at the Honda dealership. We aren't a battery company at all. We just sell them to go with the huge stereos people want to install for the extra off time. I push Ohio Generators' alternators more because IMO there is no sense on trying to keep 3 batteries up with an 80 amp alternator and class D amplifiers pulling over 120 amps each! I just order them (or try to recommend them to the knucklehead bass heads) an alternator that will idle at about 200 amps (depending on the application) and let her rip. Capacitors are another big seller too. You probably sell a lot more Optima's in a month than we sell in a year if batteries is your thing and therefore will have a higher rate of warranty returns. Like I've said, batteries aren't really are thing...We just sell them because people demand them. Our main thing is the dealing with all of the major car dealerships (eg Anything GM, Honda, Kia, Nissan, Infinity, Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Mitsubishi, Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Subaru, and our newest dealership Jaguar and Land Rover which is opening the early part of next year). When we have some spare time, with play around with some crazy custom installs.

 

[Krish]

I'd recommend a generator running a Honda engine. The one I use has a Honda engine and Dayton generator; after years of service it still works flawless

By no means Clayton a generator is always better. Propane generators have become increasingly popular here in the Bahamas as the prices for diesel generators are rediculous. You are looking at atleast $15,000.00 for just the unit here. However not everyone is fortunate enough to be able to afford one, so you end up having to work with the little gadgets to get you by in the meantime.

 

[clayswim]

Wow, that's expensive. Here in the states you can get a 45,000 watt diesel for under $10,000.

Clayton

 

[Krish]

Wow, that's expensive. Here in the states you can get a 45,000 watt diesel for under $10,000.

Yup...We've got shipping and a stupid thing called customs duty which I think is at 57% on generators. Just think about this one...You buy a brand new motorbike in the states for say 15,000 and have to pay freight and 100% customs duty on it...100% on bikes. Glad I don't like them because 30,000 plus is a lot for a bike. That's why you have so many stolen ones here.

Sorry Shauna for Clay hijacking your thread (LOL)