Power Outage

[YamahaF934]

Well the lights just flickered. and I was curious what to do with a reef tank if the power goes out. I dont have a generator nor do I have the money to buy one, so dont say that.

Maybe take some water and boil it over a flame to keep temp up
Stir the water to get flow

Or just leave it alone.

 

[Cwazy Clown]

im also wondering this.. i just know some basic concepts like NOT to stir the water because doing so will only oxygenate the water and room temp is usually lower than water temp.

i dont think you're able to boil water if you dont have electricity, unless you're gonna make a fire.. or have a fireplace.

IMO, what I would do is... get some pieces of styrofoam, which is pretty cheap stuff and cut pieces of styro to fit your tank. then carve out holes in the styro for hand warmers to fit. so if theres a power outage, you just take your 5 pieces of styro, (top, and 4 sides, put hand warmers in,and put them in place and tape em together. I'm planning to do this with the tank im getting, but its also quite small. I have no idea what people do with a large tank.

 

[mfinn]

most medium to large tanks will keep heat in longer than smaller tanks, but both can be wrapped with blankets to help preserve heat.
Battery powered air pumps and air stones are a good thing to keep on hand.
I use to take a jug and dip it in the tank and pour it back in from a foot or two above it toget the O2 exchange going, but I'm wondering how effective that is vs. the heat loss.
Right now I don't even fire up my generator for 3-4 hours unless I need to cook or have some entertainment.

 

[Bored4ever86]

Just to let you guys know, our bigger tanks take a lot longer to cool off when the power is cut, my tank without power for 12ish hrs (they were doing power line maint to the neighborhood) only dropped to 77 from 79 (usually 80-82 with the lights on) the slow gradual drop in tank temp won't harm anything though if the power were out for a day or more i'd start to worry. As for oxygenation and all that you can get a battery backup that'll power a powerhead and an air pump or heater (batteries won't last long with the heater) but for the most part its unneeded imo until the power has been out for a while.

 

[SRWoodcock]

I like the battery back up air stone idea.

 

[scytale]

foam panels are great for keeping tanks warm (and can be essential in winter)--I like the blue or pink foam insulation panels at the hardware store--they're not as messy as the white styrofoam panels (those little white pellets flake off easy.)

You might also want to look buying a big power-inverter to hook up to your car.
I ran a 200w heater off of a tiny 50w inverter (car idling in the driveway) for 48hrs during a long outage 3 winters ago. (until it died, then I bought a much bigger inverter later.)

CaCl pellets (driveway/sidewalk de-icer) can also be used as a heat-source.
(but it's a little extreme, so only use as a last resort....)

Mixing a bunch of de-icing pellets and plain water in a gallon jug will create a strong exothermic reaction. Then cap the jug and float it in the tank, and you have instant heat w/o any electricity.
(kept my 80 gallon reef warm for about 4 hours/jug in a COLD house that winter.)

 

[mcoomer]

Another thing to keep in mind is that if you own an acrylic tank the material holds heat better than glass of the same thickness. It makes a good insulator. So, power outage of a few hours is probably not a big deal. After that, you nee to have a way to circulate and oxygenate the water. Personally, I like having lights and Internet so I went the route of a generator to power my entire house but if you can't or don't want to do that then an inverter or battery powered pump is the way to go. Also, you can try calling friends, club members, local shops, etc and see if they can house your animals or at least let you bring a rubbermaid full of fish with a heater and pump to plug in. Whatever you're going to do have it planned well in advance because where we live you know a power outage isn't a matter of if. It's a matter of when and how many times each winter.

Mike

 

[roblou]

I would advise not to try and heat the water up using hot water in a jug, etc. It will be much harder on your livestock to have the temp fluctuating up & down versus just gradually getting cooler. However, insulating the tank to retain heat wouldn't be a bad idea. Keeping the water aerated and providing flow would be very beneficial. A power inverter hooked up to your car would be a pretty inexpensive way to have some standby power if needed, enough to power a pump or two for sure. Pumps that can use battery backups (vortech, etc) are good insurance too.

HTH,

Rob

 

[scytale]

Well, I DID say it was "extreme" and use only as "a last resort"....

But my Kirkland neighborhood was w/o power for 4.5 days that winter... and desperate times call for desperate measures!

-Battery/UPS back-ups will only last a few hours (or 1 day at most),
-temps in an un-heated house will drop to well below 50 degrees in winter (no amount of foam will keep the tank warm enough then),
-power inverters only work when your car has gas (gas stations need power to pump gas, and cars can't idle forever on a single tank.)
-and this thread started with the statement "I dont have a generator nor do I have the money to buy one, so dont say that".....

So de-icer pellets in a jug of water IS a decent solution for < $10, and it saved ALL the livestock in my tank that winter.

(FWIW: just putting Boiling water in jugs doesn't really last long enough, as the heat dissipates too quickly --since CaCl is a chemical reaction it delivers a more sustained heat.)

That being said, I personally have: foam panels, a 2000W inverter, long extension cords, battery-powered air-stones, and a battery back-up system running a small heater and power-heads--always ready, just in case.

 

[roblou]

I hear you. We were w/o power for 8 days that same winter....those were certainly desperate times! Unfortunately my livestock did not fair as well as yours

 

[NWDiver]

You can often find used (bad) battery backups aka ups.
These are tossed because the batterys go bad and the replacement cells are expensive.
Connecting a deep-cycle marine battery to the ups (after removing the old cells) is a great way to have a cheap source of backup that will last much longer than a stock ups. Do mind the draw you put on it as you will have more amps available to the outlets.
It works great and will trickle charge when the ups is plugged in.

 

[fishoutofwater]

i purchased a generator just for my tank. LOL one to many power outages was enough for me. you can get a 4k generator at shucks for under 300. that were i got mine a few years ago and works like a charm.

 

[KrautBurner]

I know you said you don't have the money for a generator,

but you really don't need a 4KW generator
you can get by with a 500 watt (just run the heater, return pump)
they are alot less expensive than most people think.

there are several on craigslist for under $100


here's a new 1KW for $299 http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc...=9&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Nty=1&topnav=&s=1


here's a handfull of generators for under $200
http://www.sears.com/shc/s/c_10153_12605_Lawn%20&%20Garden_Generators?adCell=WF&prop17=generator#viewItems=24&pageNum=1&sortOption=PRICE_LOW_TO_HIGH&&filter=Category|Portable+Generators^Price|25-400&lastFilter=Price


$99 http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...sName=View+All&prdNo=6&blockNo=6&blockType=G6

$151 http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...sName=View+All&prdNo=7&blockNo=7&blockType=G7

$169 http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_...sName=View+All&prdNo=8&blockNo=8&blockType=G8

 

[KrautBurner]

oops... double post



btw,
I've got a small generator.
it's a great idea

I was watching football with the power out

 

[freakin]

A prius makes a great emergency generator . There was an article a few years ago that ran his house for a few days on a quarter tank of gas by hooking up an inverter to deep cycle battery on it. Fridge, furnace, tv, etc. It was damn impressive and more efficient than comparable purpose built generators.