Backups for Power Outtages

tomm10

tomm10

Prodigal Son
Oct 15, 2003
751
0
0
Oxford, MA
www.tomwalkerportraits.com
As I mentioned in an earlier thread my power went out for 12 hours yesterday and caused me and my fish some stress. Its not uncommon for my area to lose power during storms for and hour or so which doesn't worry me.

I am worried, however, about another long term power loss like this one. Is there any kind of system, save for a gas powered generator, that I can get to bridge a power gap.

I know I would have felt much better with a battery powered filter that moved half as much water or a heater that threw half as much heat rather than nothing at all. Wrapping the tank in towels will only do so much if the house is cold and I can't manually stir the water in my sleep ;)

BTW, its a 10g tank.

Tom
 
I have had my tanks running with battery-powered pumps for up to 2 days with no losses. That included corals, plants, fish, misc inverts. Well, there was a squamosa clam that died a week later, but I'm not sure about the cause. A single baitbox pump (less than $10) will do your 10 gallon just fine. No suggestions about heat, though. I have been lucky that most power outages have happened in the summer. Finally went out and bought a generator after Isabel.
 
For air, I use the battery-powered Penn-Plax B-11 ($15). I found it online at PetSmart.com - http://www.petsmart.com/fish/shopping/air_pumps/products/product_28275.shtml.
It's nice because you plug it in, but it stays OFF until the power goes out, then it automatically switches on. I used a T-connector to hook it into my regular air line. In my 55g, it produces about half the bubbles of my regular pump which should be adequate.

For heat and filtration, you could try using a power inverter (converts DC to AC) and hook it up to a marine battery. Much cheaper than a generator.
 
Great tip RClark! I will definitely be getting one for peace of mind if nothing else.

The heater will still be a trick but I'll keep an eye out. I can't bring myself to the extremem of lugging a marine battery into the house to keep my fish warm. You'd think someone would have come up with something like a battery powered heater.

T
 
Actually, this was a great post. I had the same exact question. I live in Pennsylvania where the power goes out quite frequently, especially in the winter time. I was actually considering getting a generator, but you've offered much cheaper alternatives. We do have a generator, but unfortunately it gets used for other household items and such when the power shorts out. At least now I know I have an affordable alternative!
 
You could also look into an uninterruptable power supply used for computers. Since filters have motors, you would need to make sure that it can produce a pure sinewave when on battery. They get a bit pricey, bit do a good job. I have an APC Smart-UPS 1000 that keeps my computer, filter, and heater going for a good while during power outages.
 
How many hours do you get out of the UPS or marine batteries? One reason I finally broke down and got the generator was that we had 3 outages here last month, ranging from 10 hours to 3 days. Some people lost power for a week. Can you get more that 12 hours out of a UPS? [It's also nice to have a fridge and a coffee grinder, but that's off topic.]
 
UPS is a nice idea but I doubt I'll have the extra money to purchase the piece of mind.

someone recommended floating a plastic bottle of hot water in the tank to keep temps up. This would be a great idea if I didn't have well water that depends on an electric pump. Along these same lines, what about floating one of those chemical hand warmers? They're fairly cheap and stay warm for a lot longer than a bottle of hot water would. In fact, it might be too warm. Obviously it would have to be sealed in something (maybe a tupperware container) to prevent any chemical leakage.

Does that sound crazy or just crazy enough to work?

Tom
 
How long a marine battery would last depends on the battery and the power consumption of the devices you have hooked up to the inverter.

Check out the info on the www.majorpower.com web site for more info on converters. Specificially, check out the Inverter FAQ and the Sizing a Battery Bank documents. Hope that helps.

P.S. You want a deep-cycle marine battery instead of a car battery because deep-cycle batteries are designed to deliver a constant current over a long period of time whereas car batteries are designed to deliver a big burst of current over a short period of time (for starting).
 
Here's another site and FAQ to check out: http://www.dcacpowerinverters.com/faq.htm . They have a calculator there to estimate battery life. Heater are high wattage items, but remember that they don't usually run continuously. So, if you have a 150 watt heater that runs half of the time, count it as a 75 watt continuous load when calculating battery drain.

If you anticipating a prolonged outage, you could look at a solar recharger and hope that you only have outages on clear days. :)
 
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