Power Outage solutions

My plan is the UPS route - we've got something like 12 computers in the house and nearly as many UPSs. We know when the power goes out cuz they all scream at us. Should this happen now that we've got fish, once the computers are all powered down (which we do anyway), the 1100s start taking turns powering the fish tanks and should they not be enough, we move on to the lower-rated UPSs until they're all out - if the power is still out after that, I have a 110 outlet for the car we could use until the gas station runs dry.. :-)

Liz
 
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If the power goes out and you think it will be long before it comes back on.....make sure you unplug your filters if you don't have battery backup for them. All that gunk in the filters will become noxious and when the power comes back on it will dump all that in your tank !
 
which brings up an interesting point--all that noxious gumk in the filter. The bacterial colony required for bio filtration.

Power outages are the primary reason that i always have seprate bags of "bio-media" in my filters (cannister or HOB). When power is out for more than a couple of hours I always float the bag of bio media in the tank, the bacteria needs a well oxygenated supply of water to stay alive. Floating it in the tank for the duration helps the bio-filter to survive.

You know it is dying when it turns into the noxious, smelly stuff.
 
Could look around for a computer back up battery. I use a brand called "blackout buster". If that thing can keep a computer going for half an hour, monitor, printer, cpu etc, it should carry a biowheel and heater for a good 12 hours. It acts as a surge protector, and kicks in instantly when the power goes out. When the power comes back on, it recharges itself and goes back to standby.
 
A generator would obviously be the best idea--although a bit costly. But a small one wouldn't break the bank too bad and for those in the areas that have the 6 hr black outs it would be a must.

One note on UPS units---be careful not to drain the battery completely. Too many times of this and the battery will not charge back up. Those batteries are costly.

Good advice in this thread everyone.
 
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Some filters will also help with keeping the tank water from cooling off as quick, so even if the backup won't hold up to the heater it could keep the temp from falling very fast. When I setup my tank a few months ago, after I put in my cold water, and turned on my Magnum 350, the next morning the tank was already up to 74 degrees, (higher then my normal ambiant room temperature). Plugged up the heater and it took off to the rest of the way up. I know in my case if the event of a power outage a backup would definly help with both situations of being moving water, and prolonging the heat issue. Back in the day when I ran the tank as salt we had a large snow storm and I ran the heater and the main pump off a power inverter my dad had from the car. Actually did very well, but had to run the car in the morning to make sure to keep the battery charged up.
 
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