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RE: EMERGENCY BACKUP POWER

JoshA1977 — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 15:55:49 GMT

Hello all!

Well I was just reading through the forums here and having a backup power unit is always a good idea with either a saltwater or freshwater setup. I'm a Network Administrator and I think it's good to have a UPS (uninterruptable power supply) hooked up to your aquarium setup. But keep in mind when using a UPS: the varying runtimes at half and full load. A UPS will buy you some time and the switchover is instantaneous, but the runtime could be as short as 5 minutes or as long as 30 minutes. I still suggest having a backup generator just in case.

But if you want some suggestions for a UPS, look here:

http://www.apc.com/products/category.cfm?id=13&subid=51

I hope my 2 cents helps! :D

Take care everyone!

Josh

RE: EMERGENCY BACKUP POWER

Nep2Ns PlumR — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 10:07:08 GMT

I've had an electrician set me up so that I can plug my generator into my exterior electrical panel and feed the whole house when the power goes out. It's not enough power to run the AC/dishwasher/dryer, but enough to keep the fridge/freezer/AQUARIUM going and turn on and off lights. It has to be done manually though which is a draw back. I have to pull start the generator, disconnect the main breaker then plug the panel into the generator to make it live. The obvious down side is that if the power went out just after I left for work and stayed off all day, disaster! The power coop that supplies our electricity has a plan by which you can have a LP powered generator supplied and installed by them that automatically turns on and off when there are power outages. The generator is sized to carry all power requirements for the house allowing business as usual for the entire household (tank included of course). Yes we're talking alot of money, but then again it's not just dedicated to the tank. The whole package runs about $3,500 but you can have it added to your electrical bill and make monthly payments. My particular loss of livestock would cost me at least that much to replace.

RE: EMERGENCY BACKUP POWER

saltyfresh — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 08:41:48 GMT

it's funny how i stumbled across this blog. about 2 wks ago the power flashed and tripped my surge protector, all my filters were turned off and i noticed my wet dry sump started to siphon the water from the tank and nearly flooded my floor. i switched on the pumps just in time.

The next day i posted my concerns on this site, and someone suggested a computer battery back up. i went to staples and found one on sale. it still ran me $170.00 but keep in mind i purchased one of the store's higher end models that has a longer run time than the cheaper ones.

The same week, while i was at work, the power went out again. this unit automatically kicks on and worked great. no mess on the floor, everything was working as it should. the only reason i knew the power went out is because all my digital clocks were flashing.

I went one step further and found a cheap generator on line and set it up outside the room that my tank is in. i took colored electrical tape and taped the cords that require immediate attention in case of a power outage so they can be easily identified from the other components. Then i took photo's with my digital camera and printed out step by step instructions on how to connect the system to the generator if im not home to do it.

with all the major filters connected to the battery backup system ( which will give me approximately 45 min to an hr to get the generator going ) all that is required is to simply unplug the battery backup from the wall and plug it into the generator's extension cord. there is no interruption of power at all and now the generator is charging the battery back up and running my filters all through one cord. it cant get any easier. the whole system cost me about $300.00 total.

I would also like to add that i purchased 2 battery operated air pumps to keep the water oxygenated just incase any of the above systems fail. i picked them up at wal-mart in the fishing and hunting section. they were only $7.00 each.

To anyone who offered me this advice on my original post, Thank you! it has already proven that it's worth the investment.

RE: EMERGENCY BACKUP POWER

RickR — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 11:51:23 GMT

A generator is definatly the way to go but if you can not afford it (spending too much on hobby) Pepboys sell decent power inverters for around 50 dollars and you can use the vehicle battery (Dont run it all the way down) untill you can afford a few deep cycle batterys to keep things running, you can recharge them from your vehicle. It sounds expensive till you add up what you can loose in your tank if you have a extended outage, then is will seem like cheep insurance.

RE: EMERGENCY BACKUP POWER

jfish13 — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 21:50:42 GMT

Thank God your BEAUTIFUL tank is fine!

RE: EMERGENCY BACKUP POWER

ramoth41 — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:18:17 GMT

We have had our power go out several times .. one time for almost 2 days. We bought a power inverter and a couple of deep cell marine batteries. With this we can run the power heads to keep the water moving and the oxygen levels up. So far we haven't had our power out for more than a few hours! Even when 1/2 the country went out a few years ago! lol I was about 45min from home and it took me 3 hours to get there.. only to find out my power comes from a different grid .. we never lost power at home!! Most of NEOhio did but not us! Dodged that bullet!! by just a couple of miles! lol Now keeping the tank cool with out CA in 105f was interesting!! lol
I would like to have a generator that flips on automatically but that's way pricey! Some day..
Sure glad to hear the water didn't make your place! Looks like you dodged one too! Hope there wasn't too much damage to your house in general!

RE: EMERGENCY BACKUP POWER

Turboneon4 — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 10:58:16 GMT

Dag you got soooo luck. I live in Illinois and my fish tank is in the basement. We rarely loose power but during hte fall it was out for a day. I just wrapped a think blanket around the tank to conserve the heat until the power was returned. But this would not work for long durations

RE: EMERGENCY BACKUP POWER

Hailey — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 18:56:18 GMT

Thanks for sharing. I'm glad your reef (and home) fared well.

EMERGENCY BACKUP POWER

skeeterdav2002 — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 14:26:46 GMT

I'm not sure if it's ever been discussed on this forum before but backup power in case the lights go out is very important. I live in southwest Washington state and am a "Lucky" flood victim this week. The photo below is my front porch which sits about 6 feet above ground level and that's the Chahalis river in my yard and pasture! The river is normally across the road about 300 yards away. Not being faced with the situation of moving everything I own up one floor before, the one item I could not move was my 95 gal. reef tank. The flood waters came within 1 INCH of getting in but luckily the river crested! Owning a generator can pay for itself many times over. The power was out for 3 days this time but on average, I lose power 3 weeks every winter due to snow,wind, and this time flood. If I didn't have my generator during these incidents, I would have lost everything in the tank plus everything in the fridge and freezer many times over. I guess what I'm trying to get at is a power failure can not only be a inconvenience, it can also destroy a marine setup in no time. No matter where you live, one should consider what to do if the power is out and then reality sets in that your tank could slowly die if pumps and filtration cease. I hope no one ever has to deal with what happened here this week but it doesn't hurt to be prepared for the worst.