Guest Cidman March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 My power company advised the neighborhood that there will maintainence done next week (3/16) that will result in a planned outage for 6 hours. I am concerned about heat loss in the tanks - a 15 gallon salt and 30 gallon fresh. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep the tanks warm enough? Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8dogggg March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 (edited) My power company advised the neighborhood that there will maintainence done next week (3/16) that will result in a planned outage for 6 hours. I am concerned about heat loss in the tanks - a 15 gallon salt and 30 gallon fresh. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep the tanks warm enough? Thanks. Large trashcan/newspaper/match. You might be able to find someone that can loan you a generator for the power outtage. At least you know ahead of time. Edited March 7, 2007 by n8dogggg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 1st: WELCOME!!!! 2nd: Where are you located? (depending on where you are, someone will be sure to help) 3rd: Also be concerned about circulation (stagnant water will cause O2 to be depleted = fish/coral death) Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8dogggg March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 1st: WELCOME!!!! 2nd: Where are you located? (depending on where you are, someone will be sure to help) 3rd: Also be concerned about circulation (stagnant water will cause O2 to be depleted = fish/coral death) Dave Oh I didn't even notice you were a first timer....I would like to say Welcome as well!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JasonD March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 Get a UPS power backup like folks use for their computers. It might be able to run a small heater and a powerhead for that length of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 Actually the UPS power supply won't work...You need a power inverter to run some of the equipment on our tanks and the UPS power supply doesn't have it. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmax7774 March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 Actually, I found a nice cheap and easy way to deal with this problem. Goto Costco or home depot or walmart, etc. and get a DC to AC power inverter for your car. They are around $40 to $50 and are invaluable. From this you run a long lead into the house and to the tank. if you get one that supports 1000 watts, then you have enough juice to run your return pump, and a heater, which is all you need to keep your tank alive for days on end. You don't even have to have heater and pump running all that time, you can just go out, start your car and run things for an hour, and then shut down for a hour and keep repeating that cycle. It's the simplest most cost effective way to endure long power outages. Generators are nice, but expensive to buy, and a PIA to lug around or borrow. The battery operated air pumps are not really effective for much, so they are a waste in my opinion. With a full tank of gas, you outa be able to last for days... John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8dogggg March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 Actually, I found a nice cheap and easy way to deal with this problem. Goto Costco or home depot or walmart, etc. and get a DC to AC power inverter for your car. They are around $40 to $50 and are invaluable. From this you run a long lead into the house and to the tank. if you get one that supports 1000 watts, then you have enough juice to run your return pump, and a heater, which is all you need to keep your tank alive for days on end. You don't even have to have heater and pump running all that time, you can just go out, start your car and run things for an hour, and then shut down for a hour and keep repeating that cycle. It's the simplest most cost effective way to endure long power outages. Generators are nice, but expensive to buy, and a PIA to lug around or borrow. The battery operated air pumps are not really effective for much, so they are a waste in my opinion. With a full tank of gas, you outa be able to last for days... John Wow, I didn't even think of that. Good idea John. I'll have to keep that in mind for such an occasion. Out of curiousity, does a home depot or lowes rent out generators? I know in Florida they do for hurricane season. that may also be an option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JasonD March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 (edited) Actually the UPS power supply won't work...You need a power inverter to run some of the equipment on our tanks and the UPS power supply doesn't have it. Dave A UPS system just takes battery (DC) and convert it to AC -- it's just a fancy inverter/battery all in one. Why wouldn't it work? You could do the same with a car battery and a stand alone inverter. Plus, the UPS will give you voltage and spike protection. Your biggest problem is having enough battery...heaters take a lot of juice. Here's a UPS for sale on RC: UPS Edited March 7, 2007 by JasonD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 A UPS system just takes battery (DC) and convert it to AC -- it's just a fancy inverter/battery all in one. Why wouldn't it work? You could do the same with a car battery and a stand alone inverter. Plus, the UPS will give you voltage and spike protection. Your biggest problem is having enough battery...heaters take a lot of juice. Here's a UPS for sale on RC: UPS Computer UPSs do work. It's just a matter of how long they will run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmax7774 March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 a computer UPS will most definately work for handling a power outage. however, being a computer geek, and being familiar with UPS systems, I can tell you that you are going to need a fairly large UPS for it to have enough amps to drive a heater & return pump for any appreciable length of time. unless you get lucky and find a good deal on a decent sized UPS, it's not a very cost effective solution. Plus, most UPS's are sold when the batteries are shot, and need replacement. If you go looking for used UPS, be wary of how much life is left in the batteries... For example, the company I work for spent something like $400,000 for a UPS battery system, and then never bothered to cycle them or test for nearly 5 years. One day the power went out, and so did all the servers in the data center. Everyone was stupified that the UPS system didn't work, well it turns out the batteries were all dead... (yet another reason why I am switching jobs!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 I thought there was something about powerheads or heaters haveing issues with UPS's, but I can admit to being wrong... Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmax7774 March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 A computer UPS puts out 110V AC just like a wall socket. My initial thought is that there shouldn't be a problem with heaters and powerheads and such, but hey you never know... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caribbean Jake March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 The basic life support your saltwater aquarium will need when the power goes out is oxygen, water circulation, and particularly under cold conditions, heat. Rather than modifying your existing equipment to operate on 12 volt batteries, inverter equipped generators or solar power units, here is a list of some 12 volt operating or adaptable appliances you can buy and run as emergency aquarium equipment during a power outage. With these items you won't ruin any expensive filters, pumps or heaters you have Submersible Bilge Pumps; hook up a portable submersible bilge pump you can get water movement and circulation going through your system, and even pump the water from the tank into or through a filter to keep it going as well. The 12 volt operating submersible bilge water pump, check out the Bass-Pro Shops Marine Bilge Pumps, Aerators, & Accessories. They have a selection of these types of pumps, as well as many other products, such as batteries, chargers, other marine pumps and portable electronic equipment. Aside from Bass-Pro, you can find these items at most fishing and sporting good stores or departments. Aeration Pumps; The easiest and most reliable way to supply a continuous source or oxygen to an aquarium in an emergency situation is to use a portable 12 volt battery operated aeration pump system like the KeepAlive Oxygen Infusors Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascal March 7, 2007 Share March 7, 2007 (edited) Lots of good info on this topic in these 2 threads: A DIY UPC plan: http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...attery++back-up Some other options, including commercially available UPC systems with enough power to run a reef: http://www.wamas.org/forums/index.php?show...attery++back-up The easiest and most cost-effective solution for your situation (scheduled power outage, low wattage requirements) is probably to use a power inverter like Madmax suggested. I have a spare one that you can borrow if you'd like. I keep meaning to take pictures and put it up for sale but haven't gotten around to it yet. The brand name is vector. It's rated for 400W continuous, 800W peak. I plan on selling it for $20 but someone already expressed interest so he has first dibs. You can borrow it for free in the meantime if you need it though. Let me know. Edited March 7, 2007 by Rascal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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