Nate June 11, 2009 Share June 11, 2009 (edited) Did anyone else lose power last night around 10PM? It was out for almost 3 hours. I waited an hour thinking "It'll come back on any minute now..the fish will be fine." Then after two hours went by, all the fish were breathing very heavily so I started scooping water out of my tank and pouring it back in. This was my lame attempt at aerating the water. Is it me or does the power go out very frequently around here? Maybe y'all are use to it, but back home I could count the number of times we lost power on one hand. And I have never seen a traffic light out until I moved to Maryland. What’s the deal? I am thinking a generator would be a wise investment but I live in an apartment and it’s probably not the quietest thing. Anyone know how to setup a DIY battery back-up using a car battery or something? Edited June 11, 2009 by Nate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJBoy98 June 11, 2009 Share June 11, 2009 Just stick a large stick in the tank and stir. That'll work also. As for backup's. I have 2 MP40's hooked up to the battery unit. I think it's normal to have at least 1 Power failure a year due to thunderstorms. I had a power failure for a 1 second or so. My dvelpoment's utilities are all underground though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaze98 June 11, 2009 Share June 11, 2009 It flickered twice and I lost power for about 10 seconds but luckily it came back on immediately. A battery operated air pump comes in handy during those blackouts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan June 11, 2009 Share June 11, 2009 We have power outages here in Lake Barcroft A LOT. Sometimes for hours. I have a battery back up that I purchased at microcenter for this. The only things I have hooked up to it is one power head and the heater. It works great but once the charge is gone you're out of luck. I just recently discovered that you can purchase battery powered backups for aquariums. They're about $80.00. I found them online. I think the battery back ups are better because you can replace the batteries. So if you keep a large supply of batteries, you're okay. I think I saw some that claim to last 50+ hours. Did anyone else lose power last night around 10PM? It was out for almost 3 hours. I waited an hour thinking "It'll come back on any minute now..the fish will be fine." Then after two hours went by, all the fish were breathing very heavily so I started scooping water out of my tank and pouring it back in. This was my lame attempt at aerating the water. Is it me or does the power go out very frequently around here? Maybe y'all are use to it, but back home I could count the number of times we lost power on one hand. And I have never seen a traffic light out until I moved to Maryland. What Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan June 11, 2009 Share June 11, 2009 check this out http://saltaquarium.about.com/od/emergency...oweroutages.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkl911 June 11, 2009 Share June 11, 2009 I live in Howard County, MD and my power cuts out at least once a month, but usually only for a short period of time. Actually this month it has been almost everyday from the storms.....I have to set all of my digital clocks and coffee maker...it is getting old now! LOL. Since my power fluctuates so much, almost all of my equipment is surge protected and for my entertainment center, I have a Monster Power HTS 5100 surge protector....it is really cool since it tells me amps drawn and voltage coming in. Anyway, I bought these inexpensive air pumps that have two D batteries in it for all my tanks. Basically it has a relay, so when it is plugged in the wall and the power is on....the pump is off. Once I loose power, the little box turns on and pumps air into my tank through an 8 inch airstone. I did put an air check valve on it too....would take a long time to drain a 125g and a 180g tank....but that would suck if there was a reverse siphon. Here is a link to what I have on my tanks: (if this is not allowed to link, admins, please remove) http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/10437/product.web Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DDiver June 11, 2009 Share June 11, 2009 I feel so much more comfortable now with the recent storms since I got the battery backup for my vortech..the best investment I've made since reefing.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onyx June 11, 2009 Share June 11, 2009 We lost power as well for a few hours. All the fish tanks made it through just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droyal1110 June 11, 2009 Share June 11, 2009 Like bkl911 said, get that pump, I have it and it worked just fine when my power went out the other day. You just plug it into an outlet and turn the switch on (takes 2 D batteries), when the power is out, the pump activates, and your water will be aerated. When the power comes back on, it automatically turns off, and you didn't even have to lift a finger. The other option is if your in a bind (like the other night where your fish started to breath heavily), run to walmart, go to the sporting goods section by the fishing equipment, pick up an aerator. They are battery operated and made for live wells on boats. For that size of a tank and for it to be operating at full steam before the power outage, I wouldn't think your water would be o2 deprived already. I mean maybe I don't know what I'm talking about but fish travel in sealed bags for an excess of 24+ hours. Just my .02 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nate June 11, 2009 Author Share June 11, 2009 For that size of a tank and for it to be operating at full steam before the power outage, I wouldn't think your water would be o2 deprived already. I mean maybe I don't know what I'm talking about but fish travel in sealed bags for an excess of 24+ hours. Just my .02 Yeah but when fish are being shipped, even though they are in small bags, they are being sloshed around the water's surface is being broken. A tank is just sitting there and the surface of the water is like glass. I am gonna look into one of those battery powered air pumps that bkl911 was talking about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
droyal1110 June 11, 2009 Share June 11, 2009 Yeah but when fish are being shipped, even though they are in small bags, they are being sloshed around the water's surface is being broken. A tank is just sitting there and the surface of the water is like glass. I am gonna look into one of those battery powered air pumps that bkl911 was talking about. Thats a good point, never thought of that. But yea definitely get one of those airpumps, comes with a short amount of tubing so I would go ahead and order some airline tubing or go to walmart, you get like 10' for 5 bucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishcam June 13, 2009 Share June 13, 2009 http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/10437/product.web +1 I have two on my 55. Well worth ~15 each and 8 d cells. I used to stress out about it when I traveled and now its no worries. A generator would be a good long term solution, but like you, I'm in an apt too. When I get a house (on the far superior west coast) I'm gonna get one of those natural gas ones that clicks on automatically. OK bring on the west coast haters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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