BLIZZARD power outage. What would you do to keep a 40g tank heated & water movement?

[40B Knasty]

I have looked up a few things in the past. Like hand warmers in a zip lock bag and take a pitcher and keep pulling water out and pour it back in. I always like learning ideas. Throw some at me. The blizzard is starting right now as we speak. All ideas are welcome. No generator ideas. DIY only!

 

[Reef man 89]

Man that sucks the storm is about to hit were I am 24/30 in of snow I hope I don't lose power!!!!

 

[40B Knasty]

Yeah it does! Part of living in MA. About 12" for us, but 60mph gusts. Just trying get ideas to prepare for the worse. I am lucky I have a 12v outlet in my Jeep that can handle 100w and just filled Up. So I can run an extension chord from there to heat the 2 tanks. With two 50w aqueon heaters. Wrap the tanks with blankets for insulation. Plus the hand warmers.

 

[Reef man 89]

That's all we can do I am in the north east of MA on the border of NH and I pray that we don't lose power

 

[40B Knasty]

That's all we can do I am in the north east of MA on the border of NH and I pray that we don't lose power

Leominster is were I am at

 

[SteveSTL]

Do you have an inverter for your car? You can get a 200, 300, 400 watt one to keep your heater running. Put a beater paddle in a cordless drill and aerate the water every so often with it. Doesn't have to be constant, just enough to get some air in the water. Also, wrap blankets, or whatever around the tank to keep it insulated.

 

[wkscott]

I have a wood burning fireplace that I never use because I don't like to clean it. I do however keep plenty of dry wood on hand so if necessary I can heat the house way up to keep my tanks warm. I have battery air pumps to keep the water circulating a bit.

 

[andrew james]

Get a power inverter and plug your tank into your car lighter

 

[Abhishek]

I really pray for you guys that you don't loose any power .
Is it possible for you to atleast get an inverter which can run if your car and provide 750-1000 watts of clean power like this one ?
We get it here in Northern Tools and Equipments .

Regards,
Abhishek

 

[40B Knasty]

I looked at Homedepot awhile back. I have 4 heaters. 2 only in use. The other I use for mixing.
Aqueon pro 150w
Aqueon pro 50w
Aqueon 50 glass..
Aqueon preset 50w mini heater.
Which convert from Homedepot would you suggest without blowing the heater, blowing a fuse in the car, or which heater would be best to use out of the four? I have a 13g and 40g. I could take the 50w pro and stick that in the 40w use the glass 50w for the 13g. To keep it at 100w or would I want to up the watts so it is at 200w total combined with what I have in the tanks already? The 13g is brackish

 

[40B Knasty]

I really pray for you guys that you don't loose any power .
Is it possible for you to atleast get an inverter which can run if your car and provide 750-1000 watts of clean power like this one ?
We get it here in Northern Tools and Equipments .

Regards,
Abhishek

Never seen that, but I can look around for it.

 

[Preme]

I've heard some people say to do a water change during a power outage... which could provide some air. Not sure if this is true or not...

 

[Fritzhamer]

If it must be DIY I'd go with a Deep Cycle battery (or two) and a DC pump. You'd have to manually switch it over and thus be home when the power went out. If you're up for a much more involved DIY a friend of mine DIYd a generator to kick on in a power outage and run the circuit his tank is on. IIRC it has to be diesel though as gas can't sit as long as diesel. He's an electrician, I imagine this would be beyond the scope of the typical DIY.

 

[SteveSTL]

There are 2 kinds of inverters - the lower wattage which plugs into your lighter and the higher wattage which has clamps and clamps directly to your battery. If you're going to use 100 watts total, I'd go with at least a 200 so you're not taxing the unit. Depending on what you have for water movement (MP 10,etc.) you may also be able to power those as I don't think they draw much wattage but check the unit and don't trust me - I had a TBI in September

Just don't forget to go out every few hours and turn the car over for a few minutes to charge the battery.

 

[40B Knasty]

There are 2 kinds of inverters - the lower wattage which plugs into your lighter and the higher wattage which has clamps and clamps directly to your battery. If you're going to use 100 watts total, I'd go with at least a 200 so you're not taxing the unit. Depending on what you have for water movement (MP 10,etc.) you may also be able to power those as I don't think they draw much wattage but check the unit and don't trust me - I had a TBI in September

Just don't forget to go out every few hours and turn the car over for a few minutes to charge the battery.

I have a Jebao SW-4 8-15watts.

 

[ubasu]

check this video out . Seems like some good ideas from the DIY king.

 

[40B Knasty]

check this video out . Seems like some good ideas from the DIY king.

+1
That is awesome. Thank you so much for that video. I am ready for anything once I get those 2 things that I do not have. Battery pump and calcium chloride.

 

[jmags080307]

That calcium chloride trick is really cool!!

 

[ubasu]

+1
That is awesome. Thank you so much for that video. I am ready for anything once I get those 2 things that I do not have. Battery pump and calcium chloride.

Lol. What about a potato and peroxide?

 

[mcarroll]

Remember that a generator is the only answer in a long term outage.

For a short term problem...

A thick blanket over and around the tank will mostly take care of heat loss. A glass lid on the tank with an airstone running is a nice combo. (Keeps the blanket dry too!)

Keeping livestock levels low is a good idea in general and avoids some of the problems associated with reduced water movement during an outage.