Poll: How do you plan for power outages?

[SaltLifer]

I live in southwest Florida and was without power for 7 days after hurricane Irma. I have a 110 gal tank with a 30 gal sump. Euphylia, zoas and fish. At the time, my plan was a boat battery and a power inverter. I wasn't sure how long it would last so I initially left the tank sitting with nothing running for a couple hours. I turned on the battery before bed and it ran almost 12 hours over night.

At that point, I borrowed a portable generator from a friend who was lucky enough not to lose power. I hooked it up to the tank with only my 2 return pumps running as well as a box fan pointing towards the tank (my house was in the 80's even at night). The generator ran for about 2.5 days then broke. I let the tank sit overnight for another 12 hours with nothing running, then took another battery out of my boat. I rotated batteries (one running the tank and the other on the charger at a friends house) for another full day before I got another portable generator.

After it was all said and done, the tank ran for a week with only the returns on (most of the time). No lights, no skimmer. I didn't lose anything. I did a 40 gallon water change once everything was back to normal. I had a green torch that turned a little brown but it's better now.

 

[Pittsford_Pets]

I’m just gonna full up some water bottles with hot water and let them float. I can always hand-flow the tank [emoji23]

 

[tom39]

For my power outage plan I have 2 battery operated air stones and 2 portable generators (1- 3000w and 1 - 2000w for a backup) and enough gas (with stabilizer in it) to run the generators continuously for about 48hrs.
I also have 3/4" Styrofoam cut to fit the sides of the tank which I tape in place to conserve heat. This may be counter productive as the top is still open but I feel that covering 4 sides of glass which are shedding heat is better than not having anything at all on them.

 

[Pittsford_Pets]

I rarely lose power for more than a handful of hours. In the worst of times, I have brought a bucket of rock, any coral that was removable, and my fish, to my office at work as we have a generator that kicks in during outages. Also did the same with a spare 10g aquarium one time. One of the benefits of keeping a smaller tank and being close to work.

Smart with work. I’ll definitely try that

 

[Mark Gray]

I have a small generator but it struggles to run everything last time I used my truck it will run it all no problem. I think I am going to buy a new generator in stall a switch and run it off of natural gas

 

[Forsaken77]

Let’s discuss power outages as it can happen to any of us, for any number of reasons. The northeast is bracing for another winter battle so maybe it’s a chance to see how folks prepare for an outage. What do you use a backup power options, specifically for your tank(s). If you’re lucky enough to have a whole house generator with auto transfer switch, then you’re golden. But for others, what are your plans? If you're new to the hobby, you need to have a plan!

There are many, many ways to handle this and I've tried to include the most common methods. Feel free to discuss your plans in details as it may help others down the road.

Another winter storm? We just had over a foot of snow last week and today it was 60 degrees in NY. Talk about crazy weather! I really feel for the folks that are dealing with the mud slide in California. Horrendous :(

 

[braappn]

I use a small APC ups with an 100 amp hour sealed lead acid battery. I have the return pump, heater and a small light hooked to it. My system is good for about 60 hours no power operation

Unless I am missing something, i think this calculation is way off. A 100 watt load at 110v could run for 60hrs using 100aH. But that same 100 watt load at 12v only runs 4 hrs using 100aH.

I have calculated my 200aH battery and inverter to run my 65 watt return pump for 15 hrs.

Please correct me if I am wrong here, 60 hrs off a small battery seems too good to be true!!

 

[RussiReef]

Natural gas whole house generator here

 

[AlexG]

I believe having an emergency plan in place for power outages is critical. I work in an industry where power failure is not an option and much of my planning is based around that methodology. I have battery 12 operated air pumps with extra batteries on hand and a backup propane generator with a manual transfer switch installed. I don't have any UPS systems right now and eventually I might get a small UPS system for the circulation pumps. Based on my professional experience I would not rely on a UPS battery system as a stand alone power backup system without another redundant backup system in place and on standby preferably a generator. The main reason I don't rely on batteries is that they are a finite power source and once they are depleted they become a paperweight that will not help during a power outage. As it is impossible to always predict the time and length of a power outage a solution that plans for the worst should be in place. Battery systems if they are in place should be load tested periodically, stored safely, and must have maintenance completed per the manufacture of the battery or UPS system. Failing to properly maintain batteries can be risky as they might not perform as predicted and there are safety risks if batteries are improperly stored especially wet cells. (Some batteries have the potential to explode under certain conditions which is why proper storage containers and maintenance are required) AGM batteries are less of an issue to store but if they are not maintained they might not support the power load for the expected time based on the battery size unless load tests are completed on a periodic basis to confirm they are functioning as expected. A generator of some form is the best solution in my opinion as it has the potential to work for an extended period of time. I elected to go with a propane generator to avoid fuel maintenance. Natural gas is also an option to eliminate fuel maintenance but if gasoline is used make sure the fuel is maintained. I have performed a power transfer of the aquarium to a generator to make sure it works as expected. I would recommend testing your generator periodically with a live load of the house and aquarium to ensure it will function in an emergency. I cannot stress enough that if you don't test your backup power systems then there is a risk they could fail. In an emergency it might be too late to resolve an issue with a backups power system but if backup power systems are tested during normal conditions and a failure occurs there is a chance to resolve the issue before a real emergency strikes. I still believe in having a backup plan in case the generator fails which for me is battery operated air pumps which are also the first line of defense against a power outage. There is always room for opinions on what the best power backup solution is but in a consumer based business setting where power loss is not an option generators are the first line of defense for power loss with batteries being a last line of defense in an extreme emergency. I took the same position with my aquarium power backup systems which might exceed what is needed in reality but I try to plan for the worst case scenario.

Evaluate your power outage potential? Do you loose power often or on a rare occasion or somewhere in the middle? Plan around your situation as it will be different depending on where you live.

Who will be home or who will be a first person to respond in the event of an aquarium power outage? It might not always be the aquarium owner and it might be someone with limited or no experience with aquariums which is why a simple solution such as battery operated air pumps that are simple to deploy or an automatic UPS are a good first line of defense. Have an emergency kit near the aquarium with written instructions that are simple so anyone can complete some basic tasks to help safe the life in your aquarium until additional help arrives.

Not sure if you want to invest in power backup systems? Ask yourself how much does all of my livestock cost versus the cost of having a multilayered power backup system and plan in place? In my opinion it is better to have a power backup plan in place and on standby rather than not being prepared. Livestock costs add up quick and beyond the $$$ aspect as a responsible aquarium owner you should have at least a basic plan in place to try and maintain the life within your aquarium in the event of a power outage. If you are still in the process of setting up a new system then buy the backup systems before you get to buying livestock. Its easy to buy fish or coral over power backup systems especially if you don't loose power often.

I talk about my aquarium emergency kit in the video below.

 

[Lasse]

Great DIY info on how to keep your tank up and running without using electricity. I have all this ready if it ever happened. @Lasse I think you would enjoy this.

Your right - I love it and get some new ideas :)

One remark. If you have a outside filter (or a biological filter inside) its important to rinse them before restart them after a power break. This because its probably will be some hydrogen sulphide in the filter. also important if you have a DSB outside the Aquaria - as in the sump - do not forget to have oxygen in there too. The same with a fuge - oxygen in there too. The trick with airstone, potatoe and H2O2 was a safer way to do it compared with my suggestion to just pur it in.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Brad Shook]

For my small tanks I created a battery operated air pump out of an emergency light so the battery stays charged and only turns in when the power goes out. It can run for approx 68hrs. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/nano-tank-backup.308578/

In my large 300g tank I have a UPS that I have wired 4 deep cycle batteries to and only put the return pump on it. It can run for approx 48hrs.

 

[Dsnakes]

The last couple tims I have ran an extension cord to my car and slept in it overnight :rolleyes: so I definately need to get a battery backup

 

[Dom]

I have (4) deep cycle marine batteries connected in parallel. Each has it's own battery tender for charging.

This is all connected to a 5000 watt DC to AC inverter and 110 volt auto-sensing transfer switch which allows battery power to kick in automatically when it senses home power from the utility company is lost.

With heaters on, I get 12-18 hours of power.

If the power outage extends beyond 12 hours, I have a Honda 3000 watt generator which I plug in to during the day. This recharges the batteries while supporting the tank, allowing me to pull in the generator at night and supporting the tanks overnight on battery power.

 

[OrokuSaki84]

I use a small APC ups with an 100 amp hour sealed lead acid battery. I have the return pump, heater and a small light hooked to it. My system is good for about 60 hours no power operation

What APC are you using on yours? I was looking at computer APCs over the icecap since I'd like to run the return pump and possibly the heater as well instead of JUST the power head in the display.

 

[jerry lee]

Tesla power bank and full solar system. I don't have to worry about grid outages

 

[Daltrey]

I use a marine battery for backup power to my mp40 powerheads. Room is heated by natural gas so the temp shouldn't drop to a dangerous level in a power outage in the winter. Will need to get a generator by this summer.

 

[A+Aquatics]

Generators do wonders for us!

 

[Dancingmad]

You forgot the poll option where I take two algae scrapers and stir the water around like a big pot of chilli and quietly pray to myself.

 

[D.WhiteShark]

100AH SLA 12v hooked up to 2 Tunze powerheads with a Batt Tender. Tested completely unplugged for over 5 days with no significant loss. Figure anything over 5 days without power and I'll have bigger issues to deal with.

 

[dgrigor02]

Return pump ( 120w ) hooked to a triplite 750 inverter with a deep marine battery, this will handle aprox. 5 hours. Anything beyond that we have a quiet Honda 2000w. Honda while it was more expensive ( we have had it at 10+ years now ) we use it quite alot for many uses like camping, church carnivals, kids birthday bouncy castles etc.

In the last 10-12 years we have had 2 extended outages ones was for 6 days and the other for 3 days so the generator has already paid for itself in potential livestock losses.

PS: True Story, while I was giving talk as a speaker on the topic of redundcy at a local club event at a community center, my wife called to let me know the power went at my house went out during the event. No worries, UPS was doing its job and no reason to rush home. It was the perfect testimony to give during my talk.