Power is out! How do you get through power outages?

[sugar]

The storm was intense, the aftermath was a blessing. There was widespread devastation and flooding, I had neither. It was impressive to see many telephone poles snapped in 3 pieces, or streets lined with poles leaning 45* over the roads...

So glad to hear you made out ok. This is giving me chills!!

 

[PeterEde]

solar panels and a powerwall. I keep 30% for blackouts. Then turn off all none essentials.
Also have a battery airpump if needed

 

[BaliReefBox]

Here in Bali we lose power all of the time. Mostly they range from 30 minutes to 2 hrs. I have a DIY UPS that kicks in a single hygger wave pump though to date the outages have been short lived. Lately we have been losing a single phase so half of the tank will drop off. The most annoying thing is the Nopshyphe T5 memory resets and then the lights are on random and not on the schedule

 

[Reefering1]

So glad to hear you made out ok. This is giving me chills!!

How about hundreds of boats in the middle of roads and in trees... I was impressed

 

[sugar]

Here in Bali we lose power all of the time. Mostly they range from 30 minutes to 2 hrs. I have a DIY UPS that kicks in a single hygger wave pump though to date the outages have been short lived. Lately we have been losing a single phase so half of the tank will drop off. The most annoying thing is the Nopshyphe T5 memory resets and then the lights are on random and not on the schedule

It's cool seeing perspectives and different scenarios from around the globe (didn't expect this!). I never guessed power outages would look so different from different parts of the world... but it only makes sense.

Interesting to see many places lose power frequently but for shorter durations. It makes sense to be prepared with things like battery backups for those short durations!

 

[ErikVR]

solar panels and a powerwall. I keep 30% for blackouts. Then turn off all none essentials.
Also have a battery airpump if needed

That's awesome. I'm still waiting for Tesla to start selling the powerwall system over here.
They should start next year so I'm keeping my eyes open.

 

[ErikVR]

It's cool seeing perspectives and different scenarios from around the globe (didn't expect this!). I never guessed power outages would look so different from different parts of the world... but it only makes sense.

Interesting to see many places lose power frequently but for shorter durations. It makes sense to be prepared with things like battery backups for those short durations!

I honestly had no idea how good we have it here.
We just take things for granted....

 

[KrisReef]

Moving in with a boyfriend to keep you warm is a great idea! Now you just need to teach him how to warm up the water bottles for the tank and you can sleep until the power is restored!

I bought 2 generators, one for home and one for my buddy at the LFS. He had to use it when the power in the building was off for repairs but mine is still in the box without oil or gasoline so I don't even know if it works?

 

[TokenReefer]

Exactly! After that one time manually keeping my tank alive, I would have bought a small generator JUST for the tank. Looking at the livestock alone, the cost of a generator (for me) is easily justified.

I did exactly this... Yesterday... Storm caught me off guard. I should have already had it and saved so much stress. Easy to justify. Get one!

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I have a generator! Would run the tank and several other things for how ever long needed. I keep about 40 gallons of gas on hand in my garage, that I rotate every now and then by using in cars. Just need to keep up with running it every 4 to 6 months so it stays on the ready. Can not just let them sit endlessly and expect them to their job when needed.

 

[X-37B]

Generator for me. Always have had one. Just replaced a 20year old one a year ago. The generator is must imo. You may only need it once but you will be glad you had it.
Make sure you start it twice a year and keep fuel on hand.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

We are all off grid for power and have small gasoline and bigger propane and diesel generators. Our battery’s can run the tanks and refrigerators and tv for 2 days before generator has to kick on , then it just charges the battery’s back up. love It , and love no power bills

 

[MnFish1]

I know this gets discussed but I'd be interested to see how many have generators or other means to power the tank in case of a power outage!

I mainly see things like battery backups, UPS, generators, and/or battery bubblers being used.

When I had my old 25g Lagoon running years ago, when the power went out for several days, I had set an alarm on my phone for every 45-60 min. or so to get up and heat water on my wood furnace, float new hot water bottles, and manually stir the tank. I think I did have a battery bubbler also. This is in Canada so cold temps in the winter are a major concern. I remember it was brutally cold. The only thing I lost was my cleaner shrimp, miraculously. This was one of the most stressful times of my life (not to sound dramatic!). I don't think I slept for 3 days.

After that, I  swore to myself that I would  never have a reef tank without a generator.

I am currently sitting in the black again. The power was out last week for 3 days. Sigh.

Since then, and having moved in with the boyfriend, reefkeeping life in the winter so far has been good! He has a good-sized generator and we can easily keep the tank, among other things, running while the power is out.

What do you do?!

Since (in our case) - every time this has been an issue - it's happened when we were away - resulting in multiple losses, a generator, natural gas - that turns on automatically. The portable generators are a great option if one is at home IMHO

 

[MnFish1]

Oh wow, the concept of a power outage is so foreign to me.
I can't remember a single second without power for the last 15 years (let alone 3 days!!!).

I would never go without a generator if a power outage could happen at any minute.

Here - they usually are because someone has hit a pole or lightning - But - still - it's great having it for us (perhaps not for our neighbors - since it's quite loud). If I were to do it again - I would have gotten a small solar system - with a battery

 

[ErikVR]

Here - they usually are because someone has hit a pole or lightning - But - still - it's great having it for us (perhaps not for our neighbors - since it's quite loud). If I were to do it again - I would have gotten a small solar system - with a battery

Maybe it’s the fact that we don’t have any above ground power lines that contributes to low failure rates.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

Smaller tank is on APC UPS mainly because the slightest glitch I would have to reset the Coralife biocube32 lighting. PITA. SO I hooked the pump and the light to the UPS. Does 3 hours before I need to fire up the house generator. Planning to get one for the big tank too. It's mostly for if I'm not home for a few hours.

 

[DarkReefer]

I know this gets discussed but I'd be interested to see how many have generators or other means to power the tank in case of a power outage!

I mainly see things like battery backups, UPS, generators, and/or battery bubblers being used.

When I had my old 25g Lagoon running years ago, when the power went out for several days, I had set an alarm on my phone for every 45-60 min. or so to get up and heat water on my wood furnace, float new hot water bottles, and manually stir the tank. I think I did have a battery bubbler also. This is in Canada so cold temps in the winter are a major concern. I remember it was brutally cold. The only thing I lost was my cleaner shrimp, miraculously. This was one of the most stressful times of my life (not to sound dramatic!). I don't think I slept for 3 days.

After that, I  swore to myself that I would  never have a reef tank without a generator.

I am currently sitting in the black again. The power was out last week for 3 days. Sigh.

Since then, and having moved in with the boyfriend, reefkeeping life in the winter so far has been good! He has a good-sized generator and we can easily keep the tank, among other things, running while the power is out.

What do you do?!

Geez, that's intense. Great effort there.

Here we tend to have blackouts for a few hours rarely (touch wood). I've probably been through half a dozen with my Waterbox 70.2 where it'd be out for a short period or upto a couple hours but I remember one time it went out and it was quite a long time. A car had hit a power pole after hours and it was down for probably 12 hours +.
Temp wise whilst there was concern at the time, I don't think that it changed too much to affect anything.
I ended up doing similar to yourself. Set a timer for every 45 mins, slept on the couch next to the tank and would get up to give it a good mix by using a measuring jug to take out some water and pour it back into the tank numerous times for maybe 10 mins at a time before resetting the timer and going back to sleep for another 30-45 mins. (Didn't lose anything thankfully)

After that my brother gave me a UPS to borrow which I don't think I ever actually had to use.
When I moved state I returned it and hadn't replaced it. I did buy an ecotech battery backup but I only had a nero 3 at the time so it didn't work with it so it sat in a drawer for 12-18 months.
My new tank I've just set up has mp40's on it so I've since hooked up 2 of them to run on the backup.

 

[Uncle99]

I know this gets discussed but I'd be interested to see how many have generators or other means to power the tank in case of a power outage!

I mainly see things like battery backups, UPS, generators, and/or battery bubblers being used.

When I had my old 25g Lagoon running years ago, when the power went out for several days, I had set an alarm on my phone for every 45-60 min. or so to get up and heat water on my wood furnace, float new hot water bottles, and manually stir the tank. I think I did have a battery bubbler also. This is in Canada so cold temps in the winter are a major concern. I remember it was brutally cold. The only thing I lost was my cleaner shrimp, miraculously. This was one of the most stressful times of my life (not to sound dramatic!). I don't think I slept for 3 days.

After that, I  swore to myself that I would  never have a reef tank without a generator.

I am currently sitting in the black again. The power was out last week for 3 days. Sigh.

Since then, and having moved in with the boyfriend, reefkeeping life in the winter so far has been good! He has a good-sized generator and we can easily keep the tank, among other things, running while the power is out.

What do you do?!

I’m in Canada as well, but depends a lot on where exactly.
For me, in a major city, the longest power outage in 60 years lasted 12 ish hours, so the bubbler is all I need.

But if that was not the case, I’d certainly invest in a generator to maintain my system, worth every penny!

 

[Daniel92481]

Hey Sugar! I’m glad you’re able to manage the outage with a generator. I’ve also been in a situation like that before when we had a major freeze in Texas a couple years ago. I had to put a bigger heater in my small tank while I plugged into my trucks inverter…only for 17 hours haha! Mostly everything survived once they defrosted lol. I now currently have a generator hooked up and am ready for hurricanes and/or freezes. Bring it on!

 

[PeterEde]

That's awesome. I'm still waiting for Tesla to start selling the powerwall system over here.
They should start next year so I'm keeping my eyes open.

Don't be in such a rush. I got mine as part of a power project and paid only a few thousand dollars. I would never pay retail for a battery.
Although it now has its benefits for my aquarium.