Power outage in cold weather

[DonJuanAntwon]

I’m in a power outage right in Tennessee from all the wind (since 1pm) yesterday. I have a battery backup airstone in the reef tank. Temp in the house right now is 62, I got a gas fire place going in the living room that the tank is in. I fully expect this power outage to possibly go through weekend from what I’m hearing. What are the odds I possibly lose the tank? I’m moving to Florida in a few months where I plan to have full battery back up (shame on me for not doing it sooner). Anything else I could be doing? Thank you all.

 

[fish farmer]

Cover the tank with a blanket. Can you heat water and have water bottles you could float in the tank? How big is the tank?

 

[JaaxReef]

Find and buy an inverter for your car that can handle the wattage of a small aquarium heater with your car running? Some of them can handle 300-400 watts.

If you have a gas water heater or gas range, you could use bags or containers of hot water and float them in the tank to help keep temps up.

Tough situation without a generator… At least you have the air stone for oxygen.

 

[srobertb]

That’s rough. Portable gas generator if you can get to a hardware store.

you don’t need to cover the lights, just the flow and heater.

what you will lose is based on how cold it gets and how long or if flow stops.

A standard UPS battery for $200 will keep your tank running (depending on factors. No lights) for about 1-2 hours tops. It isn’t a viable solution if you need heat.

 

[DonJuanAntwon]

I don’t have a way to heat water. But I’ll do the blankets and I’m gonna go try to get a generator from Home Depot if they have any left.

 

[srobertb]

I don’t have a way to heat water. But I’ll do the blankets and I’m gonna go try to get a generator from Home Depot if they have any left.

Someone mentioned a car inverter. I can tell you that our car has a built in power plug. I tried doing this but it wouldn’t supply enough voltage. Fine for small things quickly but couldn’t run the fish tank. Ironically enough I tried this trick while they turned off the power to install our whole-home generator.

If you decide to try this: Get extension cords. Bestbuy typically has the cigarette lighter-to-AC plugs in stock. They’re sold as laptop accessories. I wouldn’t imagine it will work for a medium of even large tank. A small portable generator is a nice thing to have and will cover you in Florida. May be time to bite the bullet and get one that will cover a fridge and a fan too if that’s your plan in FL.

 

[ScottJ]

Do you have a gas/charcoal grill you can heat water on? maybe even build a fire outside if possible?
Wishing you the best of luck.

 

[n2585722]

My tank got down to just below 70 degrees back when we were having rolling blackouts 2 years ago. I only have LPS coral but they survived along with all the fish. The blackouts lasted a week. It was below 32 degrees outside that whole time. There were times when the power was out for over 4 hours. I did have a battery backup for my MP10's so they were the only thing running when the power was out. It took a couple of days for the tank to get back up 76 degrees once the power was back on continuously. I was not aware at the time but one of my two heaters was not working but it may have worked in my favor since it took longer for the tank to get back to the normal temp.

 

[malacoda]

I don't recall the specifics so you'll have to google it for more info, but I know that people sometimes setup a DIY battery backup with a marine or deep cycle battery and an inverter.

Marine batteries can be bought at auto stores like AutoZone, Advanced Auto, etc.

Marine/deep cycle batteries can provide electricity longer but have less power than a car battery. You're not trying to turn over a heavy, friction-loaded engine block so, for an aquarium backup, a deep-cycle battery is preferable (longer-lasting electricity vs. power you don't need). But a car battery would work too.

 

[DonJuanAntwon]

Power officially restored thank god, almost 24 hours of no power. So far all fish, shrimp, and crabs are good. Corals are ticked off but all zoas are opening up. Thanks for everyone’s insight/help. Slowly bringing temp back up from 64F. I’m definitely beginning to plan for battery backups for when I upgrade my tank in the next few months. Also, will be buying a generator. Thanks again.