whos dealing with the ice & snow?

teena · #1 01/16/2007, 11:08 PM

by watching the weather for the past week or so theres a lot of ice storms, im in tn none here yet but i want to be ready, what are the steps some of you are doing to keep your tanks going when the powers out, i know if a genarator is used most of the time its for heating the house, keeping the fridge cold, things like that, is there a smaller one to use on the tank, what would be the main things to do, i know heat is the first thing i would worry about,

supervdl · #2 01/16/2007, 11:13 PM

my generator can do both, tank and essentials in the house. our area got hit hard by multiple icestorms within a week a couple of years ago and I decided to invest into the peace of mind.

Elvishfrost · #3 01/16/2007, 11:18 PM

How Many Watts is your generator, and what is the rough cost for that size?

jimrawr · #4 01/17/2007, 12:00 AM

What about el cheapo method? Just get some good insulating material and completely wrap the tank. Should hold out for a long time I would think..

bertoni · #5 01/17/2007, 01:21 AM

Keeping some circulation going to keep the water oxygenated is the first priority. Keeping the heat up is second, but 75 F or even 70 F is probably safe for a while. I doubt wrapping the tank will help much, since air exchange is going to dominate the heat loss, in my estimate.

teena · #6 01/17/2007, 09:15 AM

so he main things are the heater & power heads, how long will the corals live with out light,

rustybucket145 · #7 01/17/2007, 09:34 AM

yeah, I would say that heat and circulation (oxygenation) are the most important factors. The corals will be fine for quite a while without light. I would venture to say as long as a week, maybe more with no majorly ill effects. They won't be happy, that for sure, but they will live.

Our local Tractor Supply Co. has what they call 'mini' generators. I was looking at some last weekend. They are pretty neat and should run heaters and pumps just fine. I can't recall how much they were but they were almost as much as the larger models. Oh, they were Powered by fuel effiecient Honda Motors. So the extra cost may be offset by the amount of fuel it uses.

MiddletonMark · #8 01/17/2007, 09:40 AM

Some folks have used UPS [like for computers] or marine batteries to run a supplimental power source for the tank [powerheads mainly].

I believe the Vortech ph has some sort of battery backup ... none of these would work for days - but in short episodes probably help. [also, very low power-use stream-style powerheads would be the best bet ... most flow for the least power].

I'd think if fed a little, most corals could probably go a few days without light. [longer, depending] I know I've had no lights on my tank for periods of a day or two with little issue [provided the tank is healthy to begin with]
Heat and water movement IMO are a little harder to have long periods without and would be what I'd focus on.

Now that my tank is nearly 4, I really should get a generator just-in-case [I live in WI]. You gotta figure that when power goes down, there will be a big line.

teena · #9 01/17/2007, 04:02 PM

would you keep the ups one pluged in @ all times even when you have power? just in case your not home when they go out? what about if you have a sump, will it over flow when it shuts off?

bertoni · #10 01/17/2007, 04:06 PM

The UPS is designed to run equipment off wall power when that's available, and switch automatically to batteries when the power goes off.

If the system is set up properly, the sump won't overflow when the power goes off.

teena · #11 01/17/2007, 05:00 PM

where do you get it from HD, lows, ?

bertoni · #12 01/17/2007, 05:04 PM

I got my UPS from an electronics store. HD and other hardware stores will carry generators.

dwculp · #13 01/17/2007, 05:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MiddletonMark

I'd think if fed a little, most corals could probably go a few days without light. [longer, depending] I know I've had no lights on my tank for periods of a day or two with little issue [provided the tank is healthy to begin with]

I haved left my lights off for almost a week with no ill effects at all. Corals were not happy but they recoverd quite nicely.

lakwriter · #14 01/17/2007, 06:35 PM

I've seen some batter back-ups for pumps and such, but they run 24/7 and just keep things going in the event of an outage. MarineDepot.com has a couple that are brand-specific.

grinch77 · #15 01/17/2007, 07:06 PM

I have a UPS and it will onlty run one power head and the heater for about a hour and a half.Went and got a generator yesterday.So I should be good to go.

teena · #16 01/17/2007, 07:29 PM

did your power go out or are you just getting ready? how many things can you plug in the generator?

Reefdiver77 · #17 01/18/2007, 12:07 AM

Hi Teena. Check with Cateyes in the Reef Club. She has a battery backup system that comes on automatically when the power goes out (or she did). I have a couple of battery powered pumps for flow. I wrap my tank in isulation material and heat water on my woodstove and float freezer bags full of the hot water in the tank to keep the temp up(of course my tank is only 35 gal). I also have a battery powered 10 inch fan for use in case of power failure in the summer. As well as buying ice and floating bags of that in the tank. Now, if I could just get my husband to rig up one of his marine batteries as backup (not likely!!). Where have you been lurking? Missed you at the meeting Sat. Going to the frag swap this weekend?