Emergency Power Out Procedures

[darkdep]

Hi all,

Considering we're about to have a big storm hit, with the potential for power failures, I thought it might be a good idea to start a thread where people can post their suggestions for maintaining tanks during this sort of thing.

I'm working from home today, one of the reasons being if power fails I've got a lot of tanks to deal with.

[bitterman]

-A battery operated air pump for each tank is a good idea. (Darn I need a few of these)

-Also Styrofoam insulation around all sided of the tank and on top will help retain there heat.

-Under stocking tanks will greatly help things in a power outage. My tank has gone over 6 hours without power and now problem have been encountered.

-I have a canister filter on the tank so I still have some biological filtration because my trickle filter might have the nutrifying bacteria die in a long power outage. I was worried after the 6 hour outage, but my tank did not recycle. Probably due to the Canister and understocking.

-I have the back 3 sided of my tank insulated with 1" Styrofoam

I want to get a batery bank and inverter at some point, but it cost $$$ and really is not that effective for a long power oatage as you need ALOT of batteries.

Bruce

[groan]

Ya DD, I guess you have to keep that water moving...break out the spatula and start stirring!
Oh and i guess to filter you need to get the filter floss and swish that around the water too...

or is there an easier way?

[PoisonJello]

a generator 

[UCGrafix]

Great idea DarkD,

I have been thinking about two ways to keep things running, but it needs to be confirmed on it's feasibility.

A ) the Canadian Tire reusable power / battery supply, you know the one in the commercials that you plug into the wall and it stays powered up until you need it, it's not that big, but it's costly, I wonder if it would work ?
What's the name of that beast ?

B ) The large solar panels from Canadian Tire, they also advertise them in commercials, maybe one for the heater would work, then one for the filter ?
I like this idea because it would last for as long as you want it to.

Can anyone out there that is good with electricity / amps and so on do the math, and check if either of these suggestions would work, and how long would it last in hours ?

[zippity]

i got hit with the power outage this morning, it went down at 8am and didnt come back until after 12pm, but all fishies were doing fine, I even took my good ole spatula and sifted thru the water to circulate things a bit and funny thing was my african cichlids enjoyed it.

[nelson]

I picked up a 1200 watt generator at Canadian Tire for $300 early last year for just this type of event.  Haven't used it yet, but it's ready to go if I need it.  Considering my investment in coral and fish it's a very reasonable precaution.  Recently saw it on sale again for the same price.
 
Also have a battery operated air pump that's extremely handy....
http://aquariacanada.com/osCommerce/product_info.php?cPath=1_57&products_id=31

The last thing that I was concerned about with all the power failures was my tank.

[Allay]

Seeing I do a fair amount of sailing and this topic is always around.
You need to drop a lot of coin and space for solar and batteries to work.
Your heaters will eat all your power, better to heat the room with say propane or a kerosene heater.
Oh ya and you need sun.

Most around where I live use or have a wood burning stove.
We don't for the savings in fuel it's eaten up with extra house insurance needed for the stove.
So the gen allows us to carry on almost normally.

Generators are the way to go 2 stroke ones can be had very cheap, but your neighbours are going to hate you.

When I live in the sticks and we loose power all the time due storms or critical areas need our power.
I use a 5000 Kw 4 stroke Honda to run the house using about 20 L every 24 hrs.
The tank is large enough to run about 20 hrs.
When storm season hits I keep about 100 to 200 L handy.
If iced in I have seen gas go for $100 for 25L, then again unless there is an emergency no one buys gas from this guy and few rent cars from him.

The only thing it will not run is the 2.5 ton ac unit and the dryer.
The longest the power has been out is two weeks most times it's just an hour or two.

I fire the gen up after 15 minutes or so unless suppers on, wife's in the shower or there is something good is on TV.

Now I'm just wondering.

Wouldn't an open sump trickle filter last a bit longer without power than say a closed canister like a Flugal 405?


Allay

[jgolden]

There's battery operated pumps that would be helpful in a small tank...

Those battery powered pumps are great! We were out for 24 hrs; the 2 D-cell batteries only needed changing after about the 14-hour mark. the 75G was fien the entire time. I'm definitely gonna be picking a second one up for the 150, when the livestock is moved into it....

[FishPassion]

Bought a generator Friday same as yours Nelson works great for the tanks runs pumps mag12 heaters etc. I really had intended to buy it for the tanks but also to start my jet pump on my well and furnace motor at different intervals. CTC said they would take it back and refund my money, now if Walmart only had more of those 3000 watt ones for $300. I was out of hydro for just over a 24 hr period and all is well only one casualty.

[nelson]

Bought a generator Friday same as yours Nelson works great for the tanks runs pumps mag12 heaters etc. I really had intended to buy it for the tanks but also to start my jet pump on my well and furnace motor at different intervals. CTC said they would take it back and refund my money, now if Walmart only had more of those 3000 watt ones for $300. I was out of hydro for just over a 24 hr period and all is well only one casualty.

3000 watts for $300!!!!!!  Please let me know when that sale comes along again my friend...I'll buy it in a heart beat!!

[FishPassion]

Nelson I'm not sure if the sale is even over yet but there are none in stock anywhere. A friend of mine got one in Valleyfield Friday as his basement sump pump was out due to hydro issues and his family was bailing water out in buckets as fast as it came in. If you do see an extra one around my friend let me know. Im pretty sure this wasnt the last power outtage this year.

[nelson]

Nelson I'm not sure if the sale is even over yet but there are none in stock anywhere. A friend of mine got one in Valleyfield Friday as his basement sump pump was out due to hydro issues and his family was bailing water out in buckets as fast as it came in. If you do see an extra one around my friend let me know. Im pretty sure this wasnt the last power outtage this year.

Thanks, I'll check out Walmart and let you know if any more will be available at that price.

[Saltcreep]

I would get one of the larger DC to AC inverters like CTC sells. I have a 175 watt one which I have used to run a small TV and satellite box during an outage. They come much larger than that. Batteries should not be an issue because these things hook up to your car's 12 volt system. Just plug it into the power outlet or cigarette lighter and run a heavy-duty (14 ga) extension cord into your house or fishroom. If the outage is prolonged, just start your car every couple of hours and run it for a few minutes to recharge the battery. A decent sized unit should be able to power the pumps and filters quite easily on multiple tanks. High power drains like halides could be temporarily replaced by regular fluorescents. Heaters could be a problem but you could probably get around that by manually rotating which heater gets the juice every couple of hours. Having a gas fireplace in the same room as your tanks is a bonus because they don't require electricity. If your heaters are too much for your inverter, just crank up the fireplace and change into your shorts and Tees.

Of course, all this assumes you own a car. If not, I'd suggest investing in a good deep cycle battery. Keep a trickle charger on it at all times and it should power your inverter for a least a few hours in an emergency.

[darkdep]

You know, that's probably the ticket to a low-cost backup system...if you have a car you already have the battery, generator and charger. 

Anyone know how I would look at my car battery and determine it's amp-hours?

[Saltcreep]

If the battery is not too old, it should be clearly marked on the label. It really is a simple and efficient back up system at a very low price. The small inverter I have has got me out of more than one mess. If you are thinking of going with something like this, I would strongly suggest a deep cycle battery kept charged indoors. They are designed to be drawn down to almost nothing and then recharged while a car battery is designed to more or less deliver and hold a constant voltage.

[Allay]

Caution with inverters some electronic devices will not work with them or they can even damage them.

During a 2 week outage I bought the biggest one CT had (3000 kw) bc they had no generators left.

Ran it off my 5.9L RT Durango.

Ran the freezer, fridge TV fine ect.

But not the well bc it is 220 amp or my new fancy oil furnace (115) would not run.
The furnace just hummed.

To the tune of this is going to cost you!!!

A month later the power circuit board went but was covered under warranty.

Needless to say it was returned to CT after one day replaced by a Honda 5000Kw generator.



The generator had to be sneak out of the store in a Skidoo box to prevent a scene at the store.

Which was taking cash only first come first serve.

It was the last one with 220.

I nearly got stoned leaving the parking lot.

Know I know why some have gun racks in their trucks no a bad idea bc we have little or no police around here.

We have no crime to speak of so no real need until the power is out.

Things can get nasty down here when the power goes out.

Might as well mention better chain them down when running them and don't run them in a garage even with the door open.



Allay

[FishPassion]

So true Allay I live outside of Ottawa and you have to lock generators up around here with chains as well,ice storm of 98 they stole the generator powering our phones out here, hell they even stole some styrofoam fish boxes that covered my wifes flowers. As I mentioned earlier in this thread the 1200 watt generator I bought worked fine for the tanks that I have re: heating water flow etc. no lights were on that one day but I imagine I can run my haildes off of it and shut down the heaters. I returned the 1200 watt yesterday simply because its to small if you invest a certain amount of money into a generator you DO want to run more than the tanks only ie: water pumps, furnace motors etc. so I am going 3000 to 5000 and yes I realize not everyone lives out in the "redneck part of the boonies"so you may not need this kind of insurance. Our weather has changed dramatically over the years not to mention power grid probs etc. and I do expect more of these blackouts to come in the future.
I remember starting a post back a few mths ago regarding backup power and tossed the idea of generators and solar around. I do remember a few snickers from some as well.
I guess all I am saying is I am going to get the most bang for my buck and keep my home somewhat alive both fish and inhabitants. My 14 yr old son still has memories of when the troops came into our area to help, and food shelters were set up to hand out candles batteries firewood and warm meals for the more unfortunate.

I can allready see my neighbours saying " look at that idiot he has his fish tanks running" LOL

[babblefish1960]

There is also a vast array of good stuff in here too, it seems to me that I recall having a Jacobs windmill generator, it created 32 volts DC, and with an inverter worked fine. The model I had was from the 1930's I believe, but worked fine.  They are still being made, but very expensive, however, for folks living in the hills or near the water, a worthy investment, particularly if you use deep cycle batteries to store energy from the mill.

Apart from that, I would suggest that you not run gasoline powered generator sets from within your home, as this voids your insurance, and is both foolish and dangerous.

[CMW]

This is not a solution for everyone but when we built our house (last year) we incorporated a standby generator set.  It is hooked directly into the house's main circuit board, in fact the other way around.  This system has its own panel and a switch.  When it detects a problem with the city supply it flips its little switch to shut off the city supply and starts itself up.  It then does the reverse when the city supply resumes.

We have the 13KW unit and it has already seen us through a 10 and a 12 hour outage along with a number of smaller ones.  It is fueled directly from the house's NG supply line.  In the event of a major crisis the NG could stop, but by that time things would have to be pretty bad.  Given that the NG lines are buried and well protected they are likely to withstand a lot more then even gas pumps as far as what mother nature can throw at us.   That and the fuel comes to you rather then the other way around. 

Not sure but maybe someone makes portable generators that can be hooked up on an as needed basis to a BBQ NG hook-up.  Would make sense but we never looked so I am not sure.  I am always nervous about keeping gasoline around and insurance companies can cause problems if you ever have a fire and they can prove that you had gasoline in your home/attached garage. (check your policy, this may not be in all of them).

We use it to power the pump, furnace, water heater, fridge, stove, freezer, sump and some outlets. 

If any one is interested in this sort of system you can find info on the one we purchased at http://www.generac.com/Products/Residential/AirCooled/AirCooled.aspx
In addition to the model we chose, they have portable ones and they have a "quiet" model that would be OK (in theory) for noise limiting bylaws in suburban locations.

The portable ones, as someone has already mentioned, are susceptible to theft.  We actually had our standby set stolen prior to moving into the house and prior to it being installed.  It is now VERY firmly attached to a thick concrete pad and anyone trying to steal it would need power tools and would likely blow themselves up disconnecting the fuel line.  Installation, you may have gathered, is not something most of us can do on our own.  We needed both a gas fitter and an electrician.

All that being said we are happy with the investment and with the quality. You can purchase these sets from Home Depot but we got a better price from F&B Power Supply.  They were very nice to deal with and were very helpful in getting us a replacement unit very quickly after the break-in.

Not sure if this would interest anyone but we have found that APC UPS' do not work off the generator.  Apparently Belkin/Beltech??? do however.  We have invested in far too many APCs to change at this point however - just insight for anyone who is starting out on developing a back-up power plan.

Cheers,
c