Power outage

[MDG3]

Hi all,

I was wondering about power outage. What do people do during a power failure?

I know, I'm not set up for a power failure, since my tank has only been up for 3 months. No corals, only live rock and fish.

But I would imagine, the live rock and fish for that matter, will parish if left without power.

[Invigor]

*cross my fingers and hope it will come back on soon*

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by Invigor

*cross my fingers and hope it will come back on soon*

Ditto, and occasionally during a long one there might be some hyperventilating on my part when my fish start teasing me by reenacting the "funky chicken" dance

I also have one of those battery powered air pumps and an airstone. If the power is off longer than a half hour I put that on the tank and start a fire if its cold (the tank is about 5 ft away from a woodstove).

Christy

[Delphinus]

I think my tank has gone as long as 8 to 10 hours flatlined due to a tripped breaker when the house next door was being built. Everything survived although I was sure upset to find out about it.

Also have routinely suffered power outages over the years although rarely have they ever been longer than 30-45 minutes. IMO those aren't too bad.

The real type power outage you have to worry about is when the electrical grid goes down like in '03 in the east (I was there for that, fun), or weather related things (ice storms, hurricanes, whatever). And then your only real hope is a generator and enough fuel to last you through. Although I suppose battery operated heaters and air pumps may help you limp through the event.

To me (and this is by no means a definitive list), my concerns would be prioritized like this:
- (if there is a sump), make sure the sump can handle the extra water volume when the sump return pump is shutoff and there is backflow from the main tank
- O2 saturation, without water agitation from the sumps, the O2/CO2 exchange can be impeded; but if you think about it, this isn't going to become a problem instantly.
- temperature, it will drop. Again though, not an instant problem, because it will take a long time for water to shed the degrees. If the room temp isn't much lower than the tank then that should help slow it down too.
- as for being in the dark, this is less stressful on animals than being stuck in a lights-on situation (which is much more stressful IME).
-

[muck]

Originally Posted by christyf5

If the power is off longer than a half hour I put that on the tank and start a fire if its cold

For a minute there i pictured you chopping up the furniture and the picture frames and a big blaze going in the middle of the room..

[marie]

My husband bought me a generator and a real long power cord for my birthday this year, now hopefully he hasn't used all the gas on the lawnmower

[MDG3]

Wow, you guy are pretty calm about the whole situation, if it should unfold (hopefully, it doesn't happen).

I have a genny and 25amp cord but somehow I never thought I would use it for my tank. I don't think the neighbours would like that too much.

But if they want to pay for my losses then "FINE". I'm always looking to upgrade.

[fakename]

Okay this is going to sound like a dumb question, but: Does the power often go out here in BC???
I'm new to BC from Ontario.......In the part of Ontario I grew up in the power went out fairly often, almost always due to heavy snow or freezing rain. I had assumed things would be better here in Vancouver
Aaron

[Chad]

I have a deep cell battery with a converter as well as one of those Canadian Tire Battery packs which have AC outlets.

Last me over 4 - 5 hours I believe, with 1 ph and 1 heater and an air stone going.

[MDG3]

Originally Posted by fakename

Okay this is going to sound like a dumb question, but: Does the power often go out here in BC???
I'm new to BC from Ontario.......In the part of Ontario I grew up in the power went out fairly often, almost always due to heavy snow or freezing rain. I had assumed things would be better here in Vancouver
Aaron

Not that often, mostly wind storms and such.