In case of an electrical blackout...

[lant]

Just came back from a 4 day business trip this morning to find out that 1/3 of my corals died. While I was away, there was a thunderstorm that knocked out the power at my office. My assistant called informing me about the outage knowing that my "fish tank" is #1 priority. So I sent her a long text message detailing how to buy a battery powered air pump from Petsmart and what parts are needed to run it properly. Well, somewhere along the line, I forgot to tell her how to tell if the pump was actually working or not. Turns out she had installed the batteries incorrectly and the pumps never ran at all. My pumps had no circulation for who knows how long, so losing 1/3 of the corals isn't so bad after all in hindsight.

After this incident, I've come to the conclusion that it's too difficult trying to train someone how to maintain a reef tank while I'm away. So, what are some power loss automation systems you guys are currently using right now or planning to use?

 

[franciscosalazar]

Computer battery backup

 

[jrhunter0000]

Pc battery backup i paid 60 for mine at walmart

 

[tonymission]

I have a generator for if I'm home and four Vortech battery backups (2 on each tank) in case power goes out and I'm not around.

 

[lant]

Do you guys think the PC backups can run powerheads? For the generator, it turns on automatically when power goes out?

 

[tonymission]

What power heads are you running?
My generator has to be manually turned on but I have it hooked up through a transfer switch so it can power the house.

 

[ringo®]

Well, a battery backup will only power your reef for so long. I'm sure your employees wouldn't enjoy having a gas powered generator running in an enclosed office (assuming it's an enclosed office). Having a maintenance company on speed dial might be a good option.

 

[bcavalli]

I run a full Apex with UPS battery backup and network backup. I get an alert notifying me of a power outage. The UPS runs all my powerheads in both tanks and I get about 15 hrs of backup power. If it's any longer and I'm home I have a gas generator. Lastly, I have a couple cell phones setup as IP Cameras on my network. This way if I ever need to visually see my tank remotely I can see whatever is going on and with the Apex you can shut anything down remotely. So far I have only had a n outage for 20 or 30 mins and everything worked as planned.

 

[oldedb]

Is it best practice to jusst run the powerheads? What about heater?

 

[smanenti]

Looking forward to seeing what everyone else is doing as I'm in need of a plan as well.

 

[acroholic]

I use Vortechs for in tank cirulation, and each tank has battery back up, two for the 465 gallon and one for the 100 gallon. I think I get about 24 hours out of each one.

Been lucky here the last 11 years. We are right off a major power line in Sandy Springs, so they always know when we have an outage, and I think the longest I have been without power is about 6 hours.

 

[sn4k33y3z]

Circulation seems pointless IMO. I doubt your livestock is being circulated while in shipment... Just saying. However, oxygen exchange and temperture I think are more important variables IMO.

 

[tonymission]

Sn4k33y3z;976742 wrote: Circulation seems pointless IMO. I doubt your livestock is being circulated while in shipment... Just saying. However, oxygen exchange and temperture I think are more important variables IMO.

Isn't circulation part of oxygen exchange in this case?

 

[sn4k33y3z]

IMO no. Most setups don't seem to ripple the water enough for me to deem it as a way of an efficient way of oxygen exchange. Your skimmer and drain IMO are the better means of oxygen exchange.

Think about it. If you purchase livestock online, it's bagged with either a heating or a cooling pack(s). Not any means of circulation. Sure the bags are filled with air before shipped. You can simply use a large drinking cup and fill it with tank water and pour it back into the tank. The higher the height at which it's poured, the more oxygenation which is created. In most cases, power is restored before I think a circulation issue becomes an issue. Now temperature on the other hand, to me is much more viable concern for a backup power source. JM2C

 

[bulkrate]

A pc/server grade UPS can keep heaters & pumps going and have the advantage of "just working" provided yI u spec one that outputs an actual 60hz sine wave. Lower end units provide an approximated "stepped" sine, which is usually OK for loads that have their own power supplies to rectify the output into DC, but can cause issues with some electric motors (like pumps and powerheads).

They also tend to be designed for short interval use... you need an extended runtime model for dealing with outages longer than an hour or two. Bang for the buck is a generator or automotive inverter you can use to turn your car into one.

Now you could slap a 1000/1500VA model that has a network adapter on it that can send you a text or email when the juice goes out. Make sure you put your router and access equipment on it, too.

 

[lant]

Sn4k33y3z;976790 wrote: IMO no. Most setups don't seem to ripple the water enough for me to deem it as a way of an efficient way of oxygen exchange. Your skimmer and drain IMO are the better means of oxygen exchange.

Think about it. If you purchase livestock online, it's bagged with either a heating or a cooling pack(s). Not any means of circulation. Sure the bags are filled with air before shipped. You can simply use a large drinking cup and fill it with tank water and pour it back into the tank. The higher the height at which it's poured, the more oxygenation which is created. In most cases, power is restored before I think a circulation issue becomes an issue. Now temperature on the other hand, to me is much more viable concern for a backup power source. JM2C

The purpose of circulation is not just simply to bring oxygen to a coral, but also to move toxins away from it's tissue. In a power outage, people want to run airpumps with large bubbles to cause as much circulation as possible and not so much because they are afraid of oxygen depletion. (Although, oxygen depletion can happen very quickly in tanks with large bacteria populations.) With this in mind, it is best to run a water pump if your backup power can handle it.

In a shipping situation, introducing oxygen is actually a pretty bad idea. If I remember correctly, there's a couple types of ammonia. The deadly one is the one that comes into contact with oxygen. It's pretty complicated, so I forgot the details. I just know that you do not want to put an airstone into the shipping bags when you receive your animals.

 

[lant]

Looks like PC backup batteries are the way to go now. I have one sicce voyager 9, so it should be able to handle that and maybe a heater too. For the people who run backup heaters, do you have it in it main DT? Actually, I probably should just run the return pump and heater instead of a powerhead and heater....

On a side note, has anyone ever had the need to use a generator around here? I had one for 9 years that I just recently gave away. I found them to be the biggest waste of space and the power would always come on as I am pouring in the gasoline. That being said, it sure gave me peace of mind, and of course, I had a power lost incident only two months after giving it away.

I wonder if anyone has implemented a solar grid into their system yet...

 

[bcavalli]

Costco has or had 1500 VA Digital UPS for $95 was something like 149.00. Not sure if its still on sale.