Power loss solutions?

Markclaster

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What are your back up plans for a power loss? My tank is in a pretty low traffic area so if a fuse blew or the power went out it's unlikely that it would get noticed right away. Looking for suggestions. I don't have an Apex or anything so lower tech answers would be most helpful. An audible alarm? A battery back up? Something that would send an alert to my phone? What has worked for you? Thanks!
 
I recently purchased a $300 or so generator for this purpose. After a brief incident several weeks ago, where Bobby was able to help out and let me borrow his, I decided to get my own.

if the power goes out, you don’t necessarily need to know about it right away. Many tanks should survive fine for at least a few hours, up to a day. I’m not saying it will be good. But I doubt most tanks would crash or livestock loss over a few hours. Obviously, the sooner you recognize and take action, the better, healthier, and happier everything will be. Also, the more peace of mind that you will have.

The brings to question, what if the power goes out while you are on vacation? In that case, I would suggest in Apex, and a local friend that is willing to help. One of my neighbors and fellow reefers here has a spare key to my place.

In the past, with no Apex, I gave a key to one of my neighbors that knew nothing about aquariums when I had to leave the country for a month. Auto feeders and other systems maintained everything just fine. I asked her to check inside every two or three days, and explained what a normal tank would look like. She was to text me if anything ever looked suspicious. And she did. I was overseas, but I did a video call with her, and walked her through doing a water change, with water I had already prepared in case of an emergency such as that. All was well, and no livestock loss except for a coral frag that my goby buried in the sand.
 
I recently purchased a $300 or so generator for this purpose. After a brief incident several weeks ago, where Bobby was able to help out and let me borrow his, I decided to get my own.

if the power goes out, you don’t necessarily need to know about it right away. Many tanks should survive fine for at least a few hours, up to a day. I’m not saying it will be good. But I doubt most tanks would crash or livestock loss over a few hours. Obviously, the sooner you recognize and take action, the better, healthier, and happier everything will be. Also, the more peace of mind that you will have.

The brings to question, what if the power goes out while you are on vacation? In that case, I would suggest in Apex, and a local friend that is willing to help. One of my neighbors and fellow reefers here has a spare key to my place.

In the past, with no Apex, I gave a key to one of my neighbors that knew nothing about aquariums when I had to leave the country for a month. Auto feeders and other systems maintained everything just fine. I asked her to check inside every two or three days, and explained what a normal tank would look like. She was to text me if anything ever looked suspicious. And she did. I was overseas, but I did a video call with her, and walked her through doing a water change, with water I had already prepared in case of an emergency such as that. All was well, and no livestock loss except for a coral frag that my goby buried in the sand.
I have a little Jackery 160 I could run a powerhead off for a few hours but it couldn't run my heater. But I'd have to know it was out. What generator did you get?
 
Yeah, the heaters and lights are the power hogs. But the lights aren’t essential for 1-2 days.

I got this one... except it certainly wasn’t $520 when I picked it up. I’m guessing the price increased (I.e. the sale ended) because of demand.

WEN 56203i Super Quiet 2000-Watt Portable Inverter Generator w/Fuel Shut Off, CARB Compliant, Ultra Lightweight https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07XZX5FTR/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_KyCMEb9JW973Z
 
This will let you know if the GFCI outlet trips.

For a whole house outage this will alert you.

Georgia Power also has a text and/or email alert system for power outages. Very useful when you're not at home. Go to their site and sign up.
 
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