Power Outage Ouch!

[jhutto]

Well today was the day. After the electrical power flickering over the weekend. Our friends at the power company decided our neighborhood needed some work. They unexpectedly took the power down for 3.5 hours this afternoon and what was I to do.....

I remember the advice given several months ago by the ole wise one...the big fella who researchers skimmers and everything else in reefing...

After 15 minutes with the power not coming back on...Headed off to a fish store to get the battery powered air stones to keep the water moving in my Nano and 90 gallon reef tanks. Bought three and put the d cells in them and they worked...might add a little noisy, but they pumped lots of bubbles. They are the ones that can be hooked up to run only when the power goes off for those that are out and about during the day.

All are still swimming in the tanks!:fish:

Wise one of many rep points.....many thanks!

Joe

 

[kevin]

Power outages are a bad thing. Both of my tanks are on battery backups. I need to get battery powered air stones just in case

 

[showtime305]

Where did you find those air pumps?

 

[cameron]

PetSmart carries them and they are PennPlax if he got the same ones I suggested.

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441779314&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030090&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1184653917538&itemNo=27&Nao=24&Ntt=pennplax&In=All&previousText=pennplax&N=2">http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441779314&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030090&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1184653917538&itemNo=27&Nao=24&Ntt=pennplax&In=All&previousText=pennplax&N=2</a>

I can't take credit as someone else in the club turned me onto them. Best bang for buck backup around IMO.

 

[linda lee]

Cameron;57822 wrote: PetSmart carries them and they are PennPlax if he got the same ones I suggested.

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441779314&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030090&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1184653917538&itemNo=27&Nao=24&Ntt=pennplax&In=All&previousText=pennplax&N=2">http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441779314&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030090&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1184653917538&itemNo=27&Nao=24&Ntt=pennplax&In=All&previousText=pennplax&N=2</a>

I can't take credit as someone else in the club turned me onto them. Best bang for buck backup around IMO.[/QUOTE]

Thank you, OhWiseOneOfManyRepPoints ~ ~ I'm picking up some of these post haste

 

[jhutto]

They have them locally at the Petsmart on Highway 141 in John Creek. $14.99
Cameron, where did you get those shelves that you mounted them on? I need to get several of those. The ones that hang off the back of the tank.
Joe

 

[flyingarmy]

One questions concerning these airpumps. Do you just leave an airstone in the tank? It seems to me that would get clogged and covered just sitting idle in the tank. I am definitely picking up 3 of these, one for each tank but I want to make sure that when the time comes that they are needed that they work!

 

[george]

Having never used an air stone in a reef tank, are they all reef-safe? Or do I have to be looking out for something?

 

[jmaneyapanda]

George;57879 wrote: Having never used an air stone in a reef tank, are they all reef-safe? Or do I have to be looking out for something?

I suggest not using an airstone if it is for emergency purposes only. The big flat bubbles do not look as pretty, but I believe they move water is moved by the big flat bubble pulses. Furthermore, more air will flow with the back pressure of an airstone.

 

[cameron]

Panda is correct. I haven't pulled my airstones off yet since it is a pain, but no airstones are actually better for surface exchange.

The shelves I got here: http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/212408/product.web">http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/212408/product.web</a> Those things are just plain useful.

George, it is safe. Kinda like microbubbles in the tank. If you take the airstone off you get giant bubbles that won't harm anything to my knowledge.

 

[jhutto]

Thanks Cameron for the shelves. Looked like the worked on your tanks and could hold other items like food etc. My thoughts on the pumps are while working from home, I would leave them out of the water and have close by to use as needed. If I was away from the home during the day or on vacation, I would leave them them hooked up and ready to go. They plug into wall or extension cord. When power goes off they turn on. If you are concerned with junk getting on the stones then just use the tubing and replace it as needed. I would be sure that the tubing is placed so it will not fly out of the tank when the air comes on. That would not be a problem if the air stones were attached but may be an issue if just the tubing was used. These appear to be good tools for a short term emergency. Some of the catalogs have much more expensive ones (three times the price) with their own batteries supplemented with other batteries. The cheaper ones worked for me yesterday and should work for most people.

Joe

 

[george]

Cameron;57892 wrote: George, it is safe. Kinda like microbubbles in the tank. If you take the airstone off you get giant bubbles that won't harm anything to my knowledge.

I actually meant the materials in the air stones, but consensus seems to be that no air stone is better.

I did notice many people on both Petsmart and Petco sites saying these things don't last long. Anyone have any feedback on that?

 

[cameron]

I test ran mine for one day and I occasionally run them as a test. I am guessing the diaphram blows out eventually, but it would take some pretty continuous usage I would think.