Power outage

[swalke2]

I am really striking out with my searches. With all the devistation in the Southeast from the storms and the few power outages my neighboorhood has seen (yesterday) got me thinking.

I have seen people talking about loosing livestock and coral.

How long does the power need to be out before you start loosing stuff? Does tank size matter? When the lights click off do I need to start worring right away? What can I do if no power source is available?

Thanks
Steve

 

[cr500_af]

The biggest problems IMO are temp, flow and O2. Temp? Not much you can do, but the larger the water volume the longer it will hold its temperature. If you can't get a generator (best tactic), then at a minimum I'd keep a battery powered air pump around (you can get them in the fishing dept at any sporting goods store). Large computer auxilliary power supplies can keep a little flow going too, but I don't know how much time the available sizes would buy you.

 

[crewdawg1981]

And be careful about the computer power backups. You have to get the expensive ones to run even just a small maxijet. Has something to do with the type of power or how clean it is or... yeah I dont know. Just what I've been told.

 

[mojo]

Crewdawg1981;641792 wrote: And be careful about the computer power backups. You have to get the expensive ones to run even just a small maxijet. Has something to do with the type of power or how clean it is or... yeah I dont know. Just what I've been told.

You'll want one that generates a "pure sine wave" or doesn't run a "modified sine wave." Pumps (including powerheads) rely on a smooth alternating current, and if if it's not a pure sine wave, they'll chatter or just not run.

Also keep in mind that UPS's are designed to keep a computer up for minutes. A power head has much lower requirements than a computer, but still remember you need a very large UPS to run even a small power head 12+ hours.

 

[crewdawg1981]

mojo;641795 wrote: You'll want one that generates a "pure sine wave" or doesn't run a "modified sine wave." Pumps (including powerheads) rely on a smooth alternating current, and if if it's not a pure sine wave, they'll chatter or just not run.

What he said :thumbs: