power outages

[eklikewhoa]

Re: power outages

In large tanks I have a powerhead....MJ900 hooked up to a power invertor which hooks up to my car. The powerhead is pointed to the water surface so it increases o2....open all the tops and have small box fans blowing over the sump to keep the water cool cause cooler water holds more o2.

My nano I wanted to get a UPS which is the computer battery back up or UninterruptedPowerSupply.

[Tiapan]

Re: power outages

yeah in the event of an extended power outage i think all of us would be screwed, think like Beaumont after Rita (they had no power for weeks some places, we would all have very tired arms. or new backup generators.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: power outages

Oh yeah that too.....I have a generator in the patio which is good to run at least one pump on each tank, fans and the fridge.

[mrairportjunke]

Re: power outages

yeah i have a couple of those backup batteries for the computers.  i never thought about that.   and i also have a power inverter for the car too.

[Anonapersona]

Re: power outages

For a long power outage, you need to worry about toxic waste as well as oxygen.

Remove filters, so that the wastes from them is not blasted back into the tank when the power returns. Take the time to clean out filter tubes also, either by backflushing or full cleanout, as there is an amazing amount of waste and bacteria clinging to the insides, all of which is dead and toxic with no flow of oxygen. I put my filter media into a plastic bag to seal in moisture and allow some oxygen -- rinse again before re-installing. A simple sponge filter can be run on a battery powered air pump, but if you don't have it running beforehand, setting one up will not help all that soon.

Don't feed much, if at all. Most fish can handle a week without food, but some are likely to eat their neighbors. Amquell+, Ammo-Lock, or Prime or something similar that handles ammonia may be a good idea.

Plants will only consume ammonia and nitrates when the lights are on and they have proper nutrients. Pressurized CO2 solonoid will be off so that is safe, but DIY is still running. So, DIY CO2 with no lighting probably should be disconnected.

If you have stored water, do a water change eventually. In advance of need is best of course, if the outage is something you can expect.

Finally, I recall some reports from people who had that terrible freeze (Connecticut?) in the early 2000's (2001 or 2?) with no power for several days with freezing temps.... the fish survived the power outage, but the first water change killed them. Not sure if the water company put something too strong in the pipes to kill bacteria that were growing while the power was off, but do small water changes at first, using the stored water if you have it.

[mrairportjunke]

Re: power outages

nice. thanks for the good info.

[Brownsnoutuk]

Re: power outages

I still find it funny that in Texas, where its sunny as hell, hardly anyone has solar panels.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: power outages

I think Spot runs solar panels but in all honesty.....it's not really alway sunny more cloudy and rainy from what I have seen.....then there's those with itchy fingers.

[wvgdiscus]

Re: power outages

I have been thinking of solar lights for some of my tanks.

[Brownsnoutuk]

Re: power outages

used RV ones are probably a good option.

[Anonapersona]

Re: power outages

I still find it funny that in Texas, where its sunny as hell, hardly anyone has solar panels.

The economics of solar panels depend mostly on government reimbursements... best govt aid is in northern states, where constant overcast days make it rather dumb, I'd say. Also included in the analysis are reimbursals from local utility company, and the benefit of being able to sell power back to the utility. (recent issue of Kiplingers has an analysis of Washington DC homeowner who got $14,000 help on a $24,000 system)

On the positive side, we have rather high costs of power here, helped by nuclears low costs, hurt by natural gas recently high costs (nat gas was so very cheap a few years back) On the negative side.... hail storms are so frequent -- the manufacturers will warantee the panels for 10 years but no one will cover the hail damage, check your insurance to see how your premiums might rise before you make the investment. If you have shade trees, you have to consider ice storms and wind storms in general as you are likely to have branches raining down upon your house. If a hurricane comes, you may wonder if the panels will sail away.

Given how hot my attic is, I guess that is why the hot water heater is up there and the pipes are un-insulated -- picking up heat all day long in the pipe runs. Not so great in the winter, but winter is pretty short here.

You might find the article at Snopes.com about the tale of 2 houses of interest, see the side bar for that one.

[eklikewhoa]

Re: power outages

Also in my area solar panels on my house would become solar panels on someone else's house in no time.


:(  

[dblondfemme]

Re: power outages

LMAO... in my neighborhood the kids would be literally "climbing the roof"