Power is out! How do you get through power outages?

[sugar]

I know this gets discussed but I'd be interested to see how many have generators or other means to power the tank in case of a power outage!

I mainly see things like battery backups, UPS, generators, and/or battery bubblers being used.

When I had my old 25g Lagoon running years ago, when the power went out for several days, I had set an alarm on my phone for every 45-60 min. or so to get up and heat water on my wood furnace, float new hot water bottles, and manually stir the tank. I think I did have a battery bubbler also. This is in Canada so cold temps in the winter are a major concern. I remember it was brutally cold. The only thing I lost was my cleaner shrimp, miraculously. This was one of the most stressful times of my life (not to sound dramatic!). I don't think I slept for 3 days.

After that, I  swore to myself that I would  never have a reef tank without a generator.

I am currently sitting in the black again. The power was out last week for 3 days. Sigh.

Since then, and having moved in with the boyfriend, reefkeeping life in the winter so far has been good! He has a good-sized generator and we can easily keep the tank, among other things, running while the power is out.

What do you do?!

 

[CasperOe]

Luckily here in the UK, any power outages will be hours rather than days! I get on with just an Ecotech battery backup and a home made battery backup for my return pump.

 

[sugar]

Luckily here in the UK, any power outages will be hours rather than days! I get on with just an Ecotech battery backup and a home made battery backup for my return pump.

That would be nice!!! It is always a gamble here. Outages are usually short-lived but it's so unpredictable. We've had some weird warm-weather rain and wind storms coming up from the south this and last week, and they are kicking our butt! Over 100k homes without power (and that's a lot in New Brunswick!!).

 

[JosephBelviso]

I know this gets discussed but I'd be interested to see how many have generators or other means to power the tank in case of a power outage!

I mainly see things like battery backups, UPS, generators, and/or battery bubblers being used.

When I had my old 25g Lagoon running years ago, when the power went out for several days, I had set an alarm on my phone for every 45-60 min. or so to get up and heat water on my wood furnace, float new hot water bottles, and manually stir the tank. I think I did have a battery bubbler also. This is in Canada so cold temps in the winter are a major concern. I remember it was brutally cold. The only thing I lost was my cleaner shrimp, miraculously. This was one of the most stressful times of my life (not to sound dramatic!). I don't think I slept for 3 days.

After that, I  swore to myself that I would  never have a reef tank without a generator.

I am currently sitting in the black again. The power was out last week for 3 days. Sigh.

Since then, and having moved in with the boyfriend, reefkeeping life in the winter so far has been good! He has a good-sized generator and we can easily keep the tank, among other things, running while the power is out.

What do you do?!

Buy a EcoFlow power supply

 

[Reefering1]

Ups on car batteries runs the entire tank for 1st 18 hours, generator after that

 

[JosephBelviso]

Ups on car batteries runs the entire tank for 1st 18 hours, generator after that

Or just get a EcoFlow generator and run off solar power when the battery dies

 

[Reefering1]

All about being ready beforehand. I'm in FL, ran that poor generator for 12 or 13 days straight after hurricane ian. A must around here

 

[Doctorgori]

I got a generator, and I believe those smaller noiseless camping generators could easily run a tank or 2;…Honda makes one

 

[ErikVR]

Oh wow, the concept of a power outage is so foreign to me.
I can't remember a single second without power for the last 15 years (let alone 3 days!!!).

I would never go without a generator if a power outage could happen at any minute.

 

[Reefering1]

Oh wow, the concept of a power outage is so foreign to me.
I can't remember a single second without power for the last 15 years (let alone 3 days!!!).

I would never go without a generator if a power outage could happen at any minute.

Where is this? Power is extremely reliable in Florida. Even when a hurricane comes, you can rely on it going out

 

[CasperOe]

I got a generator, and I believe those smaller noiseless camping generators could easily run a tank or 2;…Honda makes one

Would they still be petrol powered these noiseless ones? Never seen one of them before, but that could be interesting!

 

[Pvtgloss]

 

[ErikVR]

Where is this? Power is extremely reliable in Florida. Even when a hurricane comes, you can rely on it going out

Netherlands (west europe)

 

[sugar]

I got a generator, and I believe those smaller noiseless camping generators could easily run a tank or 2;…Honda makes one

Exactly! After that one time manually keeping my tank alive, I would have bought a small generator JUST for the tank. Looking at the livestock alone, the cost of a generator (for me) is easily justified.

 

[sugar]

All about being ready beforehand. I'm in FL, ran that poor generator for 12 or 13 days straight after hurricane ian. A must around here

That is INTENSE. I simply cannot imagine!!

 

[Reefering1]

Would they still be petrol powered these noiseless ones? Never seen one of them before, but that could be interesting!

I believe they're referring to inverter generators. Not noiseless, but significantly quieter

 

[CasperOe]

I believe they're referring to inverter generators. Not noiseless, but significantly quieter

How silly of me to assume that noiseless actually meant noiseless May have a look at one anyway!

 

[sugar]

Oh wow, the concept of a power outage is so foreign to me.
I can't remember a single second without power for the last 15 years (let alone 3 days!!!).

I would never go without a generator if a power outage could happen at any minute.

This is the legit concern! Even in the summer months it can happen. It's foreign to me to not have outages at some point. I need to move to the Netherlands (and I have always wanted to visit!).

Now, I really cannot complain. Our friends in more tropical places can have it really tough in this regard! Still, it's certainly less than ideal for anyone.

 

[sugar]

Hey, that's me!

 

[Reefering1]

That is INTENSE. I simply cannot imagine!!

The storm was intense, the aftermath was a blessing. There was widespread devastation and flooding, I had neither. It was impressive to see many telephone poles snapped in 3 pieces, or streets lined with poles leaning 45* over the roads...