STORMS: Do you have a generator for your reef tank?

[Screwgunner]

We've been doing the same thing for about 20 years and it's worked great. The generator powers the whole house, except the Air Conditioning. Although, we're considering getting a built-in natural gas generator, since it would would automatically kick-in and not require filling it with gas every few hours.

If my power went out more I would go that way.

 

[TFP2021]

With so many major winter storms popping up lately there has been a lot of discussion on preparing for power outages and having power back up plans! So let's talk about generators today and see who's ready and what generator your using!

1. Do you have a generator for your reef tank for emergency situations?

2. Which generator do you have and how many watts is it?

3. Do you regularly start and service your generator to keep it ready to go?

You can find a air probate air pump in most fishing stores for $10-$20. They are used to keep live bait until it is put in the boat live wells. They run on D batteries for 48 hours at a time and can oxygenate 8 gallons easily.

 

[Research Monkey]

My other hobby is racing motorcycles so I've had a portable generator forever. Honda EU2000i. The Honda and even Yamaha Inverter type generators are built to last forever. I've had mine about 15 years and I've never cleaned the carb and have maybe changed the oil 2-3 times.

 

[JMM744]

We installed a whole house generator several years back. What a great investment. No more getting the portable out and running wires everywhere. My business requires several freezers and they are secured with the generator as well. This storm may just cause power outages and we are not worried at all.

 

[UkiahTheTurtle]

I have a thread that I started yesterday about helping my tank in a blackout I just got power back

 

[Screwgunner]

You can find a air probate air pump in most fishing stores for $10-$20. They are used to keep live bait until it is put in the boat live wells. They run on D batteries for 48 hours at a time and can oxygenate 8 gallons easily.

I would need 18 of them.

 

[reefiniteasy]

1. Do you have a generator for your reef tank for emergency situations? Yes, it’s really for the things in the house, but I’ll run the tank off it too.

2. Which generator do you have and how many watts is it?

3. Do you regularly start and service your generator to keep it ready to go? Usually every month.

 

[Buckster]

I answered "Other" My neighbor bought an 8k portable. He also purchased 2 large propane tanks. I can plug into his anytime we are out of power. We haven't had any major power loss since I started the tanks. Just short of a year.

 

[Dburr1014]

Generac 7350 peak 9000 surge.
Used it a few times, last year was out of power for almost a week.
I have not used it with the apex I just got. I'm a little nervous about that. I don't want to damage the electronics.

 

[725196]

1. Do you have a generator for your reef tank for emergency situations?

Yes one for the house and one for just the aquarium.

2. Which generator do you have and how many watts is it?

Briggs and Stratton and a Honda. I don’t remember how many watts but they can both run the whole house

I want to get solar panels and a whole house battery back up someday

3. Do you regularly start and service your generator to keep it ready to go?

Yes. On the first Monday of every month.

 

[RUKelly]

We have natural gas Generac...... it’s really worth the money. Living in FL on a barrier island, when county/state tells you to evacuate, you must. Bad part is trying to get back home afterwards; the bridges all must be checked before you can return home and sometimes that takes days....

 

[pgravis]

I’ve used a Goal Zero battery pack during a particularly long power outage. I can recharge it from my car as well as a solar panel. Worked pretty well, just wished it were the bigger model.

 

[Ta2oodfreak]

Yep, natural gas whole house Generac unit and then a few Harbor Freight neighbor haters as back ups.
1 is none, 2 is one when it comes to being prepared.

 

[Tim Olson]

Kind of sort of on topic...

Has anyone worked out a way to get a notification when the power goes out?

I have an unstable circuit in my house which randomly (but only about once every 3-4 months) trips out. And of course that's the circuit my tank has to be connected to

So - not a complete blackout, but same impact when the power outlets my tank is connected to all die

Anyone found a device / gadget that you can plug in to a socket that'll tell you when it dies ?

This is what I use and it works great. It sends you both a text message and email alerting you the power went out on that outlet. Although, if you want it to work for when the whole house loses power, then you need a UPS backup for your WiFi and Internet.

https://myspool.com/content/products?q=content/power-alert

 

[Sdot]

With so many major winter storms popping up lately there has been a lot of discussion on preparing for power outages and having power back up plans! So let's talk about generators today and see who's ready and what generator your using!

1. Do you have a generator for your reef tank for emergency situations?

2. Which generator do you have and how many watts is it?

3. Do you regularly start and service your generator to keep it ready to go?

1. Yes!! and its getting a work out today. 15 hours going! i stopped it for a few minutes to check the oil..but good to go.

2. I have the Generac 22kw...it powers my entire home...aquarium included.

3. Yes it runs in exercise mode weekly.

 

[mauisue]

With so many major winter storms popping up lately there has been a lot of discussion on preparing for power outages and having power back up plans! So let's talk about generators today and see who's ready and what generator your using!

1. Do you have a generator for your reef tank for emergency situations?

2. Which generator do you have and how many watts is it?

3. Do you regularly start and service your generator to keep it ready to go?

 

[mauisue]

Duracell PowerSource Quiet Gasless Portable Power and Solar Generator, 1440w Output Inverter (1800w Peak) you can link another car size battery and it has a solar option which I plan to get as well. I had it for 6 months and it runs all of my equipment.​

 

[spsick]

Proven scientific fact that owning a generator reduces the chances of power outages!

I owned cheap harbor freight 1000w generator for 5 years and finally had to use it once. It was absurdly loud and my neighbors squawked so upgraded to a Honda which I’ve had to use once after a nasty storm dropped trees on power lines.

 

[RobMcC]

Other.

350 Ah of 24V battery back up and 100 Ah of 12 V using deltran tenders (backs up flow, return pumps , GHL and DC skimmer for about a week), 600 w of off grid solar panels, and a 4.5 kW dual fuel generator. Propane is so much easier than petroleum as you can store the fuel without fear of it going off. You also don’t have to drain it after regular checking. I run it for 30 minutes on the first Sunday of every month to make sure that it works. Maintenance is very important!

Good luck with the storms, folks.

 

[rc1626]

PowerBoss 7000 watt portable powered by Honda. Purchased it from Costco about 10 - 12 years ago for my reef. I back feed my main panel from a hookup in my garage. Generator sits outside. I can run the tank and most things in my house on low amp draw. No clothes dryer or electric oven. Dishwasher, yes but I have to make sure not much else is running at the same time. Oh and I run the pool pump as well.

I change oil out about once a year. I throw some Stabil in the tank a couple times a year, start it up for 10 - 15 min. and all has been good. Have run 4 to 5 days at a clip a couple of times during hurricane outages. Only downside is it's loud. Thought about building an enclosure but haven't done so yet.

Would never run a reef tank without one!