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

NYCMAN · Feb 15, 2021

I have a home generator with a 140A of my 3 large fishtanks on it. Last summer I lost power for 5 days, and after 2.5 days the whole house ran out of fuel for 16 hours. During that time I lost prized saltwater fish, but not freshwater fish or corals. To do it again I would have a battery operated fan over the water surface to add oxygen to the water. Since then I got a portable generator to deal with this situation.

PasoFish89 · Feb 16, 2021

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

2. Which generator do you have and how many watts is it?
Champion 100165, 6750 running watts on propane 7500 on gasoline. 8400 start up watts on propane, 9500 on gasoline. I run it on propane, 250 gallon tank, can keep my house going for 10 days give or take.

I have the generator set up to plug into an outlet installed by an electrician on a 30 AMP breaker. This outlet is set up on a breaker that is interlocked with the main power supply. IE To be able to change over to the generator, the main power supply MUST be switched to off before the generator 30 AMP breaker can be switched on to feed the house. The interlock was a little pricey because the company made it based on my panel but its the safest way to go.

3. Do you regularly start and service your generator to keep it ready to go?
Yes, 15-30 minutes a week.

Pistol Peet · Feb 16, 2021

Yes I have two battery backups and generator with two full gas cans of gas ready to go just in case anything happens this run all three of my tanks for me 250 @ 200 gallon and a 30 gallon nano reef all-in-one Aquarium.

the two Ecotech marine battery backups are for sale. and are practically brand-spanking-new from BRS. message me if interested

Pistol Peet · Feb 16, 2021

Pistol Peet said:
Yes I have two battery backups and generator with two full gas cans of gas ready to go just in case anything happens this run all three of my tanks for me 250 @ 200 gallon and a 30 gallon nano reef all-in-one Aquarium.

the two Ecotech marine battery backups are for sale. and are practically brand-spanking-new from BRS. message me if interested

Have my generator serviced once a year by professionals. it keeps it running like new and has got me out of several pinches

Pistol Peet · Feb 16, 2021

SuncrestReef said:
I'm prepared...a Generac 22 kW whole-house generator fueled by natural gas, with an automatic transfer switch. Power cuts over to generator automatically during an outage even if I'm not home, and sends me a text alert for notification.

The generator has its own automatic self-test every two weeks. It starts itself up, runs for about 10 minutes, and sends me a text notification of success or any problems. I have routine maintenance performed annually.

I also have my Apex on a small UPS to handle the brief blip in power before the generator kicks on. It's usually within 20-30 seconds.

Here’s the automatic transfer switch:

We have about an inch of ice in NW Oregon right now, with lots of power outages reported.

Saturday:

Sunday:

This really sucks very very rare that you have these conditions I used to live in Seattle Washington Aberdeen Washington lived in Portland and Eugene Oregon as well as Lookout California Chico California and Coeur d'Alene Idaho very rare to see these kinds of conditions there in Oregon though I now live in Jamestown North Dakota get about four feet of snow every year I have a -50 degree temperatures so I've learned to keep a generator around a couple battery backups

Pistol Peet · Feb 16, 2021

Mical said:
Bought a Generac 16k whole house with 200 amp auto transfer switch. It cost a fraction of what I have invested.

This is without a doubt the best of the best I've been talking to my wife about getting one soon she is fighting me still but I'm sure pretty soon. I live where there's tornadoes and severe weather so I just used as an excuse to buy the big expensive fancy generator that runs the whole house

Pistol Peet · Feb 16, 2021

revhtree said:
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?

I have to Ecotech marine battery backup and a Champion 4000 Watt generator this runs all three of my tank Totaline 470 to 480 gallons. I have it professionally service once a year to keep the continuation of it working flawlessly

Pistol Peet · Feb 16, 2021

Carl C said:
I just got 1 , it was about $500 gasoline powered will definitely handle my heaters ; wave makers
Plus in summer my 10000 btu AC
And on refrigerator
Peace of mind ! also I start it every 2 weeks and have it full of gas with extra gas ️ in shed

I would not recommend leaving gas in it as the gas can faul up and faul out spark plugs and dirty up the carburetor in it. I would recommend putting just a little bit of gas in there to test it and run it and keep it serviced and then every time you're about ready to be done with it don't turn the power off just turn the gas off and let the generator shut off by itself so there's no leftover gas in the line. I promise you this will save you from having to have a professional service in the future.

JayinToronto · Feb 16, 2021

I live in a condo. Any suggestions for a battery backup?

Pistol Peet · Feb 16, 2021

Either get Ecotech marine battery backup from brs or you can go with the computer battery not exactly sure what they're called but they power computers obviously.

SuncrestReef · Feb 16, 2021

Pistol Peet said:
This really sucks very very rare that you have these conditions I used to live in Seattle Washington Aberdeen Washington lived in Portland and Eugene Oregon as well as Lookout California Chico California and Coeur d'Alene Idaho very rare to see these kinds of conditions there in Oregon though I now live in Jamestown North Dakota get about four feet of snow every year I have a -50 degree temperatures so I've learned to keep a generator around a couple battery backups

We installed the generator 3 years ago, and have now had 3 significant power outages where the generator saved our tank. I anticipate a usable lifespan of about 20 years for this generator, so it's money well spent in my opinion.

Pistol Peet · Feb 16, 2021

SuncrestReef said:
We installed the generator 3 years ago, and have now had 3 significant power outages where the generator save our tank. I anticipate a usable lifespan of about 20 years for this generator, so it's money well spent in my opinion.

I would figure you're pretty much spot-on with that could even last a little longer considering the fact that you don't have icy snowy conditions with massive storms very often

ss30 · Feb 16, 2021

Live in the UK don't have any power backup, our power went out for 10mins about a month ago and that was the first time in about 10 years.

WVNed · Feb 16, 2021

Running my tanks on one right now. Big ice storm.

Mical · Feb 16, 2021

action21 said:
How many times has it been used? Debating here

Twice since July 2020

Phil D. · Feb 16, 2021

I have a APC UPS that will run my E-260 for an hour when power goes off, (not too often here in AZ).

Sump Crab · Feb 16, 2021

pumps are DC so I can run off 12v batteries, for prolonged outage I have a generator

Arabyps · Feb 16, 2021

nickm said:
Who did you go with for the walls? I went to their website and got a quote for 6 power walls and solar panels.

Swell Energy did the contract and they used Solar Optimum for the installation. 6 Powerwalls is huge! You'll need a lot of solar panels to recharge. We went with 2 because that is the max for the tax credit and also reasonable to recharge with 36 solar panels. Last year we did get a check back from the power company. Very pleased since in the summer we power 2 5-ton central air units.