Looks like its going to be a serious situation. Loss of oxygen is mostly deadly to fish. Corals can go for about 12 hours after which they die quickly. Eric Borneman did a study about oxygen in reef aquaria (http://reefvideos.com/) and clearly indicated that the most important (most) oxygen exchange occurs at the surface of the water, making small power head the best tool to fight low oxygen in aquaria. Air pumps didn’t make any difference in his study and are not recommended. I think small power head with power backup (1500ah) should be sufficient for few days of emergency use. He points that out that even a small light makes a huge difference in oxygen level. Watching TV, doesn’t look good at all, kinda scary.
Yes keep a pump going. I just hope it works guess I better test it out before it happens. I guess the sump or fuge pump will be the most efficient at agitating the water.
What would be the best method to keep a circulation powerhead going? A battery w/ inverter? A battery rack? What’s the most inexpensive way to make this happen in case of power loss? I ask because battery backups to computers can be expensive, and once they are depleted they’re essentially worthless. Other than Ken’s input, anything else that will work?
I was searching and saw this… Anyone want to crank till the power comes back on?
Hand Driven AC/DC Generator
This ingenious device allows you to demonstrate the construction and operation principle behind AC and DC generators. Simply turn the handwheel and the included bulb will light up.
The generator is a permanent-magnet rotating armature generator. When the two brushes of the generator are put in the two ends of the commutator, the output is an alternating current. When the brushes are put in the middle of the commutator, the output is a direct current.
Ken’s battery idea will work
A Power inverter in the car lighter will also work (have to run car on the larger ones.)
A bank of batteries w/ charger
Generator - $250 and up
You would not need a lot of power to run a couple items on a tank.
< 100 watts on a large pump or <30 watts for a couple power heads.
If you needed to run a heater then that would have a larger load.
T
$240 free shipping
Sans has 750watt inverters for $20 I got 2 as a backup to my backup
[quote=“dunk, post:26, topic:4499”]
Sans has 750watt inverters for $20 I got 2 as a backup to my backup[/quote]
Tim, is that Sams or where is Sans? do you know if they have any more?
U need a membership. It’s behind walmart in dover
[quote=“moliken, post:17, topic:4499”]
ever lose it for more than an hour in your house???[/quote]
We were with out power here last weekend for an hour and half. If “ever” includes last weekend my answer would be yes. This past winter my parents in lower DE lost power for… I think it was three days. Ken always tells stories about an ice storm where he lost power for even longer.
I also had a break trip in my basement for ~24-36 hours a couple of years ago when I was on vacation. Lost about 90-95% of the animals in the aquarium.
Fish will go first for sure. In less then an hour(greatly depending on the aquarium) they can begin to breath heavy and already be visibly stressed. As mentioned previously the corals can go longer.
Flow is most important. IGNORE temperature. It is likely to be close temp wise outside to what you should have in your aquarium anyways. Lack of oxygen is most important.
I just ordered a second battery back up for my Vortechs to double the run time on them.
The storm models looked better and better earlier in the week, but today the models started shifting towards a more direct hit on us! I don’t roll the dice with as many hours as I’ve spent working on my aquariums. (I also have a battery on my controller and a generator which I can lug out if I really need to)
Well I got “permission” to get a generator. So I get to see what I can find still in stock on my way home.
Was going to get a battery powered air pump but it dosnt seem like enough. might head out to staples and see if they have any computer back ups.
Local generator is about $6-900 if they have them good luck to all. I hope
No
One loses anything. I would be devastated.
I stopped by home depot to pick up gas can for my generator and was surprised that ALL of the generators are sold out. Governor of the state of DE declared state of emergency as of 6pm.
if all else fails i’ll be splashing my hand in the tank i hope power loss isn’t long but im expecting days not hours
I’m usually pretty lucky about power outages, I think some of the lower areas are going to have much bigger problems than us northern areas, but still taking necessary precautions.
Of course this is really going to screw up my weekend of softball >:::
I am ready for this storm oh yeah… Home depots are all sold out of generators. They said they have been getting non stop calls for them. Found that out when I needed a 240v 30amp plug for the generator. Tomorrow I am making a hardline to the box…
Where I live we always lose power… We might charge $10/head for movies $3/popcorn $3/beer, My stove is gas so we can cook for an additional fee… lOl We will be screening 2 movies at a time both on 50" screens
oh and if any sexy single ladies need someone to cuddle with during the hurricane, I am available. free of charge.
I got my 750 Watt continuous inverter last night at wally-wurld. should get a deep cycle battery friday. when hurricane Isabel came through the state in 2003, it put more than half the state out of power for up to a week. i was down for 5 days. my tanks were ok for the first 3 days. no air pumps or anything. but then i have plenums in all of them. then the 4th day a big bunch of xenia died and melted and turned the water into stinky soup. the end was near. fish died, many corals died. or got real sick. but no light for 5 days was too much. what was left didint survive the next month.
we might get 90 mph winds sunday. thats a lot more than isabel hit us with in 2003. thats why im worried about this one. I like the inverter/battery idea. not as much trouble as a generator. or as expensive. genset briggs and stratton engines are very ineficient. the 60 amp alternator on the 4 cyl. car can recharge the battery in less than an hour with jumper cables. and less than a gallon of gas. like i said. its not an automatic full house back up. just enough to keep the tanks happy.
2 of the hurricane tracks go right over New castle county and 2 go just to the west. that would be the worst, with the eye going right over us.
Make blocks of ice in tupperwarecontainers and leave them in the fridge. that will help keep food cold for several days… or to put in a cooler. and refill the barbeque propane tanks. because we could be knocked back to the stone age for a few days.
I agree with ken. Prepare for the worst. I talked to a few customers today about Irene most people are underestimating the situation. A lot are saying we had it before. We never had 100 mph winds. And power won’t be out too long. Drive down the roads and look how many trees are by or on power lines. It’s like that everywhere. Soggy ground wet trees high wind isn’t looking good.
I couldn’t find a generator anywhere. I even called stores as far as Landover,MD for a gen. I am really worried about losing power. I hope we can catch a break and maybe get lots of rain and much lower than predicted winds. Keeping my fingers crossed.