Generators

[friendlyfishy777]

Has anyone hear purchased a generator in case of a powercut? I don't really have the money right this moment but I'm strongly considering saving up for one. So I'd like so advise from those who may have already. I don't like the idea of keeping the generator in the house but as we only have a small garden that seems the only choice. Would it be safe to keep it in the house? Also, is it possible to buy a generator that doesn't make a tremedous ammount of noise.

 

[mike455555]

why do you need one? unless the powercuts for a few days... if theres a short power cut you fish shouldn't die in the time it takes you to notice that the filters stopped.(if your checking them everyday)

you could do more water changes during the powercut?

 

[BigbruiserAl]

You dont need one in the uk, we are not without power for a few hours let alone days over here. Your better off investing in a nice heavy duvet that you can put over the tank to keep heat in and at a push if you have very nice fish a UPS but i really think it overkill. Battery powered pump from fle bay is an idea to keep oygen in the tank for a few hours

 

[waterdrop]

Here are a couple of good TFF suggestions from an old thread of mine for times when a power outage gets really long. These get at two of the concerns that can eventually be the main ones, bacteria dying off and temperature dropping:

1) To refresh the bacteria with oxygenated water, simply lower the outlet hose into a bucket that's lower than the cannister filter (assuming that's the type you've got) and when the bucket has received about the volume of water the filter would hold, stop. Pour that water back into the tank to keep the level up. If its convenient, 5 hours would be a good interval for this operation. (with other filter types you can devise other ways for the 5hour water refresh)

2) Many houses still have operating gas stoves when the power goes out or water still hot in the heater tank. If so, you can give your tank a "hot water bottle" by simply sealing somewhat hot (not too hot) water in a container with enough air to enable it to float in the tank. This will give off some heat to the tank and you can monitor the tank with your thermometer and home in on the right temp/frequency of this.

WD

 

[CrazyCichlaMomma]

we have intermittent power outages.. not often, and they rarely last more than an hour. but since my tanks are overstocked to start with i know that i need to keep the oxygen levels high or i'll lose my fish. so i bought battery operated backup air pumps for each aquarium. i can run a sponge/foam filter off of each pump. they run on 2 D-cell batteries for a little over 24 hours.

we had been planning a long distance move with the fish to an area of the country that has frequent, sometimes daily, and that sometimes last for days. so i bought a 10K watt generator (capable of keeping my entire house running) off of ebay for $600. well, the move is on hold for now. but now i don't need to worry about the fish, we can set the generator up and run the heaters and every thing in a few minutes.

as far as running a generator inside, the answer is absolutely NO. they are internal combustion engines and the exhaust will kill you and your fish in an enclosed room.

 

[Mowbz]

Agree, i wouldnt bother in the UK, its not our for long enough to warrant spending several hundred quid on a decent generator when there are other "free" methods you can do to keep things ticking over in the tank.

That said, there are a range of Generators originally supplied to the military and made by Honda that are silent if you REALLY want one. They come in the normal "Kebab van" size, right up to solidstate ones big enough to power a small town (about 4 feet aquare) They are silent because they have to be, you dont want people sniffing you out by listening out for your generators! They are however powered by a small petrol (on the small ones) or Diesel (the bigger ones), so im not sure how you plan to vent this? They are also pretty robost, and can be air dropped in. Not sure if this would be a feature you'll use however.... lol

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Never say never. In New York we had a freak hurricane, a freak snow storm and another smaller storm in the space of four months. These storms set records. They also did a ton of damage which cause abnormally long outages of 4-6 days each.

If there are never any worries about maintaining tank temperatures in very warm or very cold weather, then battery backup pumps can get you through.

No you can not run a generator inside a house, fuel in and carbon monoxide out. None are quiet. Propane power is he quietest and its still loud.

We have a while house backup system that works automatically. We had no choice since we have a 95 year old mom in the house we care for and I have a lot of very pricey fish as well.

 

[Aqua Tom]

Hi friendlyfishy777,

You live in London so will never have a power cut lasting more than 3-4 hours. So dont waste your money. Your fish are tougher than you think & would cope with that lack of heating filtration very well. Also when the power comes back on all that waste that has built up goes straight through your filter to feed your hungry bacteria.

If you lived in the sticks somewhere & regularly had 1 day or 2 day long powercuts the a generator would be a good idea.

Tom

 

[onidrase]

I used to have a huge power strip with a battery backup on it in case of power outage, but I never got to test its strength because I never get any power outages I might invest in another one just in case, though. I'm more worried about keeping the water warm than I am about the filtration.