Lost Power In Fish Tank

[NorthEastFisherman]

Its not an emergency right now but its happened before. When you lose power what should you do if you dont have a generator? What i did was take a bubbler box for live bait when i go fishing and used it with a air stone in each tank, i ran it for majority of the day (10-14 hours) then turned it off when i went to bed. Would i be able to keep it running for less time or is there something i can do without a bubbler thats easier? Just curiosity because last time i was freaking out when we lost power for a week and i had no clue what to do. All fish survived with the bubbler idea by the way. Thanks in advance.

 

[bodge99]

Hello,

You might consider a computer UPS (uninterruptible power supply).

I've got a couple of second hand ones off of ebay. The batteries were knackered but I've got a couple of deep cycle boat batteries that I can hook up to them in an emergency.

Another (probably better) option is a 12V inverter, something like this: http/www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1200W-Car-Battery-Power-Inverter-Auto-DC-12V-To-AC-220V-Adapter-Voltage-Watt-/270978874598?pt=UK_Home_Garden_PowerTools_SM&hash=item3f17997ce6

You can hook up a car/marine battery to this as well.

These will handle your heater and pump perfectly OK, just forget the lights for a while.

Be aware that these devices don't give out a perfect sine wave voltage waveform ... The cheaper ones give out a "modified sine wave" (normally a crude approximation derived from square waves) which is not really suitable for electronics.. Ignore the advertising blurb as to what they can be used for.. If it doesn't say that it supplies a pure sine wave then don't use it for electronics.

If you have one of the fancy pumps with built in electronics (LCD display etc.) then you'll have to look at a device which gives out a pure sine wave. These cost quite a bit more...

Bodge99

 

[techstud85]

A really good site for getting this equipment (UPS) is newegg.com.  They sometimes have some really good deals.