Power Outages!!

[Curgan]

I just received a letter in the main from southern California Edison, my power company, saying that there is going to be a power outage on the 10th of February from 9am-4pm, and that those are ruff estimates to how long the power is going to be down... I live in southern california and it is "supposed" to be 70 degrees that day, so im not worried too much about the temp change. but should i be worried about the fish tank not having Flow, Lights, and filters for a whole day?
should i go rent a power supply?

 

[BigAl07]

Are you going to BE there at that time?

If not then maybe YES! If you're there you can "Make Flow" during that time but a back-up power supply is a GREAT idea.

 

[Curgan]

i most likely wont be here...

 

[faust]

rent, beg or barrow a generator for the day

 

[Curgan]

ok so i cannot find a power generator anywhere, and dont have the money to buy one... would 6-7 hours of no power be detrimental to my tank????

 

[Varga]

some might disagree.....But I would have no worries leaving my tank without power for 6-7 hours as long as temperature does not change dramatically.

 

[michelle9491]

You can get one of those battery operated air pumps & use an air stone, would be better than nothing. Mine lasted on a trip for 13 hours.

 

[Curgan]

the temp should be fine, its going to be 70 degrees that day, i dont see the tank temp dropping that much at all...

 

[Frankie]

You can get one of those battery operated air pumps & use an air stone, would be better than nothing. Mine lasted on a trip for 13 hours.

This looks like your best option.

 

[rmlevasseur]

I wonder if a car battery could help you out, at least to keep a heater and pump going.

 

[ZAPCOnj]

what powerheads do you have? if you have a vortech get the battery back up. it will run the powerheads for up to 30 hours on a single charge when the power goes out.

you could also see if you can find a "jump Pack" the boosters they use to jump start a car. some of them have a single 3 prong outlet on it. if you have a low power power head it should run it for a few hours. I would also try it out prior to the outage to make sure.

with that said.... when your system looses power, does your sump overflow and flood your floor? you had better do a dry run if you're not sure. just to be safe!!!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I wonder if a car battery could help you out, at least to keep a heater and pump going.

I was in the marching band in high school and we had an electric bass player that would stand on the sidelines an play. For her amp, we hooked up a car battery to an AC/DC converter, then the amp just plugged into a socket on the converter. If it strong enough to power a huge 2'x2' amp for a 20 minute show, I would assume it would be enough to run a few powerheads and a heater for 7 hours.

 

[Curgan]

oooo i have a jump pack ill check that out... great idea!!!

 

[Curgan]

the only output from my jump starter is a 12v car lighter style thing... and the two typical jump start cables... hmmm.... well im charging it, and trying to find a converter from 12v dc to 110v ac... anyone know a cheap trick???

 

[Curgan]

so tomorrow is the power outage day... and i haven't been able to find a generator or any alternative power source... ( that fits my budget)... how about those air stones??? would that help??? i know 6-7 hours without power shouldnt be detrimental, but i at least want to ad some increased oxygen exchange..

 

[ZAPCOnj]

can you go to Homedepot? they usually rent them.

I've also seen some kind of tablet similar to an alkaseltzer that adds the air stone effect they have them at the LFS here and from time to time i see it also at petco.

 

[Curgan]

so the power went out for only 3 hours today, im very relived... temp dropped from 77 to 74 and is slowly back on the rise....

is there anything i should test or clean because of the loss of electricity to the tank?