Bigjohnwoody Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I am at work today and got a call from my wife at 7:15 saying our power was out. I promptly called Pacific Power, and found out that my block, and my block alone blew a transformer. It was estimated at being out for at least 3 hours. My Vortech pumps are on battery backup and my return pump is on a APC which will last about 90 minutes. Which leaves my heaters off and my house without heat which means my tank gets cold.... Fast! I drove home, which is about 20 minutes and pulled out my generator. I put what little gas I had in it and started it up and got everything plugged in but my lighting. It took me about 30 minutes in total from the time I got my phone call. I ran to the gas station to get more fuel and filled up the rest of the gas tank on the generator. Just got the gas cap screwed back on and...... Bling, my power comes back online. Hahaha. My tank still dropped 1 full degree from normal temps, but I feel very confident I can handle this situation if it rises again. Just thought this would be a good time to remind everyone that winter is upon us and power outages are more likely. Try and be prepared. It's very comforting knowing that without power for an extended time my tank can still run without a hiccup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danik Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Good job man, Iam totally not prepared for a power outage. It will never happen to me...whink whink Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Yah i have no backup batteries or a generator, so you are MUCH more prepared than I am. Knock on wood but my power has never gone out at my house since it was built. I do have a batter powered air pump though!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRENT Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Thanks John, I was on the fence about getting a Generator (was at Big R yesterday). I just went and picked a brand new Honda EU2000i.(yahoo) I also have a Battery back-up but it's only good for a few hours. Now I'm good for days. Just a FYI Honda generators are on sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smann Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I have a 5k genarator and a transfer panel but like most I havent used it in years, time to start it up and get it checked out, the way this years weather has been who knows what's going to happen this winter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThePremiumAquarium Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 I would also consider checking with your insurance company to see if you have coverage for your tank in case of a power failure. I know that many fish stores have this kind of coverage in place just in case a horrible scenario takes place. Edit: about 5 years ago, I had the power go out for 3.5 days. My 210g reef and 700g worth of support systems didn't like it at all. I lost a ton of stuff and took the system down shortly after. If I would have had power loss coverage on my policy, I wouldn't have been out nearly as much as I was in terms of $$$. Of course that doesn't account for the loss of large colonies or critters I had become attached to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batchelor Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 My power went out last month for about 4 hours,stupid E-Web. I used an $89 generator from Harbor Freight to run my mp40 and a heater. It worked perfectly. It was a little noisy, but no neighbors complained and I didn't loose a thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
souperman Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 I have a battery backup for one of my MP40s, I think one should be good enough to keep the tank alive for a bit? We have a woodstove also so the house should stay warm as long as someone is home to tend it. I should probably invest in a battery powered air pump also to help keep the water oxygenated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kknight Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Thank you for the info. This is our first fish tank winter. We have a generator we use for our sailboat. The hubby is bringing to the house for the winter just in case. Plus the gas can Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markdadof2 Posted November 28, 2011 Share Posted November 28, 2011 I run the ultra-quiet Yamaha 2400i genset during power outages, love it. Thanks for reminding me, I need to start it up and let 'er run for about 20 minutes as it has been a month or two! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
racefan Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 I would also consider checking with your insurance company to see if you have coverage for your tank in case of a power failure. I know that many fish stores have this kind of coverage in place just in case a horrible scenario takes place. My Insurance agent (State Farm) told me the tank & equipment would be covered but NOT anything inside the tank.(nutty) I told her that's the most expensive part! She gave me some excuse but to be honest, at that point all I heard was Charlie Browns teachers voice going, wah wah wah wah (laugh) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 So if the power goes out and I lose all the livestock, be sure to smash equipment. Got it (laugh) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huskerduck Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Im close to Salem so If anyone ever has a problem and doesn't have a generator, I have several, including 220s you could borrow if you're going to be down for a Day or Two. Our 220 one powered a Hot water heater, TV and Xbox and tank for almost a week once Garret may have my number if you don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewey McLovit Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 Speaking of power outages, we had one yesterday in N. Portland that last almost 5 hours! Supposedly a bird grounded out on two wire simultaneously which ended up knocking out 6000+ customers power! Really???!!!! Luckily the Temp didn't even fall a couple of degrees and never got below 74 F and having no water circulation hasn't seem to cause any problems......yet! How long can a 90+ gallon tank go without oxygenation of the water? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Popeil Posted November 29, 2011 Share Posted November 29, 2011 speaking of the insurance issue, i vaguely remember being told you are supposed to refer to the animals in your aquarium as "decorations". if they are called livestock, they wont be covered, but "decorations" will be. anyone confirm this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pledosophy Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 We used to have rolling blackouts where I lived, my tanks never had a problem for the three hour range. I stopped caring honestly. I still have the battery back up. I should get a generator for the systems I have now to at least run the returns. I have a lot more/more tanks then when I was back in cali. We were out for 24 hours once, I used a kitchen strainer to oxygenate the water, not to hard to do, and good exercise too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markvo Posted November 30, 2011 Share Posted November 30, 2011 I was looking at generators and most of the gas powered ones for my system only ran for 5 hours at full clip before needing to be refilled. I was hoping to find about a 7000W generator that ran on natural gas for a good price, but have not found one. Does anybody have an idea where to find a portable generator that runs on natural gas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epicenter Posted December 1, 2011 Share Posted December 1, 2011 So if the power goes out and I lose all the livestock' date=' be sure to smash equipment. Got it (laugh)[/quote'] Thats funny there. I just lost most of my tank after a breaker popped while I was out of town. I have the generator & all but it is not automated to start when power fails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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