Written at the time of Hurricane Katrina:
How to Maintain Fish Tanks and Equipment During a Power Cut of
Several Days
by Adam Goldstein
of south Florida
Aquarticles
I would like to start out by saying my heart goes out to the Gulf Coast victims of
Katrina. We were hit by her directly when she was only a category 1.
The plan of attack provided below is the same one I used to keep 3 fish tanks powered
(and a small fan) going for the 3-4 days we had no power as a result of hurricane Katrina.
This plan is tried and true.
I have been reading on a lot of fish keeper forums that everyone is wondering how to
keep their tanks running when the power goes off? I have lived in south Florida my whole
life, and in between the intense lightning storms and the hurricanes, living temporarily
with no power is definitely a regular and expected event. Worry no more as I am about to
share a couple tips with you that will not only keep the air going but your filters and
heater too! If you follow all of these tips you could theoretically run your tanks forever
without using a wall socket.
Here is what you will need:
1-Odyssey 925 cranking amps, sealed, deep cycle, dry cell battery. Odyssey makes batteries
for the military and recently made these available to the public. This battery is smaller
in size than your car battery, but packs wayyy more amperage. The reason I specify THIS
battery is because: IT IS DANGEROUS TO BRING A NORMAL CAR BATTERY IN THE HOUSE!! DO NOT DO
THIS! Normal car batteries contain sulfuric acid and are prone to vapor leakage. VERY
DANGEROUS! The Odyssey is a SEALED, DRY CELL. Nothing will ever endanger you inside this
battery unless you were to crack it open with an axe. There are other sealed, deep cycle
batteries on the market but none are as small or low price as this one. Also has lifetime
warranty. If your budget permits I suggest buying two of these as it will allow you to
keep your tanks running seamlessly if planned right.
http://www.batterystore.com/Odyssey/PC925.htm
1-400 Watt DC to AC Power Inverter. I use a Black & Decker model I purchased at
Wal-Mart for $40. Has quiet built-in-fan. I suggest using a 400 watt inverter as they have
2 outlets available on them. I have used power inverters from other companies and they
will basically all do the job, however I must admit the Black & Decker unit was
definitely quieter and of better quality. Make sure you get one that comes with alligator
clamps that can be clamped directly on the battery. When you get this unit open it, test
it, and become familiar with it.
I suggest having extension cords available as some people like me have more than one
tank but not in the same room as each other. Remember you are no longer relying on wall
sockets. Your power is going to come from the inverter and if you have multiple tanks you
probably have to run extension cords to allow your pumps' plugs to reach the inverter
(again this is only if you are powering more than one tank).
Now to get to it. The inverter is going to come with alligator clamps so you can attach
it directly to your car battery. I suggest you find a location that is in the middle of
all your tanks. Put down a towel or some thick cloth on the ground. Place the battery in
the middle of this towel. This is just to keep the battery off the floor and moisture away
from it. Place the positive and negative (red and black) alligator clamps from the
inverter on the terminals of the battery and turn the unit on. If you have everything
hooked up correct the inverter should power up, if anything is wrong the inverter will
sound an alert or simply not power up. You can now plug in your pumps to the inverter.
If you have a big tank with air and multiple pumps, I suggest using only one pump per
tank while the power is out. This will allow you to keep the water moving for the most
amount of time. You don't even really need to keep your air pump going so long as your
water is moving (circulation oxygenates water all by itself). On my 75 gallon I have a
canister filter and an Emperor hang on tank. I keep just the Emperor running when the
power goes out as it not only circulates the water but also heavily oxygenates due to its
bio-wheel. By doing this your fish can basically go on happily and never notice a change
in the water chemistry. After hurricane Katrina hit my power was off for 3-4 days. I
didn't even have to do a water change when the power came back on my 26 gallon since the
Aquaclear 50 on their tank never stopped running. Silly that I have to mention this but do
NOT bother plugging in your lights unless you have a reef system that NEEDS it. Lights
will drain your battery much faster than your pumps will.
Ok now here is how you can keep this system running FOREVER with no wall power.
1-The Odyssey battery is really a super car battery. If you were to purchase TWO of the
Odyssey batteries you could have one powering your tanks and keep the other..you guessed
it..UNDER YOUR HOOD! If you have one functioning as your car battery it will always be
full. When the power in your home goes out and use all the power in your battery just swap
it with the one under your hood. Since the battery you are putting under your hood will be
dead you WILL need a jumpstart to get your car started. You could do this forever and
always have a battery full to run your tanks. I know this is a lot of work but hey you
only have to do it in times of extreme weather/power outages and anyway no one said this
was supposed to be fun. It's about keeping your fish ALIVE!
----- OR-------
2-Harness the power of the S U N! Solar power panels are very inexpensive now. You can
purchase a "briefcase" that opens up to be 2 solar panels. You can then use this
to keep your Odyssey battery fully charged. This unit is one example of the "solar
power briefcase": http://www.action-electronics.com/solar.htm.
If you search these on eBay you will find a bunch at great prices. While these could power
your fish tank pumps by themselves, they will only work while the sun is out so better to
use them to keep your battery charged so you can keep the pumps running at night as well.
(I have never used the solar power method explained here, I just provide it as a
suggestion. I highly recommend you do a little homework on this and search for the best
solution for you)
If you are sure you have everything planned out properly you could even use the
inverter to power your cell phone charger, run a small fan, etc. Any of the really low
power things you have that need electricity.
Best of luck to my fellow fish keepers!
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