Contingency Plans

[Reverend Reefer]

ok, so i'm working towards eventually setting up backup systems and am looking for some advice:

1. what is the most important thing that should remain on and have a backup battery power setup?

2. what type of battery backup would be good?

i've been looking into the ones used for computer systems but they really don't seem to be made for this type of thing. is there anybody out there using a UPS battery backup like the APC ones?

[Palting]

Went through this before. Best and really only way is a generator.

[Canadian Reefer]

As a fellow Canadian my money would be on the heater i f I had to make a decision. Its warm now but fall and winter is coming when your power goes out it means there is no electric to run the fsn on your furnace which for safties sake means the furnace wont turn on. I have a back up genny and I havent dedicated anything because it can only do so much but I will make the desisions when its time , hopefully I never have to though

[neoalchemist74]

As you can see by my profile I probably wouldnt be in this hobbie long without a geneator where I live, that being said. I've heard of plenty of people useing UPS for back up to run just one pump or an airstone in a power outage.oxygen and water movement are most important besides heat in winter and cool in the summer. do you have a gas water heater if so you can heat water in the bath tub in an emergancy like wise with a gas stove or even a colman camping stove.

[xiaoyu04]

Originally Posted by Reverend Reefer

ok, so i'm working towards eventually setting up backup systems and am looking for some advice:

1. what is the most important thing that should remain on and have a backup battery power setup?

2. what type of battery backup would be good?

i've been looking into the ones used for computer systems but they really don't seem to be made for this type of thing. is there anybody out there using a UPS battery backup like the APC ones?

IMO, water movement is the most important. At least if the power is out, the water movement will maintain some form of oxygen exchange, and the corals would certainly appreciate the maintained flow.

I've heard of computer UPS systems burning marine equipment, so, I agree that a generator is the best route. What type of powerheads do you have? if you have vortechs or tunzes they each have their battery backup system.

[mak3mydae]

If your house stays around the temp for tanks for any reason, a backup for a pump would be my choice.

[Reverend Reefer]

Originally Posted by xiaoyu04

IMO, water movement is the most important. At least if the power is out, the water movement will maintain some form of oxygen exchange, and the corals would certainly appreciate the maintained flow.

I've heard of computer UPS systems burning marine equipment, so, I agree that a generator is the best route. What type of powerheads do you have? if you have vortechs or tunzes they each have their battery backup system.

good idea! i have one vortech. maybe worth looking into getting a backup power for it...

so do u think the powerhead is most important next to a heater? or should the return pump from the sump be highest priority? hard to say where best to invest the money into: if its just the powerhead, then the vortech backup might be my best bet, if its the heater and/or powerhead then i need some sort of backup power that will kick in if the power goes out...

i don't know if i'm ready to get a generator.... i guess the other problem with a generator is that u have to turn it on, so if a power out happens while im not at home, then its no use... or are there any generators that kick in automatically like the UPS ones for computers? i suppose i also have to consider how much power i will need, i.e., how many watts i will need to have running and for how long...

[crvz]

for shorter power failures (say less than 5 days), the only two things to worry about is water movement (really just oxygenation) and temperature control. For me, I use the pennplax b11 backup air pump. it kicks on when power is lost, and these have saved my tank at least twice (once during a hurricane, where this thing was still running almost three days after we lost power).

http://www.aquariumguys.com/silentairpump.html

for temperature control... well that is probably going to need a lot of energy. For me, down on the gulf coast, I'm almost always going to need to cool water, so a generator is required. Up north the true is probably the same for heating water in the winter, unless you can find a good, reliable, and safe way to light a fire under your tank.

[mike_cmu04]

For sure the heater and pumps should be on.