With the recent return of load shedding I thought it might be prudent to start a discussion to help fellow marine aquarists combat the livestock losses experienced with load shedding.
With some research I came to the conclusion that in our situation in South Africa we can still keep marine aquaria successfully even with load shedding and prolonged power outages.
I believe the key is to only have critical equipment running during power outages that aid in oxygenating the water and aid in nutrient export and breakdown to prevent spikes in ammonia in the water.
This reduces the power needs of the aquarium dramatically!
All lights can be turned off during power outages. Even energy saving LED lighting uses more electricity on average than the average DC return pump.
Corals and fish are fully capable to survive up to a few days left in darkness!
Having the return pump running will achieve some amount of flow that will aid in oxygenating the water, but also move water over live rock that will help in breaking down deadly ammonia buildup.
Having your skimmer running will also greatly aid in nutrient export and oxygenating the water and will help to keep the PH more stable during power outages.
Most modern skimmers use low power consumption DC pumps which is great news!
Power heads and wavemakers are of lesser importance if you can have your return pump and skimmer running.
Yes, you will still need some sort of power supply such as an inverter or genny, but the size of said back up power does not need to be big enough to run all your equipment, only critical systems.
Air stones connected to a battery operated aquarium air pump will also help to keep water moving and oxygenated.
Some battery operated air pumps house rechargeable lithium batteries that can last up to a few days.
The cost of such an air pump pales in comparison to the cost of our livestock.
Summers in South Africa can be quite hot. To prevent tank temperature rise to critical levels a simple USB fan blowing over the water surface will lower tank temperature by means of evaporative cooling.
These fans are readily available and very energy efficient. Some models are equipped with rechargeable lithium batteries capable of driving the fan for a few hours. No need for power hungry chillers!
Initial planning on aquarium placement will also help a lot in temperature control. Try not to place your aquarium in the path of direct sunlight such as in front of a window. Sunlight shining on your aquarium can cause dramatic rise in temperature.
Having a fan blowing over the water to aid in evaporative cooling will of course cause a lot of water evaporation. Instead of the usual auto top off system employing an small pump and sensors you could consider installing a mechanical float valve with gravity fed RO water for your auto top off to the pump return chamber. Salinity rise issues solved!
In winter time to combat water temperature drops can be done in several ways besides water heaters. Just by keeping the door to the room closed you can prevent constant cold air from entering the room.
You can also use a gas heater to heat the room, but you can NOT keep the doors to the room closed if you use a gas heater. The buildup of carbon monoxide gas will be deadly to yourself as well as your livestock.
Simply placing a bucket of hot water in your sump for a period will aid in preventing fast temperature drops. Heating water in a pot on a small gas stove is within reach of many of us. Just secure the bucket in such a way to prevent fresh water spills in the sump. Keep in mind that aquariums with larger water volumes will not cool down as fast as small aquariums. Larger water volumes will have better temperature stability.
I look forward to reading about your methods to combat the loss of livestock during power outages.
Your contribution to the knowledge pool will be invaluable to your fellow aquarist!
With some research I came to the conclusion that in our situation in South Africa we can still keep marine aquaria successfully even with load shedding and prolonged power outages.
I believe the key is to only have critical equipment running during power outages that aid in oxygenating the water and aid in nutrient export and breakdown to prevent spikes in ammonia in the water.
This reduces the power needs of the aquarium dramatically!
All lights can be turned off during power outages. Even energy saving LED lighting uses more electricity on average than the average DC return pump.
Corals and fish are fully capable to survive up to a few days left in darkness!
Having the return pump running will achieve some amount of flow that will aid in oxygenating the water, but also move water over live rock that will help in breaking down deadly ammonia buildup.
Having your skimmer running will also greatly aid in nutrient export and oxygenating the water and will help to keep the PH more stable during power outages.
Most modern skimmers use low power consumption DC pumps which is great news!
Power heads and wavemakers are of lesser importance if you can have your return pump and skimmer running.
Yes, you will still need some sort of power supply such as an inverter or genny, but the size of said back up power does not need to be big enough to run all your equipment, only critical systems.
Air stones connected to a battery operated aquarium air pump will also help to keep water moving and oxygenated.
Some battery operated air pumps house rechargeable lithium batteries that can last up to a few days.
The cost of such an air pump pales in comparison to the cost of our livestock.
Summers in South Africa can be quite hot. To prevent tank temperature rise to critical levels a simple USB fan blowing over the water surface will lower tank temperature by means of evaporative cooling.
These fans are readily available and very energy efficient. Some models are equipped with rechargeable lithium batteries capable of driving the fan for a few hours. No need for power hungry chillers!
Initial planning on aquarium placement will also help a lot in temperature control. Try not to place your aquarium in the path of direct sunlight such as in front of a window. Sunlight shining on your aquarium can cause dramatic rise in temperature.
Having a fan blowing over the water to aid in evaporative cooling will of course cause a lot of water evaporation. Instead of the usual auto top off system employing an small pump and sensors you could consider installing a mechanical float valve with gravity fed RO water for your auto top off to the pump return chamber. Salinity rise issues solved!
In winter time to combat water temperature drops can be done in several ways besides water heaters. Just by keeping the door to the room closed you can prevent constant cold air from entering the room.
You can also use a gas heater to heat the room, but you can NOT keep the doors to the room closed if you use a gas heater. The buildup of carbon monoxide gas will be deadly to yourself as well as your livestock.
Simply placing a bucket of hot water in your sump for a period will aid in preventing fast temperature drops. Heating water in a pot on a small gas stove is within reach of many of us. Just secure the bucket in such a way to prevent fresh water spills in the sump. Keep in mind that aquariums with larger water volumes will not cool down as fast as small aquariums. Larger water volumes will have better temperature stability.
I look forward to reading about your methods to combat the loss of livestock during power outages.
Your contribution to the knowledge pool will be invaluable to your fellow aquarist!
