Planned 8 hour outage

[Darren24]

So tomorrow there is a planned 8 hour power cut.
I have have not had the opportunity to install my generator yet due to ongoing renovations.

Will my 1200 Lt tank be alright or do I need to make a plan?

Here is my tank thread,

http://www.marineaquariumsa.com/threads/darrens-built-in-tank.60438/

 

[EFJ]

A couple of battery operated air pumps will help.

 

[hotdog83]

Or a drop or 2 of hydrogen peroxide added to the sump every hour will also help.

 

[EFJ]

Or a drop or 2 of hydrogen peroxide added to the sump every hour will also help.

That will only help if the return pump is running.

 

[hotdog83]

That will only help if the return pump is running.

That is true. How many fish are in the tank? Heavily stocked?

 

[2una]

re the peroxide i was seeing if it knocked GHA around a few days ago - 1 day injected 10ml, 2nd day injected 15ml.....this was on 650L & 10 volume/3% peroxide.
No ill effects on anything.....for O2 supply you shouldn't even need anything like that much i don't think.....just don't point it at shrimps apparently they don't like it & i know it kills brisstle worms from doing soaks of it outside of the tank.

 

[Darren24]

I have about 28 fish at the moment. I don't think oxygen will be a problem

 

[EFJ]

You will be surprised how quickly things can go south. My setup is about 1200L and had 15 fish. Now I only have 3 because my power tripped and my tank sitter only got to my tank 10hrs later. I have had power outages for about 10 to 15 hours and all I used was 4 battery powered air pumps (with air stones on the end of course) and had no issues. The bubbles helps with water movement thus assisting with gas exchange. This is why I am getting a backup power supply first before I buy any fish again.

 

[mandrin]

Hi Darren24 where is this power outage planned for bud pls advise
thanks

 

[Darren24]

Warner Beach area

 

[Darren24]

Okay, so I have connected my 650 va ups. Based on Google searches this will get me anything between 5 and 35 hours with a 7 watt 600lt per hour pump.
I have my doubts that it will last this long. Fortunately though the wife is home tomorrow so I have shown her what is happening and she will plug the pump into the ups after 3 hours off no power. I have set the pump that it just breaks the water surface. This will run until the ups dies.

 

[EFJ]

As long as there is flow/movement then it should be OK. Good luck, I am sure things will be fine.

 

[RiaanP]

8 hours is too long.

6 hours and everything might still be OK. OK, it all does depend on the size of the tank, stocking levels, open top or canopy etc. Too many factors.

But 8 hours are pushing the limit on your stock count too much.

 

[RiaanP]

Smaller tanks limit decreases. Bigger tanks can go longer without power. Big tanks and after 6 hours things start to go downhill and picking up speed.

Battery airpump just to create some water movement will help a lot in gas exchange. Or somebody needs to stand next to the tank and stir it every 5 minutes.

 

[Darren24]

Smaller tanks limit decreases. Bigger tanks can go longer without power. Big tanks and after 6 hours things start to go downhill and picking up speed.

Battery airpump just to create some water movement will help a lot in gas exchange. Or somebody needs to stand next to the tank and stir it every 5 minutes.

thanks, i have set up a 600 lt per hour pump (7 watt) to run off my UPS, my wife will switch this on 3 hours into the outage. i have also told her to keep an eye on the livestock and make sure that they stay active, if anything changes i am 10 mins from home. i have loaded a small generator into my bakkie already from work that i will connect up to the return pump should things go south.

i have actioned the installation of my 8 kva generator with auto switch over, this should be up and running in the next 2 weeks or so. so will hopefully never have this issue again. this will run my complete house excluding heating elements (the DB has been wired this way).

The power went down at 9 am. will keep all updated. thanks for the advise.

 

[RiaanP]

8kva
That is a big generator. Can power even your house geyser. Although not needed.

 

[hotdog83]

Good luck, I hate the feeling when power is off, our planned outages are normally at night, never sleep well until it is on again. Your wife can also just every 30 minutes or so stir the tank water with a cup a bit to oxygenate it.

 

[TheWaterboy]

hey Darren....hope all is well
a cordless drill with a egg beater on the surface from time to time....does wonders

if you have np pellets etc etc id concentrate on keeping movement through there and the filter

also grab some am gaurd today and add a capfull every 2 hours

 

[Darren24]

hey Darren....hope all is well
a cordless drill with a egg beater on the surface from time to time....does wonders

if you have np pellets etc etc id concentrate on keeping movement through there and the filter

also grab some am gaurd today and add a capfull every 2 hours

Hey Marco,
thanks for the advise bud, never thought about a battery drill, very clever idea.
i am running phosguard and seachem de nitrate through an ro type reactor. will that be a problem? please let me know if so i will remove the media and replace. but it is currently plugged into the wall so will come on when the power comes on. need to know if i must disconnect it.

 

[Darren24]

Thanks to all that advised, the power outage lasted 6 hours, after 3 hours I connected the ups to a 600lt per hour pump. The pump ran 15 mins on 15 mins off repeatedly for the next 3 hours. All fish good and healthy. Corals a little sad bit that is due to lighting been off.

I am sure this thread will be of use to many in the future.