Every aquarist should have one of these!

[mermaidwannabe]

Somebody out on the highway hit a power pole about 45 minutes ago. They had to de-energize it for awhile, which meant our power went out. My Azoo non-stop pump battery, which I have on the low setting, took over and powered my airstone in the absence of electricity.

Every aquarist should have one of these. They can be a lifesaver during a power outage, if it doesn't last too long. The battery on the low setting will continue to power the tank for up to 20 hours on a full charge, and on the high setting about half that long. As soon as the electricity returns, the battery recharges.

Sure beats having to gas up a generator (which we don't have, anyway)!

-- mermaidwannabe

:goldfish: :fish: :fish2:

[SwordTaleLair]

I have a marine deep cycle battery with an 800W power inverter I have for backup purposes. it can at least run a heater, airstone, and filter for a while.

[kurly]

Hmmmm, I think I need to look into getting something like that. I would hate to lose my fish or my BB if the power went out. Something tells me that this winter is going to be worse than last year. Power didn't go out but you never know what can happen with winter storms.

[mermaidwannabe]

Foster and Smith sells them -- AZOO nonstop pump. You do have to connect up one of the two sets of wires in the battery as soon as you get the pump. With mine, the black wire was already connected, and I had to connect up the red wire exactly the same way. It's really simple. If you don't do that, it won't work. They tell you that, though, in the catalog and in the directions with the pump.

I'm sure glad I got one of those. The power has gone out twice, today -- both times as the result of an auto accident on the highway. I can't believe people just won't slow down on icy, snowy roads! I just hope no one was seriously hurt.

-- mermaidwannabe

:goldfish: :fish: :fish2:

[FullMETAL]

We just had a bad thunder storm today and apparently a tornado touched down somewhere near by. Sirens were blaring and everything! I believe it because our power was out for about 45 minutes...

Am I still okay? This backup you're talking about... is this about worse case scenarios with power going out for hours and hours?

[dbosman]

If the power goes out in freezing weather, don't run an air stone. Wrap the tanks as quickly as you can in blankets or insulation. Cold will kill faster than the slow dissipation of Oxygen.

[mermaidwannabe]

Fillmetal, I don't think just 45 minutes of outage is going to cause much harm. The battery in the revertible pump, if fully charged, can power for up to 20 hours on low setting, about 10 on high setting. It is for drastic situations where the power is out for several hours. And it recharges when electricity is restored.

This is a real godsend for those of us who live where winters are harsh with frequent strong winds. Now, if an EF-5 tornado passes through, you've got a lot more to worry about than fish tanks!

-- mermaidwannabe

:ariel:

[Pleco380]

Smart idea. If there's a huge power outage, my fish will all get ick and then die. They rely completely on electicity.

[mermaidwannabe]

The temperature tonight is expected to get down to 3F (that's not a typo!) I don't keep the space heater running in the fish room all night (I never let heaters run in rooms where I'm not present), so I'm going to cover my tank to hold in its existing heat. It's a coldwater tank, but even so, that drop in temperature is a bit extreme.

-- mermaid

[Pleco380]

It's -29 celsius here right now. That's -20 fahrenheit.

[Goes to 11!]

Three words:

Ebay Honda Generator. :1luvu:

I eat microwave popcorn and watch my [lighted, heated] tanks when my power goes out. thumbs2: