Good topic guys. A lot of good tips to help prepare your tanks. Here in the PNW we also are subject to power outages & on my main display I only use two gyres to power my 600g
Inverter Generators tend to be smaller and the power is cleaner sine wave for electronics like furnace boards etc. But they don't necessarily have as high a wattage capacity, but are more fuel efficient and quieter. Multiple units can be chained in parallel to give you a higher capacity. But can still be a great option just for DC equipment for the tank only.
Daytona, we had no power about 36 hours. Generator during the day. Battery powered inverter at night. It is all about prep. Didn’t need the battery powered air stones.
Thanks for this y'all! I'm in the New Orleans area and between Entergy's many infrastructure issues and hurricanes this has been a subject I've constantly been researching and improving for my small reef tank. I have a much bigger battery backup system coming for the house that I'll be able to recharge with a mix of solar and generator power depending on the needs and time of the year, but for the tank right now it has a Jackery 1000 battery backup that is hooked up to solar and main power. What i'm currently working on and want to play with is a new "mode" in my Hydros controller called Post Hurricane that'll switch things off and possibly put certain items on a different schedule. Since I'm using Aqua Illumination pumps I can't do speed control in Hydros to my knowledge but I can alternate which pump has power or how long they have power as well as shut off my heaters since it's likely that won't be needed without AC. Appreciate this discussion and hope more people talk about their setups so we can learn together.
Smaller tanks in general are easier to manage due to the equipment's lower voltage consumption which most are now 12-24DC which opens the hobbyist more options like small solar generators.
I don't know if agree with just running one. I had a power outage that lasted a day. I had 2 WAV pumps running and some fish still tied from lack of oxygen. I think return pump is important at low setting for less wattage use for that oxygen when it goes through overflow creating that movement at the surface too.
Sorry to hear of the loss of your fish during the power outage. Surface agitation only goes so far depending on the fish load of the aquarium. Sometimes a use of an air pump along with surface agitation will provide additional air for heavily populated aquariums during extended outages.
@@CoralVueTV thanks 🙏 yes this last power outage I added 3 air pump on top of the power heads and return pump. It is a heavily stocked tank. No casualties this time. Was without power for almost 4 days. Darn Hurricane Helene.
Your backup battery will last so much longer if it’s only DC attached to DC pumps / powerheads. So much energy is wasted on UPSs that convert DC to AC.
Good topic guys. A lot of good tips to help prepare your tanks. Here in the PNW we also are subject to power outages & on my main display I only use two gyres to power my 600g
YEAAHHHHH I LOVE PREPARING FOR POWER OUTAGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Inverter Generators tend to be smaller and the power is cleaner sine wave for electronics like furnace boards etc. But they don't necessarily have as high a wattage capacity, but are more fuel efficient and quieter. Multiple units can be chained in parallel to give you a higher capacity. But can still be a great option just for DC equipment for the tank only.
That’s a great point. Inverters are a nice option for smaller systems, and the sine wave output is great for sensitive equipment.
Thanks for the info you guys are great!!!
Daytona, we had no power about 36 hours. Generator during the day. Battery powered inverter at night.
It is all about prep. Didn’t need the battery powered air stones.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I hope your reef tank stayed healthy during the power outage.
Thanks for this y'all! I'm in the New Orleans area and between Entergy's many infrastructure issues and hurricanes this has been a subject I've constantly been researching and improving for my small reef tank. I have a much bigger battery backup system coming for the house that I'll be able to recharge with a mix of solar and generator power depending on the needs and time of the year, but for the tank right now it has a Jackery 1000 battery backup that is hooked up to solar and main power. What i'm currently working on and want to play with is a new "mode" in my Hydros controller called Post Hurricane that'll switch things off and possibly put certain items on a different schedule. Since I'm using Aqua Illumination pumps I can't do speed control in Hydros to my knowledge but I can alternate which pump has power or how long they have power as well as shut off my heaters since it's likely that won't be needed without AC.
Appreciate this discussion and hope more people talk about their setups so we can learn together.
thoughts on an AIO tank? i have a mightyjet return pump or a gyre 330, which would be smarter to run on a small solar gen?
Smaller tanks in general are easier to manage due to the equipment's lower voltage consumption which most are now 12-24DC which opens the hobbyist more options like small solar generators.
I don't know if agree with just running one. I had a power outage that lasted a day. I had 2 WAV pumps running and some fish still tied from lack of oxygen. I think return pump is important at low setting for less wattage use for that oxygen when it goes through overflow creating that movement at the surface too.
Sorry to hear of the loss of your fish during the power outage. Surface agitation only goes so far depending on the fish load of the aquarium. Sometimes a use of an air pump along with surface agitation will provide additional air for heavily populated aquariums during extended outages.
@@CoralVueTV thanks 🙏 yes this last power outage I added 3 air pump on top of the power heads and return pump. It is a heavily stocked tank. No casualties this time. Was without power for almost 4 days. Darn Hurricane Helene.
@@queencityreefs So glad to hear there were no losses this time around and at 4 days. Great job.
Your backup battery will last so much longer if it’s only DC attached to DC pumps / powerheads. So much energy is wasted on UPSs that convert DC to AC.
You are absolutely correct!