brewmaster15
06-29-2017, 11:28 AM
Hi all,
Summer is here in the USA and with it that means tropical storms! Too often we read about someone with a power outage due to a storm or some other issues. These storms can happen any time of the year but summer time is particularly bad. We spend a small fortune on our Fish, tanks, equipment etc. but we often skimp on things to protect those investments. Unfortunately until you are faced with no power and dying fish you often just do not realize how quickly things go from great to bad in your fish tanks. There are few things in the hobby more depressing than losing a tank of your prized Discus because you were unprepared for power outages. What makes it even sadder is that these things are very easy to prepare for.
You first have to add up the tanks power consumption to figure out how much power you will need. Once you know that you need to figure out how to get that power. For most people the easiest solution is a portable generator. A great thing to have anyway to keep the refrigerator and other necessities running, so thats one more reason besides your fish to get one. Generators are pretty readily available at any many retail stores (home depot, lowes, walmart.etc) and online at places like Amazon and Ebay. They vary in size from small 800 watt units to 10,000+ watts. You should avoid the small 800-1200 watt units. These are often very cheaply made 2 cycle engines and the carburetors gum up easy making them a pain to start. You also probably don't need one thats 6000-7000+ watts unless you are using a transfer switch to power your whole house. Its overkill if you are planning on running extension cords to the refrigerator and fish tanks. 2000 -5000 watts is probably good for most casual usage. These "construction, general purpose portable type generators" are perfect for your general needs and your fish tank's emergency power supply. They produce a modified Sine wave which is compatible with most things but unfortunately not all. They can also be a little loud though. They run on various fuels and some run on multiple fuels (diesel, gas, propane, or natural gas in some cases). There are a lot of pros and cons to each fuel and you should consider what you have most readily available.
One thing to note is that these construction generators don't always work well with sensitive equipment like flat screen TVs and computers. For these a better option is an Inverter Generator. These create a pure sine wave unlike the modified sine wave made by "construction, general purpose portable type generators. Because of this pure sine wave these can be used for all your needs, including tanks but are pricey and run small. Honda and Yamaha are top names for inverter generators, and carry a corresponding high price. Ryobi makes a very good one and costs half as much. I use this one personally and really like it. Its quiet and gets the job done at a fair price. Inverter Generators are also more quiet than "Construction, General purpose portable type generators". That makes for happy neighbors!
One note on generators and fuel that I should make is if you go with the most common generator fuel,Gasoline, you need to store it properly. Generators sit along time between use. The gas gets stale and when you need it its not any use any more. Many people store their generators dry and rotate gas storage every 6 months or so. You should store gas with a product like "Stab-il " which helps keep it fresh for months. Another problem with keeping gas in the generator is modern gas contains ethanol. This is bad for carburetors and leads to them gumming up and needing to be cleaned after sitting for a while with old gas. One benefit of going with a propane generator is propane gas does not go bad and and does not harm the carburetor. More and more generators are being made as dual fuel now. The run on gasoline or propane which is a pretty useful option. Also make sure you stock pile oil for your generator. You need to keep the oil clean when using it for extended run. Its not hard to change, but thats only if you have the oil to change it with!
So aside from generators, what can you use? You can often scrape by an outage using your car's electricity! Your car battery hooked up to an inverter is a great option. You can buy inverters in many sizes. DO NOT BUY A HUGE INVERTER. They sell inverters that run from 1000-4000 plus watts. More in this case is not better! To use one on your car would potentially fry the car's battery and electrical system and could cause a fire. The cables alone needed to safely use inverters of this size are very thick gauge wire or they will heat up. I would stick with an inverter of less than 700 watts. That is enough to rotate between some filters, lights and heaters if you mind the wattage used. Speaking from experience It will get you by in a pitch a few days.You should also run the car often ( not near the house!) to charge the batteries. Your car battery is not really designed for deep discharges. Drain it too far, too often and you shorten its life dramatically. I wrote about inverter battery systems in detail here..http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?117188-An-Alternative-to-a-Generator-The-inverter
What about the battery back up systems sold for computers? Yes you can use these but understand that they are small capacity batteries that would drain fast if you try and run heaters off them. They are made to supply un-interrupted power a short time if you lose it while working on your computer, or maybe things like keeping medical equipment running. They are charged by your household electricity so of limited use in a power outage.
Really most Discus keepers would benefit greatly by investing in back up power solution like a generator or at the least an inverter. It can save you much heart break in the future. Do yourself a favor though, don't wait until you need it to buy a generator or inverter. They become very scarce when a storm hits.Plan ahead and you will be glad you did!
Best always,
al
If you read this and found it useful, or if you have already used SimplyDiscus to get started right or correct some problems in your Discus Keeping, PLEASE consider sending in a thank you (click here) (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/misc.php?do=donate)... It helps keep the forum open and it will help keep me writing articles :)
Summer is here in the USA and with it that means tropical storms! Too often we read about someone with a power outage due to a storm or some other issues. These storms can happen any time of the year but summer time is particularly bad. We spend a small fortune on our Fish, tanks, equipment etc. but we often skimp on things to protect those investments. Unfortunately until you are faced with no power and dying fish you often just do not realize how quickly things go from great to bad in your fish tanks. There are few things in the hobby more depressing than losing a tank of your prized Discus because you were unprepared for power outages. What makes it even sadder is that these things are very easy to prepare for.
You first have to add up the tanks power consumption to figure out how much power you will need. Once you know that you need to figure out how to get that power. For most people the easiest solution is a portable generator. A great thing to have anyway to keep the refrigerator and other necessities running, so thats one more reason besides your fish to get one. Generators are pretty readily available at any many retail stores (home depot, lowes, walmart.etc) and online at places like Amazon and Ebay. They vary in size from small 800 watt units to 10,000+ watts. You should avoid the small 800-1200 watt units. These are often very cheaply made 2 cycle engines and the carburetors gum up easy making them a pain to start. You also probably don't need one thats 6000-7000+ watts unless you are using a transfer switch to power your whole house. Its overkill if you are planning on running extension cords to the refrigerator and fish tanks. 2000 -5000 watts is probably good for most casual usage. These "construction, general purpose portable type generators" are perfect for your general needs and your fish tank's emergency power supply. They produce a modified Sine wave which is compatible with most things but unfortunately not all. They can also be a little loud though. They run on various fuels and some run on multiple fuels (diesel, gas, propane, or natural gas in some cases). There are a lot of pros and cons to each fuel and you should consider what you have most readily available.
One thing to note is that these construction generators don't always work well with sensitive equipment like flat screen TVs and computers. For these a better option is an Inverter Generator. These create a pure sine wave unlike the modified sine wave made by "construction, general purpose portable type generators. Because of this pure sine wave these can be used for all your needs, including tanks but are pricey and run small. Honda and Yamaha are top names for inverter generators, and carry a corresponding high price. Ryobi makes a very good one and costs half as much. I use this one personally and really like it. Its quiet and gets the job done at a fair price. Inverter Generators are also more quiet than "Construction, General purpose portable type generators". That makes for happy neighbors!
One note on generators and fuel that I should make is if you go with the most common generator fuel,Gasoline, you need to store it properly. Generators sit along time between use. The gas gets stale and when you need it its not any use any more. Many people store their generators dry and rotate gas storage every 6 months or so. You should store gas with a product like "Stab-il " which helps keep it fresh for months. Another problem with keeping gas in the generator is modern gas contains ethanol. This is bad for carburetors and leads to them gumming up and needing to be cleaned after sitting for a while with old gas. One benefit of going with a propane generator is propane gas does not go bad and and does not harm the carburetor. More and more generators are being made as dual fuel now. The run on gasoline or propane which is a pretty useful option. Also make sure you stock pile oil for your generator. You need to keep the oil clean when using it for extended run. Its not hard to change, but thats only if you have the oil to change it with!
So aside from generators, what can you use? You can often scrape by an outage using your car's electricity! Your car battery hooked up to an inverter is a great option. You can buy inverters in many sizes. DO NOT BUY A HUGE INVERTER. They sell inverters that run from 1000-4000 plus watts. More in this case is not better! To use one on your car would potentially fry the car's battery and electrical system and could cause a fire. The cables alone needed to safely use inverters of this size are very thick gauge wire or they will heat up. I would stick with an inverter of less than 700 watts. That is enough to rotate between some filters, lights and heaters if you mind the wattage used. Speaking from experience It will get you by in a pitch a few days.You should also run the car often ( not near the house!) to charge the batteries. Your car battery is not really designed for deep discharges. Drain it too far, too often and you shorten its life dramatically. I wrote about inverter battery systems in detail here..http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?117188-An-Alternative-to-a-Generator-The-inverter
What about the battery back up systems sold for computers? Yes you can use these but understand that they are small capacity batteries that would drain fast if you try and run heaters off them. They are made to supply un-interrupted power a short time if you lose it while working on your computer, or maybe things like keeping medical equipment running. They are charged by your household electricity so of limited use in a power outage.
Really most Discus keepers would benefit greatly by investing in back up power solution like a generator or at the least an inverter. It can save you much heart break in the future. Do yourself a favor though, don't wait until you need it to buy a generator or inverter. They become very scarce when a storm hits.Plan ahead and you will be glad you did!
Best always,
al
If you read this and found it useful, or if you have already used SimplyDiscus to get started right or correct some problems in your Discus Keeping, PLEASE consider sending in a thank you (click here) (http://forum.simplydiscus.com/misc.php?do=donate)... It helps keep the forum open and it will help keep me writing articles :)