Black out - Back up available ?

[wetfish]

I have two questions related to power loss, due to black out or power being cut off for a period of time. I am aware that the size of the tank and the population would have a bearing on the answer. There must be a general course of action to prevent fish from dying. Perhaps lessons learnt from past experiences.

1. What sort of devices are available to prevent fish from dying during a Black out or when power has to be cut off for a period of time??

2. What time frame can the fish survive without water circulating or air being pumped into the water??

Wetfish

[trofius]

best thing is to have a handy generator! from $200, if you have a big fishroom.

next best thing is to have sensibly stocked tanks so if the power does stop you have a chance of them suviving,

you can also get battery powered air pumps for about $10 form some lfs and fishing supply shops, usually can power two airstones for 12 hours no worries with good batteries

I have tubs that have no air/filter on them they seem OK but get a 50% water change every week, and not many fish in them for the water volume.

[BlakeyBoyR]

I remember asking this question back on the old forums and from what I can remember, the best way to approach it is to have a couple of battery powered air pumps handy (with batteries in them of course, they can be purchased from Ben, one of our sponsors) and to do frequent warm water changes to keep the water clean.

[Ash]

Dunno if anyone has tried this but maybe a computer UPS?

[wetfish]

I thought that there may have been some sort of gadget that is activate when it sences that there is no power. much like emergancy lights.

No dought that a battery operated pump will keep ur fish alive, but u have to be home to activate it.

???

[trofius]

A battrey back up like the computer ones would be a great idea, not sure what sort of wattage they can handle however.....big pumps suck the juice,

some home alarm systems are wired into a phone service that can contact you when power goes out etc, that could be an extreme type of back up.

most BIG generaotrs will automatically cut in when thesense a power outage, is it worth spending the $10k

[Paulochromis]

UPS's are certainly worth investigating. They're not as expensive as they once were. There are plenty of UPS manufacturers out there - shop around. You don't need anything as high-spec as the ones built specifically for computers, since it's ok for the heater/filter/airstones to drop out for a couple of seconds before switching over. I think the going rates nowadays are about $1 per W.

Cheers,