Oromis Posted September 10, 2013 Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 I was just wondering what systems everybody has in place for dealing with power outages and high heat that the coming summer months and its beautiful storms could bring? I used to have an old computer UPS set up on the tank but either its battery has died or its inverter died. So I'm back to square one. But either way I'm looking for something a bit better. Something with a pure sine wave.. The pumps didn't like the approximated sine of the UPS very much.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaizen088 Posted September 10, 2013 Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 I bought a Resun chiller last year to get me through the summer months. One good thing about the chiller is you can drop the tank temp at the touch of a button to induce spawning. I'm looking at possibly setting up some deep cycle batteries (fortunately I work for a Forklift company and can get a hold of a used electric forklift battery pack fairly cheaply) with a solar panel to keep them charged. It can be run through a relay so when mains power drops out the solar back up will cut in. Will probably just run the sump pump and LP20 off it for emergencies. Probably not a bad idea to have a generator for long term power outs though as well. Battery back up would only need to run a max of 8 hours for when the power drops out when I'm at work and can't be there to switch on and connect a generator. What you need to ask yourself is how much have you invested in the stock as well as the value of fry/ juvies (if you're breeding seriously). If the answer is over $2000 then it's a no brainer to cover yourself and invest in some sort of back up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
__CAV__ Posted September 10, 2013 Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 its simple go and buy a generator. ok for example, Say i've got fish to the value of about the $3000 mark, so a small outlay of say $1000 to buy a good quality generator is in my eyes is a small price to pay for peace of mind. Isn't a small outlay of say $500-1000 on something that will save your fish, better than loosing $3000 worth of fish? If we lose power its just a case of setting the generator up, connecting all the tanks upto it and starting it. then unlike everyone else who is worrying I can sit back have a beer and not have to worry about not having power. If you are a tradesman, buy one and write it off on tax, you wont get the full amount back but you will get something back, you also dont need to spend as much as I did, a cheapy from buntings/masters/mitre10 will do the job, as most of the time you wont be loosing power for an extended time. anyway HTH Cav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wallygerm Posted September 10, 2013 Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 I brought a Fuji Micro 2Kva Puresine Inverter Generator for $300 from ebay So when summer storms start i don't have to worry about the power going off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFishkeeper Posted September 10, 2013 Report Share Posted September 10, 2013 If using a generator as backup for a fishroom running powerful water recirculation pumps, don't forget you need approximately 3 times the wattage of the pump to kick these things over. In other words, while an 800 watt generator may run a pump drawing 400 watts, it may not be powerful enough to get it started. I use a Honda commercial 4,500 watt generator as backup for my fishroom, it has enough power to kick over all my water and airpumps at the one time, and then when they are running I can hook up a fluoro light inside and put on the jug and make coffee while waiting for the power to come back on Cheers, Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenterra Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 Yep. Genset for sure! My 3.5Kva Puresine genset will run the fishy needs plus all my house hold stuff like tvs, fridge, washing machine, pc, microwave and what ever lights I need at the same time. When the power goes out, life can go on like normal. A must have investment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oromis Posted September 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 We only have around $500 in livestock. Which whilst it isn't a huge amount of money, its still fair bit for uni students. But more importantly we don't want to lose em. A Genny sounds great, especially for long power outages. But my main concern is that my partner and I are in the city at uni from 7am to late in the day sometimes even till early evening. I'm concerned about losing power in the middle of the day and come home to find we've already lost stock and the filter. I was planning on buying a decent stepped charger and find a decent wattage pure sine inverter and score some used gel cells through the family but I found a inverter/charger combo (like what they use on boats) 600W Pure Sine Wave Inverter / Charger - 12V DC to 240V AC Which while it usually costs a bit more than my original idea, but i feel it would be constructed a bit better and probably be nicer on the batteries. It really only needs to be able to run a three pumps for several hours until we get home (100W max) Im think the tanks can deal without a heater or lights until we get home and do something more permanent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lippa Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 ark pak! $400 at bcf at the moment then either get a good quality agm battery and leave running inside or a car battery, lead acids need to be outside. no brainer for simple display tanks ArkPak 12V/240V Battery Box. Ark Corporation Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayPee Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 Yep Generator for the win. I bought one last year have started it 2 twice to make sure all is good. I paid $400 for mine and best thing I did. As was said I wrote it off on tax =) But the genny was less than some of my fish. I cant believe it took me so long to get one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayPee Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 You will only really need it during the summer storms so will most likely be running pumps and not heaters. Oh and the beer fridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raycam01_au Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 i sell lots of genies, and they make me smile Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lippa Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 You have to be home to start you $400 genie though, you have to go out in the storm, you have to run Leeds whilst messing with water Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Junkie Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 i sell lots of genies, and they make me smile Yep FJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raycam01_au Posted September 11, 2013 Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 thats my most popular one FJ, sold 11 of those to a trucker with maintenance vehicles, and its the one i use also for dirt bike rides, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oromis Posted September 11, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2013 The ArkPak looks great. My main concern with inverters is if it ispure sine. Some of my pumps refused to run on approximated sine and the others just sounded unhealthy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
