Power Outage: Inverter Qs

[slapshot16]

My power has been out since 5:00 pm yesterday. Tank tep is steadily dropping. It is down to 71 degrees.

I am looking to buy a power inverter.

Can I hook a car battery up to a 750 watt power inverter to run my return, heater and one powerhead? Or just my heater and powerhead? I would buy a battery and inverter and place both next to the tank. If the outage is extended, I will run it off of my car.

The heater is 300 watts. The Eheim return is 65 watts. I have 2 maxjets in the DT. I am not planning on running my T-5s.

What should my priorities be? Heat and Flow? Heat, flow and lights?

Looking for advice. Thank you.

[o.c.d.]

Flow then heat, your water must keep moving or no oxygen everything dies. Temp takes longer to drop but you don't want a major drop also. If my water stops moving within 8hr fish start to die,This can be a very bad senario GET THE FLOW MOVING NOW. even if you have to rig up a cordless drill do it manually if you have to. I have a gas generator for emergencies like this it may be worth it to just get a cheap 1000w generator mine cost 350$ what ever you do do it fast!!!!

[rickh]

Get a generator.
Until then use the inverter to run the circulation and heat. Forget about a separate battery, just hook it to the car--and run the car. I have tried both constantly running the car and only running the car every few hours. If you fall asleep the battery will discharge, the battery will be destroyed and you will no have power. Just run the car. I ran a Honda several times for 24+ hours with no bad effects. R

[slapshot16]

Thanks. Power back on. Tank temp at 65. Now it is 67.5. Fish seem OK although I cannot find 2 of them. They usually hide. The corals were discharging a bunch of stuff. Mushrooms were all puffed up. Everything looked better after the lights were on for a bit. I will change out the carbon tonight. Water change over the weekend.

Lesson learned. I was totally unprepaired. I will still get the inverter and probably a battery operated air pump. Thanks.

[slapshot16]

What do you guys think of this inverter for $150.00?

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=788

For a converter or generator, do I simply run an extension cord to it and then connect my power strip to the extension cord to run everything that is attached to the power strip?

[rickh]

Get the generator.
To operate that 1200 watt inverter your car will have to be running, not just idling. A 1200 watt inverter requires a 110 amp alternator just for the inverter, you also have to operate the car's electrical system.
I purchased several $25/400 watt inverters and tried them. If your pumps work without "chattering" you are good to go. The first $20 unit from Meijers worked for me.
You can easily have thousands of dollars of perishable livestock in your tank. Get the generator. R

[slapshot16]

Thanks rickh. I am not trying to avoid your advice, I am just now starting my research for different option. I agree that the generator is the best way to go. How about something like this: 1500 watt coleman with 2 outlets:

http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=566

[rickh]

I would get something bigger unless you live in an apartment and really don't have any place to store a larger generator. Remember you will have to have gasoline on hand and you have to maintain this thing. It's terrible to have a generator and you can't get it started:(




Remember you also have hundreds of dollars worth of food and condiments in your refrigerator. You need to keep the fish warm and the beer cold. :)


http://www.electricgeneratorsdirect.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=425

[o.c.d.]

I'd also take a turkey baster or power head and blow any of the discharge off the corals. Glad to hear the powers back on.LOL
And a side note I run a backup power supply that kicks in if powers out it gives me about 8hrs of run time on important equipment.Cost about 400$ but good peace of mind.

[rickh]

Sorry if I sound like a hard @ss but we spend huge amounts of time and money on our hobby.
I had no problem selling my wife on the idea of a generator, now we can flush the toilet when the power is out.:D

[ToxicPoison]

A bit late, but...if you have gas heat, you can always fill a plastic jug with hot water and float it in your tank to keep the temperature up. Just make sure the top is on tight so no water leaks into your tank. Granted, this won't work in the long term but in an emergency situation, it's better then nothing.

Glad no disasters happened during the outage!

[PaintGuru]

I'd really like to know the setup for the deep cell batteries and inverter, as I can not really have a loud generator outside in my condo complex.

[Roy G. Biv]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12020605#post12020605 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by PaintGuru
I'd really like to know the setup for the deep cell batteries and inverter, as I can not really have a loud generator outside in my condo complex.

Would you be disturbing the peace and quiet or would the other units be jealous that your condo is the only one lit up :)

[PaintGuru]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12020891#post12020891 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pmolan
Would you be disturbing the peace and quiet or would the other units be jealous that your condo is the only one lit up :)

Both I'm sure. Actually I'll see if I can find a quiet generator out there. Not like I need THAT much power to get through these things, just enough for a heater and pump. I saw some online that claimed to have a 69dB level of noise, which isn't too bad.

Here is the one that I found....would probably work for both tanks as long as I could get the extension cords :).

http://cgi.ebay.com/Super-Quiet-PowerMax-Portable-RV-Camping-Gas-Generator_W0QQitemZ120220389371QQcmdZViewItem