doktorstick Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 If you have an open top, would your tank receive enough oxygen even with the pumps turned off for a long period of time? (I saw reference to oxygen deprivation and breaker tripping in another thread.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddybluewater Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 You wil still get oxygen exchange directly related to the suface area of your tank. As to wether it would be enough to maintaian life depends on how the tank is stocked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted December 21, 2009 Share Posted December 21, 2009 I think you would need turbulence to break the surface tension to allow gas exchange, if not you would get C02 build up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted December 22, 2009 Share Posted December 22, 2009 I was the one posting about the breaker and I had a little more info about that. I thought I would be smart and made sure that the sump pump and the powerheads were on different circuits just in case this happend. The breaker for the sump is what tripped so the powerheads were still going. Had a large Tunze and a couple of Koralia 2's but none really churned the surface of the water but it does move the water around. Sump pump and the lighting was off for about 2 1/2 days, all corals made it without any problems and about 1/2 of the fish lived. We lost almost all of our shrimp including a mated pair of CBS that were awesome, our puffer died and 2 of the 3 royal grammas we had. We were really bummed about the CBS and puffer, they were by far our favorite things in the tank. Tangs and blennies made it but were stressed. After having this happen I realized how valuable power was for my aquarium...lol. I would recommend having a generator handy in case of an ice storm that knocks out power for a couple of days (it has happened before). If you wait until your power goes out you won't be able to find a generator to buy in the whole city. I have heard a few horror stories about tanks in Houston that the owners had to just watch die, some were without power for 2 weeks. It would be sad to see your reef slowly die. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted December 24, 2009 Share Posted December 24, 2009 I found this, though it might be helpful. http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/242140/i/1/product.web This is an air pump that plugs in the wall and sits dormant until the power goes out, then turns on and runs off of D batteries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 I was just going to mention the battery powered air pump that Hydro linked. I have one and it works perfectly. Others have bought battery backups that a power head pointed toward the surface runs on. I have even heard of people using a power inverter and running power from their cars during a power outage. The pump will run for quite a while though and is by far the cheapest and easiest safe guard. If a multi-day outage occurred when not a home it may be a different story. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKilpatrick Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 I actually bought a cheaper version of that battery-powered pump at Petco today for $18. It works the same way -- you plug it in and it only comes on if the power goes out. It uses 2 D cells,so it is probably not as powerful. It did the trick in breaking up the surface, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
offroadodge Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 pretty good idea, im gonna have to look into that for a back up on mine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mFrame Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 Walmart and Academy have the D-battery powered air pumps for keeping minnows alive, they run $5-10 dollars. I have two that I keep on hand. Nice thing is that they hold 2 batteries but only run off one, so you always have a backup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKilpatrick Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 Walmart and Academy have the D-battery powered air pumps for keeping minnows alive, they run $5-10 dollars. I have two that I keep on hand. Nice thing is that they hold 2 batteries but only run off one, so you always have a backup. I think that is the same thing I was using. It would work on one battery. Do you know how long it will run on a pair of batteries? However, I have no idea how to scale it. How many do you need to have enough water movement for a 100 Gal, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted December 25, 2009 Share Posted December 25, 2009 With the air pump it is not about water movement just adding oxygen to the water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexKilpatrick Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 With the air pump it is not about water movement just adding oxygen to the water. Well, it still begs the same question :-) Does a small D-cell powered air pump add enough oxygen for a 100 gallon tank? My hunch is no, considering how the small column of bubbles looks lost in a big tank. It would be nice to know how many are really needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wippit Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 My plan has been to keep a basic part of the circulation system running off of a standard IT quality UPS. Runtime would depend on battery size and how much power is being drawn, of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GKarshens Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 I use one pump on a 125. Never had a problem yet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rainbody Posted December 26, 2009 Share Posted December 26, 2009 My dad was one of the ones in houston who lost his fish during the hurricane. But it wasnt the lack of O2 or build-up of CO2. Lack of power also ment no A/C. That tank hit 95 degrees after the storm blew through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wippit Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 I use one pump on a 125. Never had a problem yet. Then that may work quite well for me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wippit Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Does anyone have the wattage draw of an average powerhead? (Anything reasonable will do for this exercise.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Koralia 4 = 12w Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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