|
Advice
Power Outage Tips
Here are some tips for what you can do to protect
your aquarium during a power outage.
Tip 1 - Car Battery
"It's a simple DIY UPS. This is for when you must leave during
a storm and the power may go out, and you have a wet/dry type system.
However, it won't run lights and heaters. Buy a tank suitable sized
12 volt (1-2 amps) marine bilge pump (about $30) and a small trickle
charger, large enough to handle the pump, plus a bit. Replace an
existing sump pump with the bilge pump and connect the bilge pump
to a car battery (or several in parallel) and the charger to the
battery. The charger will keep the battery charged, while power
is on, even though the pump is powered. If power goes off the battery
will take over automatically. Depending on size it will run for
many hours." -- Ulf Lindroth
Tip 2 - Cigarette Lighter
"Purchase one of the power converters that plug into a
car cigarette lighter. I have one I use for a VCR and TV when we
take long trips. Then run an extension cord to your system. A small
4 cylinder vehicle won't burn too much gas idling and the system
doesn't have to run all the time, just for a short period every
hour!! This can also power heaters too. Just a tip." -- Eddy
Tip 3 - Computer UPS
"Computer Uninterupted Power Supply's (UPS's) work great for
this purpose. The prices are always dropping and the more you pay
the longer they last. Small, reliable, no maintenance, and quiet.
It's not a long term solution, but it can keep your fish alive,
especially if you're gone for the weekend when the power goes out."
-- Zeit
Tip 4 - Computer UPS #2
"Buy a UPS. They are sold for computers and used to keep a
computer from crashing in case the power goes out. Good ones have
enough power to keep a computer running for quite some time. They
should have enough power to keep a pump and heater running for a
long time. The nice thing is that they will kick on even if you
are not there, provided you plug your system into one." --
Mark Stover
The above is a summery of tips
found at: Source: http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/diycorner/l/blpowerouttips.htm
|
