Today on BRStv we are going to show everyone how to survive a power outage.
Last week we released a video on avoiding the top ten tank disasters with number 10
being lost power and literally four hours later a huge storm blows through the Minneapolis
area and wipes out power to over half a million people including many of our homes and the
warehouse.
That was Friday, it's Monday now and 60,000 are still without power.
Our warehouse just came back on this morning.
Right after the storm most of us were out cleaning up the damage and immediate danger
posed by down trees, ripped up siding, flooding and some disturbing but also impressive damage
caused by the storm.
All of these images were taken by members of our team.
After dealing with the bigger emergencies, it is time to think about some of the more
sobering consequences of a power outage.
A storm like this may result in a short temporary outage but in many causes wide spread downed
lines means it will be days before you have power.
Last night about half the team reported power outages and half dozen tanks at the office
were left without power as well.
Many of the tanks already have solutions for this type of thing in place because all of
the life support systems on our tanks require power.
A prolonged outage could result in something really devastating considering the time, effort
and money put into our tanks.
For many of us our fish have been with us for years so it can also be the loss of a
family pet or friend.
For instance I won these two naked clowns at an IMAC aquarium show in Chicago 6-7 years
ago.
They flew home in my lap and they have been in four or five tanks since.
This golden dwarf moray eel has also been with me a long time as well, it would be really
depressing to lose any of them.
Today we are going to cover the primary concerns with power outages and how to deal with both
long and short term power outages.
When most people think about power outages, they think generators but this might not be
the best solution in most cases.
A really high percentage of power outages are what I would consider short term and even
the long term outages have more immediate short term needs.
Luckily if we consider those immediate needs, the tank can be pretty stable for a surprisingly
long period of time.
Even though we were without power for three days, we managed not to lose a single fish
in any of the tanks.
I think the first step in dealing with a power outage is knowing it happened.
If happens while you are at work, out with friends or on vacation, it is likely you might
not know you lost power.
Last week I mentioned that aquarium controllers don't do a very good job of notifying you
about these types of things, I have to admit I was wrong and our viewers were quick to
point it out.
The Apex absolutely has the ability to notify you via email or text message if the power
goes out.
You will have to put your Apex controller, modem and router on a UPS for that function
to work.
However the things that made the power go out are also the things that can make the
internet go down as well so this isn't a complete solution.
This is where sites like reeftronics.net come in.
This site helps you set up a system that pings your controller on a frequent basis.
If the communication with the controller is disconnected for a prolonged period of time,
the system will contact you and let you know.
Once you have identified there is an outage the number one thing to consider is gas exchange.
All of your fish and many other organisms consume oxygen and emit carbon dioxide as
part of their metabolic process.
The excess carbon dioxide is released and new oxygen is introduced as a part of gas
exchange that happens when the water circulates throughout the tank and breaks the surface
tension of the water which exposes it to fresh air.
Soon as the power goes out this gas exchange basically comes to a halt.
The oxygen supply begins depleting, carbon dioxide levels begin rising and the pH starts
its decent.
How fast this happens is largely dependent on the amount of livestock you have.
Some people may be able to go for a day or so without issues and others might only go
a couple of hours.
Either way once things begin dying it can happen rather fast and you can lose the whole
tank.
An air stone and the resulting bubbles can do help to some degree and a good option if
you have no other.
There are some battery operated air pumps that turn on if power is disrupted which is
cheap and convenient.
However air pumps don't circulate water within the tank very well.
A much better option is a powerhead capable of keeping most of the tank circulating and
breaking the surface of the water.
As long as the surface of the water is breaking there should be adequate gas exchange and
in most cases this is going to be much more effective than an air stone.
More or less there are four ways to power a powerhead during an outage.
The best types are going to turn on immediately if there is an outage which means you don't
have to be there to recognize the outage and turn it on.
Since 2/3 of our day is either spent at work or sleeping and everything bad seems to happen
while we are on vacation, having something automatic is pretty critical.
Most of the inexpensive automatic options are going to be a battery back-up of some
type.
One of the easiest to implement solutions is a simple UPS battery back up like the type
commonly used for computers.
All you need to do is plug in a single low wattage powerhead into it and if the power
goes out, it will keep the tank going.
The larger the UPS the better, I would get the biggest one you can.
A large one can often keep a small pump like this going for a fairly long time but typically
around 6-12 hours which is enough to cover most common outages or give you time to start
working on a longer term solution.
Some DC driven pumps like the VorTechs have a battery back-up option which I think is
surprisingly cheap considering the cost of the pumps.
A single one of these can run a MP10 up to 72 hours and you can daisy chain them together
for long run times.
These DC pumps get much longer run times than a UPS system because they don't have to run
an inverter to switch the battery power back to AC for standard power heads.
This how we saved all of the tanks this weekend.
Every tank had one of these running on it and we didn't have a single casualty.
Sometimes I doubt manufacturer's claims about their products and in this case I wasn't really
sure if it would really last 72 hours but it actually outperformed that by a significant
margin.
The battery indicator showed 1/3 full and the pump was still going three days later.
Tunze also sells an item called a safety connector for their controllable DC driven pumps.
This allows you to purchase your own battery and hook it up to the pump yourself.
This will also automatically detect the outage and turn the pump on for you.
What I really like about this option is you can swap batteries as needed.
Since batteries are a commodity item you can get a pretty large one at a very low cost.
Honestly if you spent the money on VorTech or Tunze controllable and haven't considered
their battery back-up solutions do it now.
This isn't something you buy when you need it, it requires some forethought so it is
there when you need it.
Same goes for standard AC powerheads.
If you don't have any power outage solution go out and get one right now.
If you are lucky enough to have a MicroCenter or similar store in your area this is probably
one of the cheapest and easiest places to get one.
Next thing I would get is a small inverter.
These are often $20-$30 at a Walmart, Target or auto parts store and work by attaching
them to your car battery to provide power.
This is not only great if other solutions are out of your budget but can be used for
longer term power outages as well as long as you don't mind running your car frequently
to keep the battery charged.
Some newer SUV's and trucks have an inverter built in with outlets in the bed or other
areas of the vehicle.
Battery back-ups and inverters will get you through most of the short term power outages
and cover you from a vast majority of power related issues but again they only work if
you have them already set up so do it before you need it.
Now it is time to start thinking a bit more about longer term outages.
These are more rare and planning for them can be more expensive.
As power outages get prolonged you need to start thinking more about temperature.
The fish and corals can survive in a wide range of temperatures but it is increasingly
stressful to be out of their ideal range for prolonged periods of time and they certainly
tolerate colder water better than hot.
Heaters and chillers require a lot of power so your only real option is a generator or
large inverter.
For the most part there are two types of generators to consider.
A stand-alone unit you have to start manually or one hooked up to your home's power grid.
While the second option is nice because your whole home has power they are obviously expensive
to install.
The stand-alone units are nice as well but keep in mind that a generator is only a good
solution if you are there to start it and it actually runs because you maintain it well.
For that reason I still suggest implementing some type of battery back-up solution.
If there is one take away from this that's more important than any other it is do something
about this today.
As in go out right now and purchase a solution.
It is really easy to forget about this type of thing or ignore it until it is an issue.
Problem is when it is an issue for you it is also an issue for a half million other
people as well so every generator and inverter in the state is purchased within the first
15 minutes.
So at minimum go out and buy an $20-$30 inverter today.
If you have a few extra bucks laying around get a large computer UPS.
For a longer term solutions order a small Tunze pump or VorTech and there battery back-up
solution.
If you already own a controllable DC Tunze or VorTech it is just silly not to order their
back-up systems today.
On a final note, if you live in an area where it gets extremely cold or hot and it fits
inside your budget go get a generator as well.
Coming up next week we are starting a new series on coral propagation.
If you have ever thought about growing corals for profit, trading or fun you won't want
to miss it.
If you haven't already start jamming on that subscribe button.
This week's question of the week is "If you lost power today, would your tank survive?"
Immortalize your thoughts in the comments area down below.
If you could care less about any of that stuff just watch a couple other videos, click on
any one of these and thank you for watching BRStv.