AVOIDING POWER CUT ISSUES ???

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Mrmbu
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AVOIDING POWER CUT ISSUES ???

Post by Mrmbu »

Hi all
the big day is nearly here moving my large Mbu to our new home in the countrysides of Devon,UK
I would like to buy a back up system Incase of power cuts but not really sure what I would need have been looking at ups devices but these are mainly used for pc's/servers ext
I Will be using 2 x eheim 2180 thermo filters each run 545 w when heater is on
A large pump for the 500 ltr sump tank
And a 8 way pump for the air curtain
Would like to buy something that would hold power for 8hrs (to be over safe)
If anyone could help would be appreciated
As I don't have a clue with electrics
Kind regards :0)
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eieio
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Re: AVOIDING POWER CUT ISSUES ???

Post by eieio »

how about a generator?
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Re: AVOIDING POWER CUT ISSUES ???

Post by Squaffy »

+1 to a generator

Simply add up the total wattage of all your gear - a good guesstimate would be around 2000W (2kw)

Search about for a 'suitcase' generator - the Honda ones are favoured by the canal boat communities. Not as pricey as you may think, about £150 second hand
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Re: AVOIDING POWER CUT ISSUES ???

Post by Master of Puffers »

We bought a cheap generator in December when we lost power due to a snow storm and were told we wouldn't be getting power for nearly 2 days..it ended up being 30 hours but that was bad enough.

We paid around $150Cnd for a petrol powered one. It various combinations of our then 10 tanks for 4 hours before it needed re-filling with petrol. We would chance the tank combinations every 4 hours to make sure no tank was totally powerless for more than 4 hours. We were lucky in that it wasn't too cold -4C or so and we were running wood burning stoves to try and keep some heat in the main rooms opf the house.
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Re: AVOIDING POWER CUT ISSUES ???

Post by RTR »

Setting your tanks wisely to start is good practice. Never overcrowd your tanks and they can and will survive with little power beyond a little aeration if the tank area(s) can be kept warm by alternate methods (wood stoves, external draft fireplaces, etc.).
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El Scorpio
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Re: AVOIDING POWER CUT ISSUES ???

Post by El Scorpio »

The winter's here aren't terrible, but just in case I have a battery powered air pump, and an old uninterruptable power supply for a computer that I keep around in case I have to plug the heater in.
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Re: AVOIDING POWER CUT ISSUES ???

Post by Pufferpunk »

After 2 very bad storms last year, I broke down & bought a generator.
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Re: AVOIDING POWER CUT ISSUES ???

Post by JRC3 »

Here's something I played with a few years ago with an AquaClear filter to use a battery powered pump. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHRkaONO ... t1hZDd9vBA

I've got a good idea to do the same for canister filters with some 1/2" pvc on the output side of the filter.


I have a small 12 volt power inverter to use filters during short outages. But I'd like to be prepared for something long term like we've had before and I think a few regular air pumps could be run long term using my inverter.
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