Whew!!! Close call.

Hi guys and gals. Well, the power went off here two days ago during a ferocius
storm which knocked out power to 100,000 homes and businesses in the Louisville
area. My power just came on just a while ago today. I was beginning to have
real concerns about my fish. When the power went off, of course, so did the
pump to the pond. Yesterday morning, when I got up, I went out to feed the
fish, and they were all at the surface gasping for air (the catfish had his head
almost completely out of water). I scrambled to find a way to remedy the
situation. Here is what I did. I pulled the UPS (uninterruptible power supply)
off of my computer and connected a 6 watt air pump to it, and dropped an
airstone into the pond,and ran an extension chord into the house to power the
pump on the protein skimmer for my marine tank. Unfortunately, the battery only
lasted about 7 hours, but it brought the fish around from their funk (the
catfish was still sluggish though - but then, he's two feet long, and has a
higher oxygen demand). When the batteries drained, I drove over to my brother's
house and begged him for one of his UPS's. He reluctantly agreed. I waited
until dark, then turned it on so that it would have oxygen during the night. It
ran out of power at about 3:00 this morning. When I got up at 6:30 this A.M,
the fish were ok, except that the catfish was still sluggish. At this point I
was really starting to worry, because the news was saying that the power might
not be back on for many until after the weekend. So I called the power company
and asked them who I should bill the cost of replacing my thousands of dollars
of fish to (a white lie, but what the hell. I know that they were working very
hard to restore the power - it was the worst outage we've had since the tonrado
outbreak of 1974, but I was getting desparate). An hour later, my lights came
on - thank God for that. I really didn't want to rent a generator for who knows
how many days. I think I got lucky this time. Next time, who knows?

And here I was feeling sorry for myself with a five hour power outage last
night. Temps were 101 when it went out though...

Jan tried something interesting, I'll e her so she can tell you about it. Her
DH bought it after we had a power outage last winter (19 below that day).
Something to do with car batteries and her ponds and fish tanks.


kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

"Ka30P" wrote in message
...

And here I was feeling sorry for myself with a five hour power outage last
night. Temps were 101 when it went out though...

Jan tried something interesting, I'll e her so she can tell you about it. Her
DH bought it after we had a power outage last winter (19 below that day).
Something to do with car batteries and her ponds and fish tanks.


kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

I thought about using a car battery, but my air pump and all of my water pumps
are 120 volts AC. There is a 12 volt DC pump that you can buy that would work
for short-term use (I used to used them to purge environmental wells before
collecting samples), but I've never had the need to have one handy before. And
it really isn't designed for continuous duty. I'd be interested in Knowing what
Jan did.

Jan tried something interesting,
kathy :-)

George, I really feel for you, but I think if I lived anywhere around or
especially east of the Mississippi, we'd have a generator. As is, as K30
menitoned, last winter we did have a power outage of 6.5 hours at negative
19 (I think it was -10 in my micro-climate). Luckily my set up in winter
self drains and we had snow cover, so the ponds were insulated and I had no
problems.

Now yesterday's power outage was more scary, with temps hitting that 100+
mark. After the outage of winter, DH purchased a simple 2 plug-in inverter
to run off a car's battery. Cost around $20. When he bought it I thought it
was silly and a car's battery wouldn't last that long. Well was I
surprised.

Son, who just couldn't wait to try out this new toy, got it hooked up and
extension cord out to the pond within minutes. The 2nd plug-in he ran
extension cords to my aquariums rotating between them to keep the filters
aerated. Due to most of the fish being outside, he just wanted to keep the
filters refreshed, since cleaning them is his chore. ;o)

Like you, he ran his tropical tanks off his computer's UPS.

With the inverter the van's battery ran the pond for 90 minutes before the
inverter signaled that the battery was getting low. Per the directions we
started up the van and let it idle for 10-15 minutes, with the inverter
connected. We then turned off the van, and the battery lasted another hour
before the signal went off again, just as our power came back on.

That $20 invested really made a big difference in my life, my only worry
was the frozen foods, any idea how long an opened freezer will keep things
frozen?

The other big difference is that when the power is off more than 20 minutes
in that kind of heat, depending on your filter, you either have to flush it
or clean it. So I would have had to be out in the dark putting a pump in
the pump chamber and running it for 30 minutes on the lawn, restarting the
filter, adding water/dechlor. and putting everything away, etc.. Instead, I
was able to get on my computer as soon as power came on. ;o) ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

Hi Jan

In Canada we have a store called Canadian Tire. They carry a wide range of
power options from the small power inverter you speaks of to higher models
costing about $300 Cdn that have more power. Great inventions.

In the winter I use my power inverter to run a heating pad in the van. It
heats warmer and faster than a seat warmer!

Since we live in the country putting a UPS on my pond pump is a good idea.
I think we can buy smallish ones for $100 or so in Costco. Just have to
figure out how to protect if from the elements. Ideas anyone?

Heather


"~ jan JJsPond.us" wrote in message
...
Jan tried something interesting,
kathy :-)

George, I really feel for you, but I think if I lived anywhere around or
especially east of the Mississippi, we'd have a generator. As is, as K30
menitoned, last winter we did have a power outage of 6.5 hours at negative
19 (I think it was -10 in my micro-climate). Luckily my set up in winter
self drains and we had snow cover, so the ponds were insulated and I had
no
problems.

Now yesterday's power outage was more scary, with temps hitting that 100+
mark. After the outage of winter, DH purchased a simple 2 plug-in inverter
to run off a car's battery. Cost around $20. When he bought it I thought
it
was silly and a car's battery wouldn't last that long. Well was I
surprised.

Son, who just couldn't wait to try out this new toy, got it hooked up and
extension cord out to the pond within minutes. The 2nd plug-in he ran
extension cords to my aquariums rotating between them to keep the filters
aerated. Due to most of the fish being outside, he just wanted to keep the
filters refreshed, since cleaning them is his chore. ;o)

Like you, he ran his tropical tanks off his computer's UPS.

With the inverter the van's battery ran the pond for 90 minutes before the
inverter signaled that the battery was getting low. Per the directions we
started up the van and let it idle for 10-15 minutes, with the inverter
connected. We then turned off the van, and the battery lasted another hour
before the signal went off again, just as our power came back on.

That $20 invested really made a big difference in my life, my only worry
was the frozen foods, any idea how long an opened freezer will keep things
frozen?

The other big difference is that when the power is off more than 20
minutes
in that kind of heat, depending on your filter, you either have to flush
it
or clean it. So I would have had to be out in the dark putting a pump in
the pump chamber and running it for 30 minutes on the lawn, restarting the
filter, adding water/dechlor. and putting everything away, etc.. Instead,
I
was able to get on my computer as soon as power came on. ;o) ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

Heather wrote Just have to
figure out how to protect if from the elements. Ideas anyone?

We mounted an air pump on a post and upended a galvanized tub over it. Topped
the tub with a birdhouse. Doesn't look all that bad...


kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

Heather wrote:

Hi Jan

In Canada we have a store called Canadian Tire. They carry a wide range of
power options from the small power inverter you speaks of to higher models
costing about $300 Cdn that have more power. Great inventions.

In the winter I use my power inverter to run a heating pad in the van. It
heats warmer and faster than a seat warmer!

Since we live in the country putting a UPS on my pond pump is a good idea.
I think we can buy smallish ones for $100 or so in Costco. Just have to
figure out how to protect if from the elements. Ideas anyone?

Heather


"~ jan JJsPond.us" wrote in message
.. .


Jan tried something interesting,
kathy :-)


George, I really feel for you, but I think if I lived anywhere around or
especially east of the Mississippi, we'd have a generator. As is, as K30
menitoned, last winter we did have a power outage of 6.5 hours at negative
19 (I think it was -10 in my micro-climate). Luckily my set up in winter
self drains and we had snow cover, so the ponds were insulated and I had


no


problems.

Now yesterday's power outage was more scary, with temps hitting that 100+
mark. After the outage of winter, DH purchased a simple 2 plug-in inverter
to run off a car's battery. Cost around $20. When he bought it I thought


it


was silly and a car's battery wouldn't last that long. Well was I
surprised.

Son, who just couldn't wait to try out this new toy, got it hooked up and
extension cord out to the pond within minutes. The 2nd plug-in he ran
extension cords to my aquariums rotating between them to keep the filters
aerated. Due to most of the fish being outside, he just wanted to keep the
filters refreshed, since cleaning them is his chore. ;o)

Like you, he ran his tropical tanks off his computer's UPS.

With the inverter the van's battery ran the pond for 90 minutes before the
inverter signaled that the battery was getting low. Per the directions we
started up the van and let it idle for 10-15 minutes, with the inverter
connected. We then turned off the van, and the battery lasted another hour
before the signal went off again, just as our power came back on.

That $20 invested really made a big difference in my life, my only worry
was the frozen foods, any idea how long an opened freezer will keep things
frozen?

The other big difference is that when the power is off more than 20


minutes


in that kind of heat, depending on your filter, you either have to flush


it


or clean it. So I would have had to be out in the dark putting a pump in
the pump chamber and running it for 30 minutes on the lawn, restarting the
filter, adding water/dechlor. and putting everything away, etc.. Instead,


I


was able to get on my computer as soon as power came on. ;o) ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website







I use a small compressor for air in my big pond I just put it in a
plastic shoe box without the lid and then put a rubbermaid container
over it with a couple of brick to keep it from blowing off. Has
survived nasty storms.

Bob

I have a large air pump that is piped to both ponds and it is hooked to an
inverter at all times. The inverter is connected to the largest capacity
automotive battery that I could find which is connected to a battery charger
set on trickle charge. If the power goes out, the battery is then supplying
power to the air pump, and based on my calculations of ampacity of the
battery and current draw of the pump, it should last up to 18 hours. If I
am home, the generator is started about 2 hours into any outage, but if I am
not home, the fish are safe for most of a day.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html
"~ jan JJsPond.us" wrote in message
...
Jan tried something interesting,
kathy :-)

George, I really feel for you, but I think if I lived anywhere around or
especially east of the Mississippi, we'd have a generator. As is, as K30
menitoned, last winter we did have a power outage of 6.5 hours at negative
19 (I think it was -10 in my micro-climate). Luckily my set up in winter
self drains and we had snow cover, so the ponds were insulated and I had
no
problems.

Now yesterday's power outage was more scary, with temps hitting that 100+
mark. After the outage of winter, DH purchased a simple 2 plug-in inverter
to run off a car's battery. Cost around $20. When he bought it I thought
it
was silly and a car's battery wouldn't last that long. Well was I
surprised.

Son, who just couldn't wait to try out this new toy, got it hooked up and
extension cord out to the pond within minutes. The 2nd plug-in he ran
extension cords to my aquariums rotating between them to keep the filters
aerated. Due to most of the fish being outside, he just wanted to keep the
filters refreshed, since cleaning them is his chore. ;o)

Like you, he ran his tropical tanks off his computer's UPS.

With the inverter the van's battery ran the pond for 90 minutes before the
inverter signaled that the battery was getting low. Per the directions we
started up the van and let it idle for 10-15 minutes, with the inverter
connected. We then turned off the van, and the battery lasted another hour
before the signal went off again, just as our power came back on.

That $20 invested really made a big difference in my life, my only worry
was the frozen foods, any idea how long an opened freezer will keep things
frozen?

The other big difference is that when the power is off more than 20
minutes
in that kind of heat, depending on your filter, you either have to flush
it
or clean it. So I would have had to be out in the dark putting a pump in
the pump chamber and running it for 30 minutes on the lawn, restarting the
filter, adding water/dechlor. and putting everything away, etc.. Instead,
I
was able to get on my computer as soon as power came on. ;o) ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

"RichToyBox" wrote in message news:4VFJc.85974$a24.56439@attbi_s03...
I have a large air pump that is piped to both ponds and it is hooked to an
inverter at all times. The inverter is connected to the largest capacity
automotive battery that I could find which is connected to a battery charger
set on trickle charge.

Piping up from my experience with batteries in my 73 GMC Motorhome. If
you are using an ordinary battery trickle charger you may not achieve
the result you want. In order to keep batteries on charge constantly
you need to investigate a 'smart charger' which will cycle the
batteries. Otherwise you may run them dry. We [the GMC group] have
good success with the Progressive Dynamics charger with the Charge
Wizard upgrade. Here is the story from them:
http://www.progressivedyn.com/servic...ry_basics.html
or
http://snipurl.com/7vgb
Automotive batteries are cheap and readily available. They are
designed to sustain a high current draw for a short time. For maximum
capacity and long life you may be better off with 'mobility cart'
batteries. Your application is actually more like a solar storage
system, anyway. A solar charger may suit your needs better, anyway,
and there are small units which plug into an accesory plug in a car to
keep the battery fresh. See eBay.
Being, I hope, helpful,
--
Crashj

Jan,

Sounds like a REALLY inexpensive and very effective solution to
the problem. The small UPSs available for under $50 only put out
rated power for about 10 minutes, and there is no way to recharge
their batteries until the power comes back on!!!

PlainBill

On Thu, 15 Jul 2004 10:28:56 -0700, ~ jan JJsPond.us
wrote:

Jan tried something interesting,
kathy :-)

George, I really feel for you, but I think if I lived anywhere around or
especially east of the Mississippi, we'd have a generator. As is, as K30
menitoned, last winter we did have a power outage of 6.5 hours at negative
19 (I think it was -10 in my micro-climate). Luckily my set up in winter
self drains and we had snow cover, so the ponds were insulated and I had no
problems.

Now yesterday's power outage was more scary, with temps hitting that 100+
mark. After the outage of winter, DH purchased a simple 2 plug-in inverter
to run off a car's battery. Cost around $20. When he bought it I thought it
was silly and a car's battery wouldn't last that long. Well was I
surprised.

Son, who just couldn't wait to try out this new toy, got it hooked up and
extension cord out to the pond within minutes. The 2nd plug-in he ran
extension cords to my aquariums rotating between them to keep the filters
aerated. Due to most of the fish being outside, he just wanted to keep the
filters refreshed, since cleaning them is his chore. ;o)

Like you, he ran his tropical tanks off his computer's UPS.

With the inverter the van's battery ran the pond for 90 minutes before the
inverter signaled that the battery was getting low. Per the directions we
started up the van and let it idle for 10-15 minutes, with the inverter
connected. We then turned off the van, and the battery lasted another hour
before the signal went off again, just as our power came back on.

That $20 invested really made a big difference in my life, my only worry
was the frozen foods, any idea how long an opened freezer will keep things
frozen?

The other big difference is that when the power is off more than 20 minutes
in that kind of heat, depending on your filter, you either have to flush it
or clean it. So I would have had to be out in the dark putting a pump in
the pump chamber and running it for 30 minutes on the lawn, restarting the
filter, adding water/dechlor. and putting everything away, etc.. Instead, I
was able to get on my computer as soon as power came on. ;o) ~ jan


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website

He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression, for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself.
-Thomas Paine