Another inverter question

[reefs4life]

Hey guys so we all know sandy is coming and I would say I'm not well prepared and I just have a 400w inverter that I got from my gfs dad. Now unfortunately I have big heaters that I won't be able to run, 2 500 watters. But I want to run anything to help with circulation and oxygenation. I was planning to run my hammerheard which according to my killawatt only absorbs about 280w and if I turn down the flow a bit I could reduce that. I was also planning to run my mp60s and my skimmer which should not absorb much power combined and it should take me right under the 400 mark. I have a yellowtop optima battery in my car which is for starting and deep cycle so if I turn my car on every hour I should be good in terms of continously supplying power. The question is, does do you think my calculations are accurate and do I have enough running to maintain everything alive and how long would I have to leave my car on every time I recharge? I just got all my fish back from a crash I had back in the summer, literally added my last fish this past week, would not want this wiping me out again please post here for advice, thanks in advance Fortunato

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[thirty5]

I think that you are pushing it with 400w. I would leave the skimmer off and make sure that you can get the flow and a little heat in the system. Do you have a small air pump that you can put an airstone one??? Drop the air stone in front of the power head.

Leaving as much flow is more important, even if you have to point the power head to break the surface.

Wrap the tank in blankets to try to keep as much heat in as possible.

 

[Affordable Aquatic]

Forget about running the heaters and that big pump. Put a powerhead at the top of your tank so it causes movement at the surface for oxygen transfer. While you can run the hammerhead, you are going to drain that battery in just a few hours. You want to use the minimum amount of energy possible to conserve your batteries.

 

[Sub]

yup. I use a apc connected to jbj wavemaker, so I get flow all over, surface movement and use the minimal amount of power. I dont need the heater per se this time of year. get your house nice and hot before sandy comes.

 

[Weicowireman]

I would try to avoid leaving car off for extended periods of time especially if this is your only mode of transportation. Run your mp's with your inverter and dial down your return pump and run that.

 

[pecan2phat]

A Yellow top Optima is just 55amp so as a stand alone with what you want to run, it won't last that long.

 

[reefs4life]

So power went out about 30-45 mins, I'm running a genx pump, 2 mp60s and my skimmer. Hopefully everything will be ok

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[thirty5]

Hate to say it, I dont think that you are going to get much time out of that without teh vehicle running...

 

[Sub]

Assuming temps dont drop too bad, and assuming your tank is a decent size for the amount of stock, it will be fine for many many hours. I've had my 50g well stocked off overnight before, about 12 hours. and even my 12g QT tank I've forgotten to turn back on a few times before and went about 20 hours - there is only one small rock in there.

Think about it, people ship corals overnight all the time in tiny amounts of water with little to no 02 exchange and no live rock, or heater. Granted, they are stressed when arrived, but considering our tanks are a lot more stable, I don't see how even 24 hours would be that bad for a tank.

I'd just recommend getting some motion in the tank once in a while and dont run the battery constantly, maybe cycle it on for 30 minutes every few hours. I use a battery operated air pump and I split it to two lines and place them under rocks on each side. you get flow over the rocks from bottom to top for filtration and you get surface movement for o2 exchange. The pumps are really cheap, like $24, at pet stores. I think mine is a marina. There are even ones that monitor the power outlet and turn on when it senses no power, but I dont leave the lines in my tank. When your batteries run out, take a bucket and dip it into the tank and pour it back in to get water movement and o2 exchange.

Hopefully this isnt as bad a storm as they say and power wont be out for too long!?

If you do have to run on battery, run as little as possible. turn off everything but a single powerhead and aim it so it as some surface turbulence. Watch temps and if they drop below 74-75, add in a small heater.

 

[masterswimmer]

Assuming temps dont drop too bad, and assuming your tank is a decent size for the amount of stock, it will be fine for many many hours. I've had my 50g well stocked off overnight before, about 12 hours. and even my 12g QT tank I've forgotten to turn back on a few times before and went about 20 hours - there is only one small rock in there.

Think about it, people ship corals overnight all the time in tiny amounts of water with little to no 02 exchange and no live rock, or heater. Granted, they are stressed when arrived, but considering our tanks are a lot more stable, I don't see how even 24 hours would be that bad for a tank.

I'd just recommend getting some motion in the tank once in a while and dont run the battery constantly, maybe cycle it on for 30 minutes every few hours. I use a battery operated air pump and I split it to two lines and place them under rocks on each side. you get flow over the rocks from bottom to top for filtration and you get surface movement for o2 exchange. The pumps are really cheap, like $24, at pet stores. I think mine is a marina. There are even ones that monitor the power outlet and turn on when it senses no power, but I dont leave the lines in my tank. When your batteries run out, take a bucket and dip it into the tank and pour it back in to get water movement and o2 exchange.

Hopefully this isnt as bad a storm as they say and power wont be out for too long!?

If you do have to run on battery, run as little as possible. turn off everything but a single powerhead and aim it so it as some surface turbulence. Watch temps and if they drop below 74-75, add in a small heater.

I'm terribly sorry, but this advice is absolutely NOT advisable even for a moderately stocked tank. Fortunato, you've been in this hobby long enough to know the deal. Forewarned is forearmed.

I agree, your 400w inverter is seriously undersized for your size tank, but in a worst case scenario you can make it work for you. I wouldn't run anything other than one of your MP60's. Prolong the life of your battery as long as possible. Who knows how long you could be without power? Don't drain the battery unnecessarily with superfluous equipment.

Russ

 

[reefs4life]

So I used a killawatt when I was running everything and it was using only 150w at 1.5 amps. I ran it for a good hour and the car started perfectly fine after that hour, I could probably push an hour and a half to two until I have to turn the car on. nice thing is that I have autostart so I can just turn it on with that once or twice on a regular basis. Power is back on now and hopefully it stays on but I doubt it, hopefully what I did will pull me through the storm

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[Sub]

I'm terribly sorry, but this advice is absolutely NOT advisable even for a moderately stocked tank. Fortunato, you've been in this hobby long enough to know the deal. Forewarned is forearmed.
Russ

You say my advice is wrong, but dont show evidence?! I'm using simple logic.