Is there anything u can use that will keep ur tanks running during a power outage other than a generator? Cuz we're going away soon for a week or so and we've been having alot of poweroutages lately.

Well there are battery back ups that you can get from a PC place that will run your tank, but down side is that they only run for a short period of time. Some are 8 hours some 2 hours, but there are backups

I used something similar to the pc backup, but it was made to jump start cars. However, they also only run for max about 8 hours, and then I had to switch them out. I am lucky that I have a generator, but even that doesn't sound like it would be too helpful in your situation because most generators need to be refilled with fuel. Mine lasts around 12 hours, and must be refilled. Don't you just love how now we worry about power outages? lol

My fish sitter has a set of instructions on what to do in case of various emergencies. I have this laminated and tacked to the wall in the fish room.

If you have a person who is coming over to take care of your house/fish, you can leave the same.

First, open all the tank lids to increase oxygen exchange.

Second, pull all media from the filter boxes and drop them into the main tank to stay wet and in contact with the fish waste.

Third, STOP FEEDING.

Fourth, I have the sitter UNPLUG all the filters and lights and UV units, etc. That way, if the power comes back on and the filters are empty, they will not grind and potentially burn out. I leave all air pumps and such plugged in - air is essential.

To protect against short power outages - 6 hours and less, I have purchased the battery backups that are made for computers and other heavy-electrical demand high tech equipment. These are plugged into the wall, and all the "essential" pieces of fish equipment are plugged into them. This means the air pumps, mostly. When the power goes off, these battery backups will keep the air equipment, and usually one small filter going on each tank for about 8 hours. When the power comes back on, they automatically switch back and recharge. They protect when the power does a brownout or partial return - preventing burnout.

Even all these precautions do not always work. I lost 6 VERY VALUABLE Ranchu fry this past spring due to a power outage when I was out of town. I am still kicking myself and crying over those.

What brand and model of battery back-up do you have? I shopped around a little (both online at big box office stores) and had a hard time finding one that will power equipment for longer than 70 minutes in the event of a power failure.

Sorry to hear about the ranchu fry that you lost. That's terrible.

I got mine at Frys.... CyberPower brand. And, yes, they are only rated for a specific time but remember, you are only running LITTLE things with them. A simply airpump will run for HOURS, even a small filter will run far longer than the battery is rated for, for they are talking about computers and such.

Add up the power usage that you want on the thing and check for minutes/hours of use at that rate.

The car jump starter I used ran for HOURS! It actually had a Penguin 350 filter plugged into it, and it ran for about 4 hours, and never ran out. I just got the generator working! I was very impressed. It's a Black & Decker Start It. It was about $60 from Wal Mart. I have it, and 2 other smaller ones. I kept 2 charging at a neighbors that had power, then planned on switching them when it ran out. Until I found the generator that is. But I did lend them out to a different neighbor who's power was off longer than ours, and they used them to power a lamp and a fan and said it lasted a long time.

Also - Just got an email from GOLDFISH connection yesterday. They are giving away a battery powered airpump with every $50 purchase until the beginning of July! I needed a new test kit and prazi anyway so it was perfect timing for me. That wouldn't help if you are on vacation, but still would be nice to have under other circumstances.

I have a 1300va UPS that I will use in an emergency. It will run my pc and monitor for almost 2 hours so I am not really sure how long it will run one of my pumps for. My guess is quite a while. Also I have a pretty demanding pc, not your typical store bought.

ok thanks guys, i'll look into getting one of those