Power Cut Advise

[Gilli]

Well we had our first longish power cut since I started fishkeeping and it was scarey! Middle of the night I got up to go to the loo and the power was off. I phoned the electricity board who said it wouldnt be back on until around 8am!!! I put my emergency air pump in & lit the gas fire to keep the room warm.

Luckily it came back on after 3 hours. My question is how long would my bacteria survive in an external filter before I had to take drastic action and take the media out and try to keep it aired?

 

[fatheadminnow]

On average, our beneficial bacteria will die off at a rate of about 3-10% a day if there is no source of ammonia for them.

-FHM

 

[holidayinn]

Would a temperature drop also reduce beneficial bacteria?

On a similar subject, was looking into getting a power breaker for the tank for safety, the ones that I have come across in B&Q etc all fail to reset after a power cut. I heard that you have to buy a different 'category' breaker for it to reset after a power cut, anyone know where to find these?

Cheers

 

[fatheadminnow]

At room temp, your beneficial bacteria will still be okay and should not be effect by room temperature.

Do you mean you want something that does NOT reset after a power outage, or a breaker that does reset?

As far as the circuit breaker goes, you could make one if you are electronically knowledgeable to do so, other wise I would assume your local hardware store would carry something like that.

-FHM

 

[holidayinn]

I meant a breaker that does reset itself. I was looking for this a few months back, but every breaker I found failed to reset. So if I had a powercut, even when all electrics come back on, the breaker itself has to be manually reset, which is no good. I reckon this type of breaker is available but I'm not sure how to make sure. Electrics aren't a strong point...

 

[Gragam]

Wouldn't the lack of oxygen start to kill off the bacteria in the filter before the lack ammonia got to them?

 

[fatheadminnow]

I meant a breaker that does reset itself. I was looking for this a few months back, but every breaker I found failed to reset. So if I had a powercut, even when all electrics come back on, the breaker itself has to be manually reset, which is no good. I reckon this type of breaker is available but I'm not sure how to make sure. Electrics aren't a strong point...

That's a funny thing, I don't know if it because you are not in the US are what?

But over here, when the power goes out, (obviously all electrical stuff stops working); when the power comes back on, everything works again, automatically. There is no manual resetting involved.

So if the power went out at my house; when it came back on, all of my accessories in my tank, (filter, aerator, lights etc..) would start right back up.

The only manual resetting we have over here is when there is a short-circuit' A short-circuit will trip a breaker, and therefore will need to be manual turned back on.

A short circuit will occur if the Load is drawing too much current than the supplied source can provide. Or if the path (wires) are breached without a load (little resistance); that will also trip a breaker.

So since we have those kinds of breakers over here, then I know for sure you can get them.

-FHM

 

[Mikaila31]

I always change the water in my canisters, if the power has been out for more than 4 hours. If we had a freakishly long one, I would just throw the media in the tank and let if float around.

Then once the power is back on you can go reset all the clocks.........

 

[fatheadminnow]

I always change the water in my canisters, if the power has been out for more than 4 hours. If we had a freakishly long one, I would just throw the media in the tank and let if float around.

Then once the power is back on you can go reset all the clocks.........

-FHM

 

[keenonfish]

I meant a breaker that does reset itself. I was looking for this a few months back, but every breaker I found failed to reset. So if I had a powercut, even when all electrics come back on, the breaker itself has to be manually reset, which is no good. I reckon this type of breaker is available but I'm not sure how to make sure. Electrics aren't a strong point...

Are you referring to the RCD in your electricity box or a separate RCD (Residual Current Device btw) in the wall socket? 9 times out of ten RCD's are designed to have to be manually reset for safety reasons - think about power cut stopping your mower and you messing underneath then power comes back on... Yes I know you wouldn't but lots of people do!
B&Q do sell two versions of RCD protectors one that will permanently latch and the ordinary type that will reset after a powercut, which are more common and not the ones you want if your fish tank is to come back on after a power cut!

If your main box resets after power loss then it could be just the amount of gear you have plugged in and you might be getting a surge to earth when the power comes back on. You would need to talk to a spark if this is your problem.

 

[fatheadminnow]

I meant a breaker that does reset itself. I was looking for this a few months back, but every breaker I found failed to reset. So if I had a powercut, even when all electrics come back on, the breaker itself has to be manually reset, which is no good. I reckon this type of breaker is available but I'm not sure how to make sure. Electrics aren't a strong point...

Are you referring to the RCD in your electricity box or a separate RCD (Residual Current Device btw) in the wall socket? 9 times out of ten RCD's are designed to have to be manually reset for safety reasons - think about power cut stopping your mower and you messing underneath then power comes back on... Yes I know you wouldn't but lots of people do!
B&Q do sell two versions of RCD protectors one that will permanently latch and the ordinary type that will reset after a powercut, which are more common and not the ones you want if your fish tank is to come back on after a power cut!

If your main box resets after power loss then it could be just the amount of gear you have plugged in and you might be getting a surge to earth when the power comes back on. You would need to talk to a spark if this is your problem.

That is how it is in the US, at least everyone I know; this happens for them.

If the power goes out, due to a storm, high winds whatever, and then comes back on, everything that was turned on at time of the back out comes back on.

When current to my breaker box stops, from a blackout, the breakers inside do not trip at all. They stay closed allowing for current to travel through them again when the power is back on.

The only time a breaker is tripped is when there is short-out.

If you decide to work on a potentially dangerous electronic unit during a black without properly unplugging it, or manually opening the breaker, than that is not safe!

You should not use a black out to fix a electrical problem!

-FHM

 

[keenonfish]

The only time a breaker is tripped is when there is short-out.

If you decide to work on a potentially dangerous electronic unit during a black without properly unplugging it, or manually opening the breaker, than that is not safe!

You should not use a black out to fix a electrical problem!

-FHM

Well I am not talking about a breaker and I assumed the person who mentioned breaker didn't mean breaker as in a fuse (what would be the point and question wouldn't make any sense!). Of course breakers are really fuses designed to be the weak point of the circuit but I am talking about an RCD that is different. An RCD looks at live & neutral and if there is a discrepancy of more than 30ma will isolate the supply. In our country we generally have RCD on the ring mains & individual circuit breakers or fuse wire for each ring or spur.
So if I accidentally touch live or neutral (possibly) the RCD device will trip the mains and person should walk away.

I don't have RCD on my CU but employ one for the fish tank, and another for my mower. Mower one will trip in power cut fish tank won't.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Okay, yeah I see what you are talking about now.

Sorry for the confusion.

-FHM

 

[ltkettch17]

Would it be safe to have your setup plugged into a battery backup or 'uninterrupted power supply'?

 

[fatheadminnow]

Would it be safe to have your setup plugged into a battery backup or 'uninterrupted power supply'?

Generator....

That is possible to do, but remember our accessories on our tanks run off of AC current, and a battery is DC current. So you would have to get a rectifier, to convert AC to DC.

But it is possible to do, and is a very good idea as well!

-FHM