I'm not sure if it's ever been discussed on this forum before but backup power in case the lights go out is very important.  I live in southwest Washington state and am a "Lucky" flood victim this week. The photo below is my front porch which sits about 6 feet above ground level and that's the Chahalis river in my yard and pasture! The river is normally across the road about 300 yards away. Not being faced with the situation of moving everything I own up one floor before, the one item I could not move was my 95 gal. reef tank. The flood waters came within 1 INCH of getting in but luckily the river crested!  Owning a generator can pay for itself many times over. The power was out for 3 days this time but on average, I lose power 3 weeks every winter due to snow,wind, and this time flood. If I didn't have my generator during these incidents, I would have lost everything in the tank plus everything in the fridge and freezer  many times over. I guess what I'm trying to get at is a power failure can not only be a inconvenience, it can also destroy a marine setup in no time. No matter where you live, one should consider what to do if the power is out and then reality sets in that your tank could slowly die if pumps and filtration cease. I hope no one ever has to deal with what happened here this week but it doesn't hurt to be prepared for the worst.

JESUS CHRIST IS LORD AND KING

Jfish13

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My Pets: Cherry Barbs, Neon Tetras, Cories, Bettas, Otos, Goldfish, and a Parakeet.

"I love Animals!"  

The next day i posted my concerns on this site, and someone suggested a computer battery back up. i went to staples and found one on sale. it still ran me $170.00 but keep in mind i purchased one of the store's higher end models that has a longer run time than the cheaper ones.

The same week, while i was at work, the power went out again. this unit automatically kicks on and worked great. no mess on the floor, everything was working as it should. the only reason i knew the power went out is because all my digital clocks were flashing.

I went one step further and found a cheap generator on line and set it up outside the room that my tank is in. i took colored electrical tape and taped the cords that require immediate attention in case of a power outage so they can be easily identified from the other components. Then i took photo's with my digital camera and printed out step by step instructions on how to connect the system to the generator if im not home to do it.

with all the major filters connected to the battery backup system ( which will give me approximately 45 min to an hr to get the generator going ) all that is required is to simply unplug the battery backup from the wall and plug it into the generator's extension cord. there is no interruption of power at all and now the generator is charging the battery back up and running my filters all through one cord. it cant get any easier. the whole system cost me about $300.00 total.

I would also like to add that i purchased 2 battery operated air pumps to keep the water oxygenated just incase any of the above systems fail. i picked them up at wal-mart in the fishing and hunting section. they were only $7.00 each.

To anyone who offered me this advice on my original post, Thank you! it has already proven that it's worth the investment.