Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

the power went off a my joint 2day at 1 and has only just came back at half strength So there is enuf power for a couple of lights to be on and the tv thats it.... if i try to turn my pump on there isnt enuf power to pump the water to my grow bed, so every half hour since 1, i have been going out there and bucketing water into the growbed simulating a flood/drain process its not fun...... i just hope the fishes make the night as power isnt expected to be back fully until 10 2more morning

bicycle pump

Sounds a bit wierd... Perhaps you've just dropped a phase, the one that your pump gpo circuit happens to be on. This is a fairly standard thing that happens a bit, you might find half your power points in the house will not work, but the other half, and lights will..

They can't just cut some of your power like they might do with gas or water, at least not that I have ever heard of...

Try plugging an extension cord into the same GPO your tv is plugged into, then runn it out to your pump.

It could be a brown out... ie. The power points are only getting 100 or so volts instead of the full 240.

yep brownout happened when original batch of silvers were killed. best to ISOLATE all power until it comes good. Fridge and pump motos DONT like being run at 100V. maybe leave light ccts on, you can tell when it comes good by the brightness.

how was the weather today? trees down 3 arterial roads closed, trains delayed!

Where's your backup system dude. Battery backup is #1 priority for any system in my opinion. Mine has only been on for an hour or 2 in the 18 months I've had it there - but it sure does provide peace of mind

IMHO we have to have backup in AP systems.
A changeover relay, a $30, 12v bilge pump, fountain head, a car battery and a means of charging it when the power comes back on is all you need.
My battery was taken out of the car after 12 months and supplies around 5 hours of backup aeration.
8 hours on a small trickle charger will have it back fully charged after the event.
PS: I lost power for 2 hours tonight in Adelaide due to the storms and my 100 SP's are still happy as Larry.

Yeah gotta have back up. We would have lost everything if it wasn't for the generator when we lost power a while back. We have an inverter now (just to run the airator?)and are getting a new battery to rig it to. The gennie is still on loan till it gets hooked up and tested.
Axl

We were out from 1.30pm yesterday for 13.5 hours..One tree down just missing greenhouse..
You would have to make sure you have some good AmpHR batteries to go the distance..

Sunbury fared well yesterday seeing we were a sattelite town we have the cappassety to bring power in from different ways [melbourne melton bendigo ect] so i was told a mate worked with the old sec

We are planning on a 100 or 200 Amp hour battery (~$300 mates rates)
My brother is making the fail switch to plug the charger through.

spot on mate still havent got full power yet

yer was just thinking bout setting one up last week

although my whole system is solar powered I have just installed a big airpump which mostly runs on 240V AC via the inverter. However it also has a 12V 7AH sealed lead acid battery inside and the necessary circuitry to keep the battery charged and to switch to 12V DC power if the 240V goes off. It cost me $80 plus freight on e-bay and I reckon it is well worth that for the peace of mind. I reasoned that the plants could survive a dried spell but the fish needed air for dissolved oxygen. They probably don't yet as they are still very small but later it will probably be essential.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... :IT&ih=001

Perhaps I am a bit daft here - but what about a generator? After all, you have the food in your refrigerator to worry about too?