Please help me plan during 2 wks vacation & possible long power outage

[hencpu]

Okay, the main issue is this, my house RCCB will trip if lighting hit within proximity.
I've asked electrician to check & he said it is one of the newer device & not really that sensitive, so replacing it with lesser sensitive one might be risky. So during lighting storm, 50% chance will trip.

But the main problem is we will be away for about 10 days end of next month. So I'm preparing for worst case scenario of 10 days of total blackout, such as the moment I left home, it trips .

I'm thinking of the issue I might had:
1. Oxygen
I understand if there's no light & no CO2, the plants will compete for oxygen. I plan to drop some Tom Oxygen Stones (that can last 1 mth) into canister filter for BB & the tank itself.

2. CO2
Is it dangerous to leave the solenoid off for 10 days while the CO2 tank pressure keeps building up?

3. Light
Can't do anything about this if got blackout, all the windows will be closed so its quite dark inside the house

4. Food
I understand fish can go 2 weeks without food? Maybe I put some food block

5. Evaporation
Most likely lost 10-15% during the 2 wk period.

At the moment the tank is moderately planted & not yet stocked
Does it mean my tank is doomed to fail if I suffer 10 days blackout?

Any suggestions or feedback will be appreciated. Thanks

[tawauboy]

some things that you can do;
a) check with your neighbours if their RCCB do trip during lighting storms
b) find another electrician to get a second opinion on RCCB

your only concern should be fish food and BB in canister filter.

[hencpu]

some things that you can do;
a) check with your neighbours if their RCCB do trip during lighting storms
b) find another electrician to get a second opinion on RCCB

your only concern should be fish food and BB in canister filter.

\

Thx tawauboy, only my RCCB trips. I've stayed in this place for more than 5yrs & as far as I aware mine the only one that goes dark during lightning storm.

So u reckon the oxygen stone inside canister can sustain the life of BB for few days?

[diazman]

\

Thx tawauboy, only my RCCB trips. I've stayed in this place for more than 5yrs & as far as I aware mine the only one that goes dark during lightning storm.

So u reckon the oxygen stone inside canister can sustain the life of BB for few days?

maybe i reckon you get a USP unit?

[avex30]

1) Equipment at home short to earth
2) RCCB going to spolit soon oversensitive.
3) You internal wiring is short to the building structure.\
4) What type of building are you staying in?

[hencpu]

maybe i reckon you get a USP unit?

Thx diazman, I'm anticipating power outage for around 10 days, not sure if UPS can last that long, I think UPS will be very expensive for that

[hencpu]

1) Equipment at home short to earth
2) RCCB going to spolit soon oversensitive.
3) You internal wiring is short to the building structure.\
4) What type of building are you staying in?

1) It only trips if huge lightning strikes, else its fine.
2) It has been like that I bought the place 5yrs ago. During reno, the electrician did do something to the ELCB, but I forgot whether the RCCB was replaced or not.
3) Not sure about that
4) 12 y.o HDB

[jamesneo]

I think 2 weeks is alright for planted tanks with low stock. No point getting UPS unless your plant and fish stocks are >> expensive than UPS.

[hencpu]

I think 2 weeks is alright for planted tanks with low stock. No point getting UPS unless your plant and fish stocks are >> expensive than UPS.

Thx jamesneo, but the thing is the plants wont be photosynthesizing once the power goes out for few days. So they'll be competing for O2, do you think those oxygen stones will be all right?

[avex30]

1) It only trips if huge lightning strikes, else its fine.
2) It has been like that I bought the place 5yrs ago. During reno, the electrician did do something to the ELCB, but I forgot whether the RCCB was replaced or not.
3) Not sure about that
4) 12 y.o HDB

Most likely is your Distribution board have issue. If it trip indiviual breaker meaning that powerpoint short of the equipment using that powerpoint have earth leakage. If it trip your whole unti most likely ELCB need to change.

oh UPS max is 4 hrs mode not sure Singapore here have anything for more than a day. Unless you are talking about big setup of UPS hahahahaha which i don't think it is likely.

[hencpu]

Most likely is your Distribution board have issue. If it trip indiviual breaker meaning that powerpoint short of the equipment using that powerpoint have earth leakage. If it trip your whole unti most likely ELCB need to change.

oh UPS max is 4 hrs mode not sure Singapore here have anything for more than a day. Unless you are talking about big setup of UPS hahahahaha which i don't think it is likely.

If I'm not wrong my RCCB is rated 40mA, is it still too sensitive?

Haha, no lah. I don't think UPS is feasible for my situation.

[jamesneo]

Thx jamesneo, but the thing is the plants wont be photosynthesizing once the power goes out for few days. So they'll be competing for O2, do you think those oxygen stones will be all right?

I have no experience with oxygen stones. If your tank is movable, move it near to the window where there is natural/sun light.
Don't worry too much, go enjoy your vacation holiday.
Your plants must be very ex....

[stormhawk]

Oxygen stones will be insufficient for the plants. Like what James said, if the tank is near a window or a source of sunlight, they ought to survive the 2 weeks that you are away. Perhaps some melting may occur but nothing too bad. During this time the filter will probably be knocked out when there's a power outage so I would suggest that you turn it off, remove the attachments in the tank and redo the cycling phase from scratch when you're back. Never ever turn on the filter and let it flush the dirty stagnant water back into the tank. Doing this can really turn your tank into a cesspool.

If all is well, when you're back, there should be little damage done to the plants.

Probably a coincidence as I live in Bukit Batok too and my unit just power tripped a few minutes ago. Rooftop probably got hit by lightning.

[avex30]

If I'm not wrong my RCCB is rated 40mA, is it still too sensitive?

Haha, no lah. I don't think UPS is feasible for my situation.

Should the be old one i think i thought the new one for household mostly use 30 mA nowadays hmmm

[tawauboy]

Stormhawk brought up an important point. circulating a filter that has stagnant water back into you tank will turn it into a cesspool.

if only your unit is experiencing RCCB oversensivity, you should get a better qualified
electrician to check it. a 40mA RCCB is less sensitive than a 30mA one.

UPS is not really feasible as you will be looking at one than can supply 1200 watt (for a 5W filter) or more, depending on your filter power consumption.

[hencpu]

I have no experience with oxygen stones. If your tank is movable, move it near to the window where there is natural/sun light.
Don't worry too much, go enjoy your vacation holiday.
Your plants must be very ex....

Haha, no lah. Maybe coz I'm a newbie so kinda anxious about my 1st setup

But actually I'm more worry about the fauna which I'm planning to add, so gathering more feedback 1st

I probably can't move it near the window as I dont have stable cabinet or storage to keep all the filters & CO2 tank.

[hencpu]

Oxygen stones will be insufficient for the plants. Like what James said, if the tank is near a window or a source of sunlight, they ought to survive the 2 weeks that you are away. Perhaps some melting may occur but nothing too bad. During this time the filter will probably be knocked out when there's a power outage so I would suggest that you turn it off, remove the attachments in the tank and redo the cycling phase from scratch when you're back. Never ever turn on the filter and let it flush the dirty stagnant water back into the tank. Doing this can really turn your tank into a cesspool.

If all is well, when you're back, there should be little damage done to the plants.

Probably a coincidence as I live in Bukit Batok too and my unit just power tripped a few minutes ago. Rooftop probably got hit by lightning.

Thanks for the advice, stormhawk. Will take note of the filter. So I assume having fish in there will not survive once power is out for more than a week

Lightning is probably more furious around this side of the island, lol

[hencpu]

Should the be old one i think i thought the new one for household mostly use 30 mA nowadays hmmm

Stormhawk brought up an important point. circulating a filter that has stagnant water back into you tank will turn it into a cesspool.

if only your unit is experiencing RCCB oversensivity, you should get a better qualified
electrician to check it. a 40mA RCCB is less sensitive than a 30mA one.

UPS is not really feasible as you will be looking at one than can supply 1200 watt (for a 5W filter) or more, depending on your filter power consumption.

Ok, I guess I should get another electrician to check it out.

Thanks for the advice

[stormhawk]

In the tank itself, especially in a mature tank, there is already bacteria present on every surface in the tank, be it in the substrate, on the plants or on the glass. So if your fish numbers are low and with healthy plants, the fishes will survive. Get a battery operated fish feeder with a moisture inhibitor system, so that the food will stay "fresh" in the feeder's box while you're out. With cheap feeders that do not come with such a function, it's easy for the fish food to spoil in our climate.

[hencpu]

In the tank itself, especially in a mature tank, there is already bacteria present on every surface in the tank, be it in the substrate, on the plants or on the glass. So if your fish numbers are low and with healthy plants, the fishes will survive. Get a battery operated fish feeder with a moisture inhibitor system, so that the food will stay "fresh" in the feeder's box while you're out. With cheap feeders that do not come with such a function, it's easy for the fish food to spoil in our climate.

Thanks stormhawk, will take note of the fish feeder. But yeah, hopefully the BB in tank helps in case of filter failure.