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Wind up wavemaker for power outages?


Gannon
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Flumpweesel had the idea under a post about the recent Hurricane and preparation that a wind-up bath toy could be used for surface agitation in an emergency. Maybe I'm being very dumb and ignorant about something here, but it seems to me that a wind-up wavemaker of some kind could be a very useful product for some with small aquariums and a smaller hobby that doesn't justify buying a generator. A battery bank and USB air-pump is almost certainly more practical though, but I just thought it was an interesting idea, thoug certainly only useful in niche scenarios. 

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On 10/3/2022 at 10:44 AM, Gannon said:

Flumpweesel had the idea under a post about the recent Hurricane and preparation that a wind-up bath toy could be used for surface agitation in an emergency. Maybe I'm being very dumb and ignorant about something here, but it seems to me that a wind-up wavemaker of some kind could be a very useful product for some with small aquariums and a smaller hobby that doesn't justify buying a generator. A battery bank and USB air-pump is almost certainly more practical though, but I just thought it was an interesting idea, thoug certainly only useful in niche scenarios. 

It’s not only about surface agitation. Maybe in a very small tank if you’re home to rewind it often (how long will they run?).  It’s also about sirculating water throughout the tank which something that just paddles around the surface isn’t likely to do very well.  Fish species that are normally near the surface might be fine, but bottom dwellers are likely to be stressed by low oxygen levels if there isn’t much water movement in the tank.

I’m not saying it wouldn’t be adorable to run a tiny, self-propelled rubber ducky around the tank (see my name and jetski pics below), but an air-stone driven, well-seasoned, sponge filter will remain my go-to for power outages.  I can keep a pretty big air pump that works in deeper tanks, or on multiple smaller tank, going for about 8.5-9 hours before I have to resort to my generator.

Pics in progress of the jetski paint job in progress about 9 years ago (see the “Odd Duck” on the side?).  It’s gotten some dings and scratches since then.  For any purists out there, no, it’s not a “jetski”, it’s a Superjet, ‘93 squarenose, nothing really stock on it anymore.

CE32BA40-5E42-4B32-8B95-C40DF45C344D.jpeg

B67E373C-3E61-4BA6-AA9F-2724479DD4D9.jpeg

6042D195-D7A7-422F-8D9D-C94B34A02BF7.jpeg

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On 10/3/2022 at 11:30 AM, Odd Duck said:

It’s not only about surface agitation. Maybe in a very small tank if you’re home to rewind it often (how long will they run?).  It’s also about sirculating water throughout the tank which something that just paddles around the surface isn’t likely to do very well.  Fish species that are normally near the surface might be fine, but bottom dwellers are likely to be stressed by low oxygen levels if there isn’t much water movement in the tank.

I’m not saying it wouldn’t be adorable to run a tiny, self-propelled rubber ducky around the tank (see my name and jetski pics below), but an air-stone driven, well-seasoned, sponge filter will remain my go-to for power outages.  I can keep a pretty big air pump that works in deeper tanks, or on multiple smaller tank, going for about 8.5-9 hours before I have to resort to my generator.

Pics in progress of the jetski paint job in progress about 9 years ago (see the “Odd Duck” on the side?).  It’s gotten some dings and scratches since then.  For any purists out there, no, it’s not a “jetski”, it’s a Superjet, ‘93 squarenose, nothing really stock on it anymore.

CE32BA40-5E42-4B32-8B95-C40DF45C344D.jpeg

B67E373C-3E61-4BA6-AA9F-2724479DD4D9.jpeg

6042D195-D7A7-422F-8D9D-C94B34A02BF7.jpeg

This all makes sense. I had similar concerns and I love the jetski

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On 10/3/2022 at 12:19 PM, Gannon said:

This all makes sense. I had similar concerns and I love the jetski

Thank you!  It was truly a labor of love prepping and painting it. I didn’t even try to track the number of hours I spent prepping and sanding even with the help of power tools.  Hubby and I put a ridiculous number of coats of paint on that thing (12ish between primer, base color, then flake added to color, then clear.  Repeat for the silver on the handle pole and hull except a few less since I didn’t put any graphics in the silver.  Rubber ducky peelable wall decals for the win on the graphics.

I designed, picked colors of paint and flake, did about 95% of the prep work and taping, then tested combos of flake in paint, etc.  Then finally, he sprayed with a little help from me.

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