A portable power station is something that every pond owner should have. This article will explain what they are, how to use them, and why you need one. Do not overlook this piece of equipment when building or owning a koi pond or water garden.
What Is A Portable Power Station?
A portable power station is basically a source of power that stores energy with the use of batteries. It is used similarly like a gas powered generator, but it does not have an internal combustion motor that uses gas. Instead, it uses batteries that can be charged. They can store the energy, and are ready when needed.
These power stations are very versatile, and available in many different sizes depending on your power requirements. Very commonly they are used as a power source for your home. Depending on the size and configuration, they can run your entire home, or just some appliances that you may need. They are also popular for outdoor adventures such as camping, fishing, or RV’s. Unlike gas generators, they can be very quiet. And since they emit no emissions, they can be used either inside your home, or outdoors. It’s nice that they are environmentally friendly. In this article, we are looking at these power stations to help run our aeration systems for our ponds.
Why do we need this for our koi ponds?
When your home’s power goes out, the fish in your garden ponds are in danger. They MUST have a continuous source of oxygen to survive. The ability to keep your pond’s filtration system working would be nice, but having and running an aeration system, (air pump with air stones), is essential. An absolute MUST have during power outages. These battery powered power stations are a great choice to keep your pond fish alive!
Every pond owner should be prepared for power outages before they occur. Once your power goes out, it’s too late to figure out what to do. Have a source of power ready when you may need it, your fish will be in danger of low oxygen levels quickly. The larger your fish are, and the more fish you have, the quicker the oxygen supply will diminish. It can be only a short period of time before your fish are gasping for air and struggling to survive.
The majority of power outages seem to occur during the summer months when storms are more prevalent, but other events like a car crashing into a telephone / power line pole can also knock out power. You never know! The summer months are the most dangerous times to loose power for your fish. There are two main reasons why a quick solution is needed to provide oxygen in our ponds during power outages. We need to understand that warmer water holds less dissolved oxygen than cold water, and therefore more oxygen is required to keep oxygen levels safe for our fish in this warmer water / weather. And secondly in warmer water, our fishes metabolism is in full function, demanding more oxygen. As opposed to winter, when the water temperatures are cold, the cold water holds more dissolved oxygen. In this colder water, our fishes metabolism is slower and therefore their oxygen demand is less. But, no matter what time of year, we need to provide aeration into our ponds. You may just have a little more time in the winter to provide that air before your fish are stressed.
Adding A Solar Panel
Many of these portable power stations are able to be purchased with a solar panel to recharge them. Charging them while we can plug them into the wall is the fastest, but when we have no power in our homes, a solar panel can be great for an endless amount of power for recharging. There are several different sized panels for different stations. The solar panels are just great to have for long term power outages.
The two brands that I like to recommend are EcoFlow, and Jackery. Do not skimp on these products, as your fishes lives will depend on it. We need something that will be reliable, can supply enough power for our needs, and supply power for a long period of time. Both of these companies are industry leaders that make high quality products. The batteries in these power stations will last for many, many years of use, and thousands of recharges before they will begin to degrade. So this purchase will last and be dependable for a very long time.
For more information about using these portable power stations with your pond, you can watch my video on my YouTube Channel. Also see my website www.pondscapesandmore.com
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