Hurricane season looming. Ideas for keeping a...

[72olds455]

Reef tank alive for several days without power incase it comes down to that? I know an air pump run on batterys will help. but would love to hear other ideas.
Thanks
David

 

[emmitt]

During an extended outage like wilma last year, you're gonna need a generator. We ran the tank all day on the generator and just used the battery pump during the night. Tank was no worse for wear and didnt lose any fish. One suggestion i didnt think of last year. when collecting supplies,if you dont have a ro/di, get some extra water to mix up. After wilma, almost every store was closed for 2-4 weeks.

 

[beavis4040]

Agreed, small generator or a larger one for the home would work. never a fun thing to have to worry about but it happens!

 

[92protruck]

I used a combination of plenn-plax Silent Air battery air pumps (usually at night), generator (during the day) and extension cord running to inverter on car battery (while generator down for maitnenance or rest period).

 

[grumpygils]

Originally Posted by 72olds455
Reef tank alive for several days without power incase it comes down to that? I know an air pump run on batterys will help. but would love to hear other ideas.
Thanks
David
Poor mans way here. But I do now have a generator since I have 3 tanks. With a timer, they can go for a long time.

 

[72olds455]

How does the timer on the generator work it shuts it on and off at preset times?

 

[sunny]

We did a few days with just an airator. Then we begged our neighbors to let us hook up the tank to their generator. We lost a bunch of fish. Generator is the way to go. We went to Home Depot last night. I think we will go with the 7500 watt. Might as well be comfortable in the event we loose power again.

 

[grumpygils]

Originally Posted by 72olds455
How does the timer on the generator work it shuts it on and off at preset times?

If you are asking about the battery pack and timer. I just set it to kick on the filter and/or PHs for 15 min on, 15 min off. This doubles the time that the battery will last.
GG

 

[mrdc]

Also, if you are considering getting a generator, go ahead and get it now. Last year, I decided to get one after losing power for several days (luckily I did not have a saltwater tank at the time) but to my dismay, every store was out of stock w/in 100 miles. Some stores would get a few generators but they couldn't tell you when and they would always sell out before I could get a hold of one. Anyway, I never got one because the busy hurricane season kept the stores out of stock for quite some time. I still don't have one but I am shopping for one now and should have one w/in the next week.

 

[sunny]

Remember, if you live in Florida generators and hurricane supplies are tax free until June 1. Also, Home Depot is giving a 7.5% additional discount on generators. Pretty cool!

 

[mrdc]

Originally Posted by sunny
Remember, if you live in Florida generators and hurricane supplies are tax free until June 1. Also, Home Depot is giving a 7.5% additional discount on generators. Pretty cool!

Also my HD is having a 12 months same as case for purchases over $299 and the generator will definitely cover that. If not, tell me where you live and I will come purchase several

 

[ryanhayes9]

i have 4 tanks runing here in orlando. thank god we bought a generator last year

 

[lbaskball]

I'm glad I live in Los Angeles.....

 

[cjeffrey77]

I do plan to buy a generator in the future. For now though I use a power invertor, You can get them at Wal-Mart in several different sizes. I hook it up to a marine battery, the kind they use on boats they stay charged alot longer than car batterys. We lost power about 2 months ago for 1 1/2 days and we kept everything alive this way.

 

[jadallen]

I am in the process of gathering info for my first tank and was wondering about what I should do to prepare for a hurricane. I live in Beaumont, Tx and last year we went over a month with out any power. (I stayed out of town though)

 

[promisetbg]

I use deep cycle batteries and an inverter..because I live in an apt and don't have anywhere to put a generator.