Oh Crap Moment!!

southern wolf

southern wolf

Member
I live at least an hour and a half (one way) from a real fish store. My closest ***** is even 40 mins or so away (one way)... so since I am in the planning stages I figured I would ask this question before it happens.
If you were in my boat in reguards to not having access to local supplies... what would you be sure to keep on hand to prepair for an "OH CRAP" moment? Unless it's just really obvious (like salt)... why would you keep it on hand?
Thanks for the help and insite.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Here's a quick list of stuff I like to keep on hand:
Extra filter floss
Extra carbon
Extra top off water
Emergency bottled saltwater
Batteries
Battery powered air pump
Batttary powered pump
UPS
Extra salt
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/388327/oh-crap-moment#post_3424088
Here's a quick list of stuff I like to keep on hand:
Extra filter floss
Extra carbon
Extra top off water
Emergency bottled saltwater
Batteries
Battery powered air pump
Batttary powered pump
UPS
Extra salt
+1
I also like to keep Amquel and Prime on hand.
Nutri Seawater - prebottled, ready to go is good to have on hand.
Dry food that I know my fishes will eat in an emergency and I loose all my frozen food
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Yeah. Of you loose your frozen foods it's good to have pellet and flake on hand. Extra saltwater to me is a must have. If you have thousands invested in your tank it would be wise to get a back up generator if you haven't already got one.
Amquel and prime are good too. A UPS is a great investment to run a koralia powerhead for awhile for water movement.
Of course that's just the fish tank. In a real regency you also need to worry about yourself.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Oh if you have an RO unit at your house.... Which in your location it would be a good investment ... It's good to have extra filters on hand so you and the fish will have clean water to drink.
 
southern wolf

southern wolf

Member
Yeah... I will be investing in a RO/DI unit. Considering the price of gas... it will pay for itself in the first month.
Can you just bottle your own saltwater?
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by Southern Wolf http:///t/388327/oh-crap-moment#post_3424105
What is the purpose of Amquel and Prime?
Helps remove ammonia/neutralize water if there was an issue. Prime is also a stress coat, which can be helpful when the fish don't have their usual filtration and figure out that something has changed in the tank.
 
southern wolf

southern wolf

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/388327/oh-crap-moment#post_3424088
Here's a quick list of stuff I like to keep on hand:
Extra filter floss
Extra carbon
Extra top off water
Emergency bottled saltwater
Batteries
Battery powered air pump - if air bubles are bad... why the air pump.
Batttary powered pump - didn't know there was such a thing. Where can one find these critters.
UPS
Extra salt
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
+ 1 on the generator, Amquel and prime
I don't think you can keep mixed saltwater for long, so the nutri seawater prebottled idea is a good one.
Save all the little parts to power heads, filters and such you don't use....stuff that breaks over time salvage what you can off of them...they come in handy in a pinch. My whole sump system is down, because I'm waiting on a plastic clamp....nobody around me sells plastic ones. I kept my canister filter so I am using that until I get the sump up and going again.
One rule...do NOT do any maintenance in the after store hours....because no matter how far away a fish store is, it's closer than 10 hours chewing your nails waiting for the store to open up cause something went wrong....LOL..I was a shift worker for many years, and in the dead of night is when I used to mess with my tanks.
 
southern wolf

southern wolf

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/388327/oh-crap-moment#post_3424113
+ 1 on the generator, Amquel and prime
I don't think you can keep mixed saltwater for long, so the nutri seawater prebottled idea is a good one.
Save all the little parts to power heads, filters and such you don't use....stuff that breaks over time salvage what you can off of them...they come in handy in a pinch. My whole sump system is down, because I'm waiting on a plastic clamp....nobody around me sells plastic ones. I kept my canister filter so I am using that until I get the sump up and going again.
One rule...do NOT do any maintenance in the after store hours....because no matter how far away a fish store is, it's closer than 10 hours chewing your nails waiting for the store to open up cause something went wrong....LOL..I was a shift worker for many years, and in the dead of night is when I used to mess with my tanks.
what makes the nutri seawater different than what I can mix up?
I still am a shift work... and thus the reason I am trying to get prepaired. Me being able to get to the fish store can only happen twice a week on my days off. And that's providing they are not closed one of those days.
 
tur4k

tur4k

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Southern Wolf http:///t/388327/oh-crap-moment#post_3424129
what makes the nutri seawater different than what I can mix up?
You can use it right away without having to worry about it aging. Personally I just keep 80 Gallons of RO water in my holding tank and a couple of extra buckets of salt. In an emergency I would just mix it up as best I could and hope for the best. Others may not want to risk using freshly mixed water. So they keep bottled nutri seawater on hand.
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
The air bubbles short term in case of a power outage are going to keep your fish alive and your water from becoming foul/stagnant. The water needs to be oxygenated, usually this is done by your return and skimmer, but during a outage, you can't rely on them, so you have to resort to plan B.
Nurti Seawater comes in a a sealed container, so something with it's packaging makes it last longer.
 
southern wolf

southern wolf

Member
and the reason to have the Nurti Seawater on hand is in case you have to do an emergency water change right then.. right now in order to keep from loosing the entire tank? Can things get that serious that quick?
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Southern Wolf http:///t/388327/oh-crap-moment#post_3424176
and the reason to have the Nurti Seawater on hand is in case you have to do an emergency water change right then.. right now in order to keep from loosing the entire tank? Can things get that serious that quick?
If you have a critter like a sea apple or certain anemones when they get stressed or die...yep. Even a young child who likes to put things into the tank. or you accidently add the wrong additive and it poisons the tank...or you use a bucket marked FISH ONLY that the better half used to hold soap for scrubbing the floors or a drunken visitor thought there was a glass top on the tank and put their booze on it, as the glass sinks to the bottom of the tank...or ...stuff happens
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
the only thing i keep is ??? nothing
i have a backup battery for my powerheads.i can see the amquil if you have a qt going with fish in it.buy with lr you cant use it.as for food if the power goes out you are screwed all around.not only the fish food but your food.i have access to a generator if i need it.but i would look for a generator to run your freezer,fridge and tanks .seeing most of us have thousands in our tanks a $300 cheap generator is a cheap investment.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Yup. Never know when you might need an extra 5 gallons here and there.
It's good to have some saltwater on hand, a gallon or two, for saltwater top offs to adjust your salinity up as you need it. If you dose two part solutions, however, you would always need to adjust your salinity down.
Oh, and it's also good to have about 25% to 50% of your tank water volume worth in 5g jugs. The jugs can be used to transport saltwater to and from the lfs, or used in an emergency when your tank leaks or whatever... You never know when an extra 40g worth of 5g jugs will come in handy.
Ok, now I'm rambling again.
 
deejeff442

deejeff442

Active Member
i dont think alot of people have the room to store 40 gallons of water.for a temp solution tap water wont kill anything.for a top off.for adjusting salinity i dont see that as an emergency
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
You're absolutely right, deejeff. lol. I'm really tired. It's obviously been a long day.
Tap won't kill anything - I'de keep some "Prime" handy to dechlorinate tap water and use it for top offs and saltwater mixes until you can switch back over to distilled/RO/DI for top off and salt mixes.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by deejeff442 http:///t/388327/oh-crap-moment#post_3424207
i dont think alot of people have the room to store 40 gallons of water.for a temp solution tap water wont kill anything.for a top off.for adjusting salinity i dont see that as an emergency
I assumed he meant empty 5g jugs so you have something to put the water in to go GET the water if you have to. I have 7 jugs in my storage shed.
 
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