Being Prepared for Hurricane Season - Best Practices

LJA · 06/26/2008, 08:21 AM

For those of us that live within the expected projectory of hurricane landfall, there are some obvious things that we should have in place to be prepared. Not only for our families, but for our tanks as well.

Chart via NOAA:

Obviously, there is a grater risk for those of us living in certain states such as the Gulf states, Florida, and the southeastern costal states.

Living in Florida for the past 15 years, I have seen quite a few hurricanes, and even have surfed in them so I don't get to worried about them (just another hurricane party

). But this will be my first hurricane season with a reef tank so my concerns are towards my investment of time and money to my tank, as I'm sure some of your concerns are as well.

This will be my first hurricane season in the reefing hobby, and without several hundred dollars to shell out for a generator, I was wondering what some options are to maintain tank prosperity in the event of a power outage. In 2004, when four hurricanes came though Florida, my house was out of power several times, the longest duration was TWO WEEKS. Although I realize that there is no way a tank can survive two weeks without some sort of generator, what are some options for running powerheads, lights, and maybe a skimmer for a day or two?

Has anyone engineered some type of car battery backup for their tank?

Any other necessary preparations that should be taken for those of us in danger of a hurricane?

Anyone have any stories about sustaining their tank during a hurricane or other nasty weather?

I believe a lot of us can benefit from this thread if we pass around some ideas and concerns.

sufunk · 06/26/2008, 08:38 AM

When Wilma hit it 2005, i was out of power for about 6 days. I only had my 36g tank then and just used a small battery pump to keep the tank going for the 1st 3 days before i got a generator. It was fine for those 3 days and nothing died.

Now with my 180g, i had to buy a seperate generator just for that tank last year.

Tank or notank, Wilma taught me that you MUST have a generator in Florida during hurricane season. You may get lucky for a few seasons but it's only a matter of time before a storm big enough to knock out FPL for a few days comes along.

LJA · 06/26/2008, 08:59 AM

To maintain everything on my 29G tank, here is the total wattage for everything:

Lights: 4x24 T5 HO - 96 Watts

Powerheads: Koralia 3, Koralia 1 - 13.5 Watts

Return Pump: Mag-Drive - 35 Watts

Refugium Lights: 2x13 w/ 60w output - 26 Watts

Total consumption: 170.5 Watts

I'm going to be looking into a battery backup for about $100 that can run my system for about 3 days minimum no problem. A generator is just out of my price range right now. When I upgrade to a 75 gallon I will probably work a generator into my budget.

06/26/2008, 08:21 AM	#1
LJA Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Florida Posts: 702	Being Prepared for Hurricane Season - Best Practices For those of us that live within the expected projectory of hurricane landfall, there are some obvious things that we should have in place to be prepared. Not only for our families, but for our tanks as well. Chart via NOAA: Obviously, there is a grater risk for those of us living in certain states such as the Gulf states, Florida, and the southeastern costal states. Living in Florida for the past 15 years, I have seen quite a few hurricanes, and even have surfed in them so I don't get to worried about them (just another hurricane party ). But this will be my first hurricane season with a reef tank so my concerns are towards my investment of time and money to my tank, as I'm sure some of your concerns are as well. This will be my first hurricane season in the reefing hobby, and without several hundred dollars to shell out for a generator, I was wondering what some options are to maintain tank prosperity in the event of a power outage. In 2004, when four hurricanes came though Florida, my house was out of power several times, the longest duration was TWO WEEKS. Although I realize that there is no way a tank can survive two weeks without some sort of generator, what are some options for running powerheads, lights, and maybe a skimmer for a day or two? Has anyone engineered some type of car battery backup for their tank? Any other necessary preparations that should be taken for those of us in danger of a hurricane? Anyone have any stories about sustaining their tank during a hurricane or other nasty weather? I believe a lot of us can benefit from this thread if we pass around some ideas and concerns.

06/26/2008, 08:38 AM	#2
sufunk Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Davie, Florida Posts: 2,004	When Wilma hit it 2005, i was out of power for about 6 days. I only had my 36g tank then and just used a small battery pump to keep the tank going for the 1st 3 days before i got a generator. It was fine for those 3 days and nothing died. Now with my 180g, i had to buy a seperate generator just for that tank last year. Tank or notank, Wilma taught me that you MUST have a generator in Florida during hurricane season. You may get lucky for a few seasons but it's only a matter of time before a storm big enough to knock out FPL for a few days comes along. __________________ Florida President of J.S.S.J (Jessica Simpson is a Shemale Jinx!!!) Current Tank Info: 36g reef and 180g reef, 3x250w Phoenix 14k MH's and 8x39w T-5's, 2 Tunze 6100's with 7095 controller, 2 Koralia 3's, ASM-G3 skimmer, mag-12 return, eco systems sump/fuge

06/26/2008, 08:59 AM	#3
LJA Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Florida Posts: 702	To maintain everything on my 29G tank, here is the total wattage for everything: Lights: 4x24 T5 HO - 96 Watts Powerheads: Koralia 3, Koralia 1 - 13.5 Watts Return Pump: Mag-Drive - 35 Watts Refugium Lights: 2x13 w/ 60w output - 26 Watts Total consumption: 170.5 Watts I'm going to be looking into a battery backup for about $100 that can run my system for about 3 days minimum no problem. A generator is just out of my price range right now. When I upgrade to a 75 gallon I will probably work a generator into my budget.