Do you have contingency plans?

jccaclimber · 09/14/2014, 08:21 PM

I was looking at the DC 6000 thread up above and noticed a lot of "It's cheap, don't expect much". This got me thinking, how many people actually plan for failures? How many people don't plan for them, then claim no fault when something common but bad happens (dead return pump, etc)?

I feel like a lot of people on here put themselves in a situation with a huge dollar investment, but are at the mercy of a 25 cent part failing (slight exaggeration here).

What backups do you have, and if you don't, why not?

jccaclimber · 09/14/2014, 08:23 PM

For example, if the reef tank loses the return pump the circulation pump keeps things going, and vise versa. Not ideal, but nothing dies if it takes me a day or two to fix it. If the power goes out I have a backup battery unit that will get me a couple hours. If that fails (and I'm home) I have a buddy with an inverter. If I'm out of town for more than a couple days I have someone checking on my stuff or at least on call in case a disaster like a power outage hits. If all of this fails I'm willing to pay the price for that low likelihood event.

Power goes out in the winter, I have a way to heat water without electricity (and have needed it).

Tank breaks, emergency swap into a stock tank (done that too).

Critical return pump? Have two smaller ones in parallel. Same goes for heaters.

Silly clownfish · 09/17/2014, 07:01 PM

Circulator pumps would buy me time of my DC-3000 died, or I could grab a noisy old pond pump from the basement, but I'm not set up to throttle it back if needed. It would be an annoying fix.

We've had several 4-5 day power outages in the 20 years we've owned our home. The second day of the first one with a reef tank we bought a gas generator. It cost about the same as my live stock and meant we could have the fridge, AC, etc for ourselves

We can, and often do, heat our house with our woodstove, which is in the living room at the opposite end of the room from the tank. I have extra tank heaters around too.

I know a lot of folks her advocate keeping 50-100% of your tank volume in pre-made salt water or at least ro/di. Personally, I don't like storing large volumes of water for more than a few days. I have had mold on the inside of bucket lids, so I don't think it is healthy for fish or humans. I can make enough ro/di to do a 100% water change in a day (not that I can imagine that scenario)- unless of course the power is out. Our generator is not wired to the well pump.

ca1ore · 09/17/2014, 09:29 PM

Lots of threads on this topic. Generally, advice is to have spares on hand for things that the tank cannot wait two days to have replaced. My own approach is to keep a pump on hand that can replace my main pump in a pinch (otherwise my sump will die) and a spare heater. Anything else can wait two days. Also wise to have a way to run a pump or two should the power go south.

OceanRevive · 09/18/2014, 06:19 AM

I have a spare DC12000 and a spare DC6000, a WP25 & 40, a spare dosing pump, a couple of spare led fixtures (duh... I work for OceanRevive) and at least 40 gallons of RO/DI water. I also have a couple of battery operated air pumps and a 5000 watt generator. But then I am running 5 aquariums currently.

williewilliams · 09/18/2014, 08:59 AM

I just ordered a spare dc3000 and have plenty of spare parts around. I also picked up a generator. I have to order almost all my equipment so it really pays to have extra stuff on hand. I watch for sales and pick up stuff on craigslist when I see it. Been stuck a few times in the past and don't want it to happen again. In a power outage, that lasted a week, I actually used a bike pump to aerate and my BBQ grill to warm water for a heat exchanger. Never again! hopefully.......

Breadman03 · 09/18/2014, 10:52 AM

I have a generator and an assortment of circulation and return pumps. I'm running a Mag 18, but looking to hook up a DC12000 and keep the Mag ready as a backup. Most of the spares are less than ideal, but that's okay for a temporary situation. I also have some spare lights around that are good enough, as well as a few extra tanks that could hold stock in the event of a tank failure.

KafudaFish · 09/18/2014, 10:53 AM

A fish closet.

09/14/2014, 08:21 PM	#1
jccaclimber Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 528	Do you have contingency plans? I was looking at the DC 6000 thread up above and noticed a lot of "It's cheap, don't expect much". This got me thinking, how many people actually plan for failures? How many people don't plan for them, then claim no fault when something common but bad happens (dead return pump, etc)? I feel like a lot of people on here put themselves in a situation with a huge dollar investment, but are at the mercy of a 25 cent part failing (slight exaggeration here). What backups do you have, and if you don't, why not?

09/17/2014, 09:29 PM	#4
ca1ore Grizzled & Cynical Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Stamford, CT Posts: 17,319	Lots of threads on this topic. Generally, advice is to have spares on hand for things that the tank cannot wait two days to have replaced. My own approach is to keep a pump on hand that can replace my main pump in a pinch (otherwise my sump will die) and a spare heater. Anything else can wait two days. Also wise to have a way to run a pump or two should the power go south. __________________ Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs

09/18/2014, 08:59 AM	#6
williewilliams Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: southeastern, PA Posts: 334	I just ordered a spare dc3000 and have plenty of spare parts around. I also picked up a generator. I have to order almost all my equipment so it really pays to have extra stuff on hand. I watch for sales and pick up stuff on craigslist when I see it. Been stuck a few times in the past and don't want it to happen again. In a power outage, that lasted a week, I actually used a bike pump to aerate and my BBQ grill to warm water for a heat exchanger. Never again! hopefully....... __________________ Just enough fish to make the normal visitors understand why there is a big glass box of water and rock on display. Current Tank Info: 3 shallow rimless tanks. 2 full of sps and 1 with zoas/palys.

09/14/2014, 08:23 PM	#2
jccaclimber Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 528	For example, if the reef tank loses the return pump the circulation pump keeps things going, and vise versa. Not ideal, but nothing dies if it takes me a day or two to fix it. If the power goes out I have a backup battery unit that will get me a couple hours. If that fails (and I'm home) I have a buddy with an inverter. If I'm out of town for more than a couple days I have someone checking on my stuff or at least on call in case a disaster like a power outage hits. If all of this fails I'm willing to pay the price for that low likelihood event. Power goes out in the winter, I have a way to heat water without electricity (and have needed it). Tank breaks, emergency swap into a stock tank (done that too). Critical return pump? Have two smaller ones in parallel. Same goes for heaters.

09/17/2014, 07:01 PM	#3
Silly clownfish Registered Member Join Date: May 2013 Location: Southeast Pennsylvania Posts: 488	Circulator pumps would buy me time of my DC-3000 died, or I could grab a noisy old pond pump from the basement, but I'm not set up to throttle it back if needed. It would be an annoying fix. We've had several 4-5 day power outages in the 20 years we've owned our home. The second day of the first one with a reef tank we bought a gas generator. It cost about the same as my live stock and meant we could have the fridge, AC, etc for ourselves We can, and often do, heat our house with our woodstove, which is in the living room at the opposite end of the room from the tank. I have extra tank heaters around too. I know a lot of folks her advocate keeping 50-100% of your tank volume in pre-made salt water or at least ro/di. Personally, I don't like storing large volumes of water for more than a few days. I have had mold on the inside of bucket lids, so I don't think it is healthy for fish or humans. I can make enough ro/di to do a 100% water change in a day (not that I can imagine that scenario)- unless of course the power is out. Our generator is not wired to the well pump.

09/18/2014, 06:19 AM	#5
OceanRevive registered member Join Date: Sep 2013 Posts: 105	I have a spare DC12000 and a spare DC6000, a WP25 & 40, a spare dosing pump, a couple of spare led fixtures (duh... I work for OceanRevive) and at least 40 gallons of RO/DI water. I also have a couple of battery operated air pumps and a 5000 watt generator. But then I am running 5 aquariums currently.

09/18/2014, 10:52 AM	#7
Breadman03 New Old School Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Luzerne County, PA Posts: 3,293	I have a generator and an assortment of circulation and return pumps. I'm running a Mag 18, but looking to hook up a DC12000 and keep the Mag ready as a backup. Most of the spares are less than ideal, but that's okay for a temporary situation. I also have some spare lights around that are good enough, as well as a few extra tanks that could hold stock in the event of a tank failure.

09/18/2014, 10:53 AM	#8
KafudaFish Cyprinius carpio Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 4,496	A fish closet.