suggestions for emergency kit: what to have on hand

[Sk8r]

Basics:
salt enough to replace ALL your water, or at least enough to keep specimens alive.

good numbers-based test instruments and kits: the basic set: test strips for ammonia/nitrates; a refractometer, ph meter, tests for alkalinity. If keeping corals, add: calcium and magnesium. And USE them. Keep a log of them, particularly when starting out. If you're short of change, a floating hydrometer that you've tested against a refractometer can sub, but they are dangerous: you just don't want one to break and dump little metal beads into your sandbed. Avoid the swingarm sort: they're prone to bad readings in other than expert hands.

if using kalk topoff, keep a small bottle of club soda on hand. (In case of topoff accident.)

buckets enough for all your specimens in case of emergency.

rubber surgical gloves.

spare hose for a siphon and other purposes.

A big stack of old raggy towels: always useful.

A bottle of Amquel, in case of calamity. Ideally, you should never even break the seal on it, but if you need it, you need it bad.

A jar of carbon, plus some never-used ladies' knee-highs that you can use for bags. I don't personally run carbon, but I have it in case of contamination.

Luxuries:
all of the above plus:
a spare main pump in case the worst happens on New Year's Eve.

a lifting/mixing pump to aid in certain jobs.

a cannister filter plus pump for using a 1 micron/carbon/etc to yank your child's Cheerios from your tank.

a good book on the hobby, plus one on id'ing whatever you're keeping.

a packet of polypad/polyfilter: the resin-coated pricey stuff that can yank metals and other contaminants from the water.

Provisions for power backup, be it a computer power backup or a generator.

HTH.


Other suggestions are entirely welcome.

[Toddrtrex]

Very nice post.

To add, if you are using a clip on fan to control heat, have a couple of extra ones laying around. This time of year they are easy to find, but come fall -- good luck.

And the opposite of that, an extra heater or two.

[snorvich]

Both posts are excellent. I went through this exercise by figuring out what bad scenarios would likely happen some time. Top of my list was power failures. But the original posting is a great road map for being prepared. Of course his posts are always highly informative.

[chuppy]

A chiller as a true and for permanent reassurance .. =D.. But that'll suck if you have a power failure=(

Drew

[bandh0526]

Thank you for that!

[Sk8r]

Thank you.
One additional suggestion:
Procedures:
When something has gone wrong with your water...or when unexplained things are happening...
1. run every TEST you've got and write down the results. Step 2: take those results and insert a message entitled: "Help! Tank emergency" in Reef Central. Write those results down clearly and state the history of the problem as best you understand it. Don't fudge, don't hedge: be honest if you want good answers. Admit it if you used something in your tank you know you shouldn't!
2. do a 20% WATER CHANGE as fast as you can power-mix more salt water---takes about 3 hours with a 7g bucket and a maxijet. Not optimum mix, but survivable clean water. Of course...this also means having ro/di on hand, because it's slow to run. HOWEVER: in a pinch, run down to Walmart and get the stuff from the water kiosk, not off the shelves. IN A REAL BIND: conditioned tap water can be used, but just expect you will spend the next several months battling your phosphate levels. If you have a refugium, this will help a lot. Those are your trade-offs.
3. RUN CARBON if a likely biocontaminant; run polyfilter if you suspect metals. If there's no likely source of metals (like your child tossing the tv remote into your tank and your not finding it for 3 days) carbon should suffice. NOTE: carbon should be changed out every week. If overcharged, it, unlike most things, will start RELEASING everything it sucked up, compounding the damage. Carbon WILL remove medications, so if the tank in question is your quarantine/hospital tank, be sure your little air-driven filter is NOT running a black-backed filter square: those are carbon-impregnated. Got it? That's the story on carbon. Great cure-all, helps a lot, rarely hurts (except if you suck out all the meds). Just for goshsakes, WASH it before using or you'll have black powder all over your tank.

[scrmbld33]

i also have a battery operated air pump with air stone, its used for keeping bait fish alive when fishing. only a couple dollars for some added oxygen

http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...=SearchResults

[Norward]

Originally posted by scrmbld33
a battery operated air pump with air stone

I was just about to post the same. While good to have, a basic battery back-up is only good for an hour or less typically. Had a power outage of several hours two weeks ago and the LFS put me onto a "Bubble Box" at Wal-Mart for $6.97. Ran on 2 D batteries for several hours. A great addition for the ER kit!

[snorvich]

Yes, power failures are almost guaranteed to happen at some time. It is only how long that is questioned. In my location, when we have them, it can go from short up to more than a day so I bit the bullet and got a whole house generator. Since that time, I have had three major power outages. No problem with tanks or refrigerators. For me it was money well spent.

sk8r's second post is also very informative. What he did not say, is it is good practice to keep a log/blog or whatever so record water conditions and events. Best way to learn.