hurrican season

Aquariumist · 04/16/2006, 03:27 PM

as most of you hobbyists know, the past two hurrican seasons have been hell, for the citizens of the southeast. well, this past hurricane season was the most devastating for me, i had a complete wipeout in my 16 gallon tank, and all of my hard earned collected sealife perished in that week of powerless torcher.

i'm not about to sacrafice my tank to hurricane season this year. im a teenager and my parents dont approve of my expensive hobby. short of buying a generator, what options do i have? last year some of my family members had power, but i didnt like the idea of moving my tank, at most it would be worst case scenario.

ive found fishing livewell pumps that run on 12 volt batteries that could run my wetdry filter, so that is another option, will a regular old battery operated air pump work, or would my corals needmoving water to survive that week(hopefully not but if it is, hopefully ill be prepared

any help would be greatly appreciated, and hopefully i can be better prepared this coming HS.

Pico Keeper · 04/16/2006, 06:55 PM

Dude, your from Miami, home of the bargain...

Go to a gas station, buy a bargain trader.. And buy a cheap used generator for $20-150... It will be enough to run your tank, and some lights and maybe TV. And when your parents are telling you how they dont approve of your hobby during the aftermath of a hurricane you can tell them to go away cus your busy watching TV.. lol

Aquariumist · 04/16/2006, 08:59 PM

thanks, Pico Keeper, i just did a little research on eBay, and i didnt notice how, well, affordable generators are, i mean, for a sixteen they would be great, but what about for a 46 and a sixteen, lights filters, and possibly refrigerator???

Aquariumist · 04/16/2006, 09:00 PM

does anyone reccomend a specific make or model of generator, any experience, or knowledge would be great!

PatrickJ · 04/17/2006, 12:14 AM

As Katrina survivor (both my tank and myself) and just graduating high school last year, I can give you first hand advice of what I did for my 55 gallon reef.

First, you need a battery powered automatic back up air pump.
http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...=1145252742192

Like no kidding, I bought this one and it saved all my stuff. Lasted for 7 days on two D cells.

Then, small generator. Get a job and work hard, save your money. Try to get a 1000-watt or more gas generator from Colman.

Add up the wattage of all the things that you HAVE TO RUN. Circulation comes first and if you have to run lights, run them in a reduced amount of time. Like 4 hours a day. Your lights are going to suck the most power out of your generator. Run the minimal amount. Remeber, it is hotter in the day than night. RUN YOUR LIGHTS AT NIGHT TO KEEP YOUR TANK COOLER.

Just prime circulation and lights for about 4 hours. Protein skimmer is going to be flip flopped with lights, if your lights are not on, protein skim, lights on, no protein skim.

Then, when the lights go out, you need to make an "Emergency Mode" for your tank; consisting of important things. This is done by a series of power strips and extension cords.

Now that you have everything working out, WHAT ABOUT KEEPING YOU TANK COOL? This is the worst part.

I recorded tank temperatures at 86F in my tank. You need your tank to evaporate to stay cool. Get a fan blowing on your water. Now add up those watts...do they exceed your generators abilities? Have RO water on hand. At least the same amount as your tank's volume.

I ended up getting ****ed at my tank's temperature, so I broke it all down and put it into a 6 Gallon JBJ Nano Cube in a separate room that we had window air-conditioning unit running on a separate generator.

Yes, I was lucky I have that available. Temperature went to a cool 84F.

Well, thats what I did, worked out well. I lost a frag. If you dont get a generater, get the air-pump. It's the best you can do.

p4ck37p1mp · 04/17/2006, 05:24 AM

Get two of those air pumps, mine failed after a few days..

04/16/2006, 03:27 PM	#1
Aquariumist Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Miami, Fl. Posts: 208	hurrican season as most of you hobbyists know, the past two hurrican seasons have been hell, for the citizens of the southeast. well, this past hurricane season was the most devastating for me, i had a complete wipeout in my 16 gallon tank, and all of my hard earned collected sealife perished in that week of powerless torcher. i'm not about to sacrafice my tank to hurricane season this year. im a teenager and my parents dont approve of my expensive hobby. short of buying a generator, what options do i have? last year some of my family members had power, but i didnt like the idea of moving my tank, at most it would be worst case scenario. ive found fishing livewell pumps that run on 12 volt batteries that could run my wetdry filter, so that is another option, will a regular old battery operated air pump work, or would my corals needmoving water to survive that week(hopefully not but if it is, hopefully ill be prepared any help would be greatly appreciated, and hopefully i can be better prepared this coming HS.

04/16/2006, 09:00 PM	#4
Aquariumist Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Miami, Fl. Posts: 208	does anyone reccomend a specific make or model of generator, any experience, or knowledge would be great! Last edited by Aquariumist; 04/16/2006 at 09:13 PM.

04/17/2006, 12:14 AM	#5
PatrickJ Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Luling, La Posts: 587	As Katrina survivor (both my tank and myself) and just graduating high school last year, I can give you first hand advice of what I did for my 55 gallon reef. First, you need a battery powered automatic back up air pump. http://www.petsmart.com/global/produ...=1145252742192 Like no kidding, I bought this one and it saved all my stuff. Lasted for 7 days on two D cells. Then, small generator. Get a job and work hard, save your money. Try to get a 1000-watt or more gas generator from Colman. Add up the wattage of all the things that you HAVE TO RUN. Circulation comes first and if you have to run lights, run them in a reduced amount of time. Like 4 hours a day. Your lights are going to suck the most power out of your generator. Run the minimal amount. Remeber, it is hotter in the day than night. RUN YOUR LIGHTS AT NIGHT TO KEEP YOUR TANK COOLER. Just prime circulation and lights for about 4 hours. Protein skimmer is going to be flip flopped with lights, if your lights are not on, protein skim, lights on, no protein skim. Then, when the lights go out, you need to make an "Emergency Mode" for your tank; consisting of important things. This is done by a series of power strips and extension cords. Now that you have everything working out, WHAT ABOUT KEEPING YOU TANK COOL? This is the worst part. I recorded tank temperatures at 86F in my tank. You need your tank to evaporate to stay cool. Get a fan blowing on your water. Now add up those watts...do they exceed your generators abilities? Have RO water on hand. At least the same amount as your tank's volume. I ended up getting ****ed at my tank's temperature, so I broke it all down and put it into a 6 Gallon JBJ Nano Cube in a separate room that we had window air-conditioning unit running on a separate generator. Yes, I was lucky I have that available. Temperature went to a cool 84F. Well, thats what I did, worked out well. I lost a frag. If you dont get a generater, get the air-pump. It's the best you can do. __________________ I skim wet, therefore I am. Current Tank Info: 120 Monster

04/17/2006, 05:24 AM	#6
p4ck37p1mp Premium Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Atlanta Posts: 419	Get two of those air pumps, mine failed after a few days.. __________________ -- "Unix is user friendly. However, it isn't idiot friendly." Current Tank Info: 90g reef, 100g sump, 40g fuge

04/16/2006, 06:55 PM	#2
Pico Keeper Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 437	Dude, your from Miami, home of the bargain... Go to a gas station, buy a bargain trader.. And buy a cheap used generator for $20-150... It will be enough to run your tank, and some lights and maybe TV. And when your parents are telling you how they dont approve of your hobby during the aftermath of a hurricane you can tell them to go away cus your busy watching TV.. lol

04/16/2006, 08:59 PM	#3
Aquariumist Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Miami, Fl. Posts: 208	thanks, Pico Keeper, i just did a little research on eBay, and i didnt notice how, well, affordable generators are, i mean, for a sixteen they would be great, but what about for a 46 and a sixteen, lights filters, and possibly refrigerator???