Generators Are A Must!
 

My dear friends! I am taking the time to give you all a VERY SOLID bit of advice, based in the recent record setting ice storm in midwest Missouri. DO NOT try to maintain a reef WITHOUT a generator! EVEN if you live in Florida, there are weather events and power goes out! I bought a 2,000 watt generator at a frag swap in the middle of summer for $150. BEST money I EVER spent! Went to bed Saturday night, power went off about 6:30 am Sunday morning...it came back on Tuesday about 2:00 PM! I kept the return pump and my Sequence 1000 closed loop running around the clock. The temp dropped to 69.4 degrees...plugged in 2 X 400 watt heaters and burned a TON of wood to keep the room warm. Temp gradually came up to 76.4 degrees by the time the power came on. When the halides came on...I was scared to look...but EVERYTHING was GREAT! IF YOU DO NOT HAVE A GENERATOR, GET ONE! We are responsible for so very many life forms in our reef tanks! Here are a couple of pictures of the damage to my home, but my reef is GREAT! It sucked at Christmas, but it would have devastated me had my reef died!

[url=http://www.saltbucket.com/d/11696-1/ICE___.jpg][img]http://www.saltbucket.com/d/11698-1/ICE___.jpg[/img][/url]
The front of the house

[url=http://www.saltbucket.com/d/11699-1/ICE-DECK.jpg][img]http://www.saltbucket.com/d/11701-1/ICE-DECK.jpg[/img][/url]
The deck in the back

Thanks for looking, Merry Christmas!
Phil

Christmas came early for you, your very fortunate to have saved your reef from disaster.

Incredible pictures :thumbsup:

amen rookie i do live in fl and we have outages all the time with just the summer thunderstorms my gen 3000 watt honda has give me piece of mind several times with 3 tanks its a must can you say huricane season!!!

Excellent advice - I don't know much about generators can you tell me how much a 2,000 watt generator can carry, what they run on and where in the world can one be found for $150- seems like an incrediable deal!

Nice ice storm!