Reef Tank Storm Survival Survey

[johnson1]

I'm taking a survey. How many people would like to have an ORCA meeting presentation on 'Surviving the Storm, what works in the Reef Tank.' We have several members who's tanks survived with minimal losses.

John Vandemark
ORCA Public Relations

[filishy]

ME.

Thank you.

Maria. :)

[LunarCubes]

My tank survived the storm, but the house.... now thats another story! lol

[waterfaller1]

That sounds great!

[kenny77]

my tank was only FOWLR by the time. but it did survive. actually it was the only thing in the house that we took prevention.

[Versus]

:( i have a tough time keeping my tank alive when there are no storms

[Jovreefer]

Oh I think thats a great idea considering they say this year is supose to be like last year!

and if anyone knows how to keep a tank from reaching 90 degree's and cooking the livestock during a 4 week outage, I will kiss them!

[floridajhawk]

we never lost power but had a generator just in case I know you all hate me now for saying noting happened to the house but a branch fell haha

[LunarCubes]

and if anyone knows how to keep a tank from reaching 90 degree's and cooking the livestock during a 4 week outage, I will kiss them!
A generator to run the chiller :D If its a small tank you could get away with floating bags of ice... umm actually your freezer would be totally defrosted by then!

[Navymedic]

Originally posted by Jovreefer
Oh I think thats a great idea considering they say this year is supose to be like last year!

and if anyone knows how to keep a tank from reaching 90 degree's and cooking the livestock during a 4 week outage, I will kiss them!

I KNOW, I KNOW :D

[LunarCubes]

They say that every year. Their like "this year is going to be one of the worst" and the only time they were right was last year! haha

[Jovreefer]

No chiller, it was only a 46 gallon. and your right the ice was gone by end of week 1.

[reed_5point0]

ok so what steps should I take in event of a outage? I dont want to get my tank all setup and 1 month later lose it all. What should I do.

[waterfaller1]

I kept mine going with a power inverter and 7 deep cycle batteries,which I rotated.If you have room,get a generator.

[Me No Nemo]

We kept our three tanks going and luckily didn't lose a thing. We used the battery powered bubblers from Walmart (for keeping bait alive when fishing) and alternated the generater between the frig/fans/TV (to keep up with what was going on), the tanks and my computer system (I work from home). Kept a cooler that I filled with ice each time I ran the frig and floated baggies with ice in the sump to keep the water temp down. It was a lot of work, but well worth it in the long run. I would definitely suggest a generator and lots of gas cans filled before the storms hit. That was our biggest problem...getting the gas. We drained all three of our vehicles and our boat before we could get more gas...so that's something to keep in mind.

[uscgbeachbum]

Originally posted by Jovreefer
if anyone knows how to keep a tank from reaching 90 degree's and cooking the livestock during a 4 week outage, I will kiss them!

You can get a power inverter from walmart to connect to your cars battery. At least you can run a fan (cool by evaporation) over your water as long as you have plenty of RO/DI water on hand for top off. Even smaller power inverters will have enough power to run a fan and a powerhead for circulation. Just make sure you start your car every 3-4 hours and let it run for at least a half hour to make sure you recharge your battery. The power inverters vary in price...it depends on how many watts you need. The bigger ones I've seen have enough power to run your tank and even a small window AC unit.

Hows that for an answer? :D

On another note, I think it would be a great idea for a presentation!

Casey

[Me No Nemo]

But, yeah, a presentation would be great. I'm sure there's lots of hints and tips we can learn...any maybe if we're prepared...it won't happen:)

[johnson1]

Has anyone successfully powered the smallest window A/C (5,000 BTU) with a battery inverter? Not a several thousand dollar commercial inverter run by a multiple battery bank, but one that could be bought for a few hundred dollars? How long before the battery voltage dropped 10 or 15%?

It's not used in the RV market, they seem to be the one that would adopt it if it works. The issue gets complex, I don't think it is practical to power an A/C with an inverter.

You can't just run the math based upon the inverters rated wattage. The ac compressor motor's start load is a combination of start and run load; other factors include inverter waveform, voltage regulation, heat dissipation, wiring size, duty cycle, battery reserve capacity, run time before battery discharges a volt or two (not discharge till dead).

Unfortunately, everything has it's limitations. Even a generator needs to be properly sized to the load and use.

John Vandemark
ORCA Public Relations

[uscgbeachbum]

This is very true. I did not want to get too technical into it though. I only ran the window AC unit (rated for an average sized bedroom) for about 2 hours a day. It was just enough to get it cold enough in my room and then I shut it off so that I could go to sleep. I don't know the rating of the one that I used since it was from my landlord, but I do know that it did work for the little bit that I needed it.

Casey

[thefishbowl]

I am sure that everybody has a battery powered air pump - BUT - if you don't drop me a line and I will give you one at wholesale ($7.09) each...we did this during the hurricanes for everyone of my customers. They were a bit hard to come by but I ended up getting 2 cases (48 pumps!) last year to help -

HOPEFULLY this will not be like last year - but if it is we will be all better prepared...battery powered chillers?! :confused:

Gregorio

[jay24k]

That sounds pretty cool. On the air pumps, if you could get one or a couple stocked, let me know and the next time I'm down there or my friend is, I will pick it up.

I also have a 3000 watt generator now that I got from my father for free that I used during the last one. So if something happens and my power doesn't go out, I don't mind if someone needs it. All I ask is you take care of it.

[johnson1]

Thanks Greg for special price.

John Vandemark
ORCA Public Relations

[Me No Nemo]

Has anyone used the bubblers that you leave plugged in all the time and they automatically go on when the power goes off? I bought a couple but haven't set them up yet...wondering how reliable they are.

[thefishbowl]

Marcye,

Those work great - I had one "pre-fishbowl" during college and somehow I lost it over the years. Where did you get them? If I am not mistaken they are HAGEN and are blue - college was mostly a blur so I could be wrong. I just woke up one day and had a diploma so I guess all went well....

Greg

[Me No Nemo]

You're too funny...the ones I have are blue and made by Penn Plax. They're called the "Silent Air B11." I got them, I think, from Petsmart. If it works well, these would be a great item to keep in stock Greg, even with just the thunder storm outages, at least where I live. I'm going to set one up today.. Will let you know how it works next time the power goes off. Marcye