SniperSps

[gjuarez]

For those who cruise RC, you will know what I am talking about. Hugo's (snipersps) tank crashed. He lost all of his corals and 40 fish. Hugo's tank was known as one of the best tanks on RC. He had some of the rarest corals anyone could have. I think CLint might have done business with him at some point. The neighborhood where Hugo lived lost power for two days and nothing made it. Its a sad day on RC, this tank was simply amazing and a lot of hard work and money went into it. Here is a link to the thread:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=ed72b62dd520829292636a81151309a3& threadid=893708

[carlinsa]

gator had a similar thing happen that is why or one of the reasons he is out. from what i understand

[GaryP]

Imagine being in the shoes of some of my old friends in New Orleans, or worse yet, some of the reefers in central florida that had 4 hurricanes come through there 2 years ago.

I inherited my 75 gal. from a guy that lost power for 2 weeks due to ice storm in NC. We're pretty lucky that we are in South Texas.

[cpreefguy]

I would have gone and bought a generator...

[gjuarez]

I dont even want to put myself in their shoes. Almost a year ago, my ac broke down and my house temperature was at 100 deegrees. Everything in my 10g nano died, I was devastated. I could only imagine how Hugo must feel right now. A generator is always good to have in case of emergencies.

[GaryP]

I would have gone and bought a generator...
People always wait until the last minute to buy one and by then there are none to be had. Besides, who is going to stay there to keep it running when your house is underwater like during Katrina? I'm lucky I got out when I did. My neighborhood was under 8-10 ft. of water. My fish would have been swimming in Lake Ponchatrain.

[BIGBIRD123]

One of the posts said that he had a generator but thought the power would be back on soon...Sad to say but not a wise decision.

[GaryP]

He thought that for 2 days? Huh? After a couple of hours I start to panic.

[hobogato]

i dont even wait a couple of hours! my battery backup runs a single return pump for about 30 minutes, and if the power is of another 30 minutes, i crank up the generator.

[GaryP]

I've gone about 3 hours with just a battery powered air pump. Its not much different then moving a tank.

[cpreefguy]

yeah, sounds like he wasnt too proactive about it. Id at lease go get some battery powered air pumps, or stir my water. heck, Id even blow bubbles with a straw!!!

[SueT]

I thought Hugo mentioned he was out of town and the power was out. He called the electric company and they told him it'd be on at a certain time and it wasn't until the next day it came back on.

Reading this felt like getting kicked in the gut... what a horrific loss.

[gjuarez]

I get really nervous when my power goes out. When it happens I take a water container and fill it up from the sump and pour it into the display every ten minutes or so. I do it so that there is some water movement and to provide a little bit of oxygen. I need a battery air pump.

[gjuarez]

Lets turn this into a learning experience and share ideas. What else do you guys do?

[BIGBIRD123]

I have a generator made from a mower motor, alternator and power invertor. I can run most pumps on my tank and my refridgerator. Pretty cool and real cheap. Don't have any problem with voltage if you use the newer type alternators, they have built- in regulators. Costs about $200 to build.

Steve

[JimD]

I have a 7KW generator just for this purpose, it can probably run my tank and most of my house. Also, I keep frozen containers of water in case of A/C failure. The only thing is, I have to be at home to impliment these resourses. Been pretty lucky so far, knock on wood.

[LoneStar]

That really sucks.....but you know when you have that much time and money invested, its a good idea to have an insurance plan like a generator that will kick on when the power fails.

[carlinsa]

odd how people spends thousands and thousands of dollars on there systems and cant even spend a few hundred on basically insurance.

[technomex]

I put a battery backup on my Tunze's

[Louie3]

When I got my first power outage during a storm, I stuck my hand in the water and moved it slowly back and forth (1hr, and god did i get tired and bored), then i decided to not risk it again i purchased 3 battery airpumps, and my dad got this huge generator to power the house essentials and my aquarium, so im prepared so bring it on :shades

[loans_n_fishes]

I have a generator made from a mower motor, alternator and power invertor. I can run most pumps on my tank and my refridgerator. Pretty cool and real cheap. Don't have any problem with voltage if you use the newer type alternators, they have built- in regulators. Costs about $200 to build.

Steve

Ok, Steve, time to have a DIY meeting in the Austin area!!

[Alamo]

I have the battery air pumps on all the tanks , plus I bought the inverter that you plug into your car, so if its more than an hour or so I can run the pumps... thinking of getting a natural gas generator for the house.

[TruonkQ]

how long will corals/ fish live w/out power? I'd hate to lose all my stuff. does the tank size make a difference?

[Marlin]

I have a generator for emergencies, but remember if you have a widespread power outage from a hurricane for example, you may not be able to get gas for it. Also keep a supply of fuel.

[SueT]

last summer when hurricane rita hit here I was told by my lfs to do what you did Jerry... They were giving out pages of instructions of what to do when the power went out. He suggested holding the container 18+ inches above the water level so as to add oxygen to the tank.

Thankfully, our power was only out for 4 hours.

[OldSalty]

I made a battery backup system for my 100 consisting of a small dc power supply, a couple of 120vac relays a 33amp/hr battery and a 400 watt inverter. It will run the main pump 24 hours and has proven itself several times.

[ratboy]

I have a generator made from a mower motor, alternator and power invertor. I can run most pumps on my tank and my refridgerator. Pretty cool and real cheap. Don't have any problem with voltage if you use the newer type alternators, they have built- in regulators. Costs about $200 to build.

Steve


This is an awesome idea! And I already have everything to build one. .

I have several battery powered airpumps and an inverter that I bought during the austin huricane scare last year. My tank made it through a week without power during an east texas ice storm years ago. The house got down to about 50 degrees but I managed to only lose a few frogspawn heads from a heated water bag that rested on it too long. If you are around when you lose power and are at all prepared you shouldnt have too many losses...

[Alamo]

I have a generator for emergencies, but remember if you have a widespread power outage from a hurricane for example, you may not be able to get gas for it. Also keep a supply of fuel.

Thats why im considering the natural gas fueled ones... i have the NG hookup on my back patio that the designers thought would be good for a gas grill.

http://electricgeneratorsdirect.com/catalog/pickperfectstandby.php

[TroyPham]

i looked into a home standby generator. being on the coast with the hurricans you never know.. the bad part is i just looked... i never got one. i'm gonna have to do some thing soon though.