426HEMI October 26, 2012 Share October 26, 2012 Flow? Heat? O2 of some sort? Been considering this all since this silly storm (that probably won't amount to anything) is being hyped to death around here. Without a generator I figure a battery powered air pump would be a good idea, and I suppose if worse comes to worse I could always gently heat a rock or even some salt water on the gas stove to help keep the heat up. Bad idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ridetheducati October 26, 2012 Share October 26, 2012 Priorities in order: 1. Tank flow and oxygen 2. Temperature 3. Lighting 4. Feeding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan October 26, 2012 Share October 26, 2012 (edited) Flow and depending on the weather heat or keeping your tank cool. I don't know how heat will affect salt mix, if at all. To keep my tank cool I have gallon freezer bags filled with ro/di water which I've floated in my tank. After the ice melts I've used the ro/di water for top off. Heat is more difficult. Haven't had to deal with that. Some folks say wrap the tank with a blanket or something. Don't cover the top.Your tank can go without light for a few days. IME going without lights for a day or two makes my corals open more once the light comes back on. some say it mimics a storm at sea. Edited October 26, 2012 by Jan's Reef Foods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocko918 October 26, 2012 Share October 26, 2012 powerhead airstone heater your system can last a while on just these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind October 26, 2012 Share October 26, 2012 Battery air pumps work great to create some flow and O2 exchange. If you have a UPS you can use a small low wattage power head. My UPS will last about six hours powering my Tunze 6025. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sen5241b October 26, 2012 Share October 26, 2012 I had a lot of luck running my small 290gph pump off an auto power inverter last July. I had to cool the tank with a small battery powered fan. Do NOT feed your tank during the power outage. After 3 days maybe give them a bit of food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NYfan78 October 26, 2012 Share October 26, 2012 I have 3 batttery operated air pumps and large air stones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
426HEMI October 27, 2012 Author Share October 27, 2012 Picked up a couple battery powered air pumps tonight. Cheaper than I thought they would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javier October 28, 2012 Share October 28, 2012 Can you guys let me know where i can possibly get a battery powered air pump? Getting worried and doing last minute shopping now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbgen12 October 28, 2012 Share October 28, 2012 Check with quantum reefs, I know I got one from them yesterday. They should hopefully still have a few left. Petco also had some. I stopped by the Petco in Tysons and they had several. I would definitely make moves quickly to get one though because it's only a matter of time before theyre gone today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbgen12 October 28, 2012 Share October 28, 2012 I'm sure just about any of the LFS's probably have a couple most likely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldReefer October 28, 2012 Share October 28, 2012 If you can get some light into the tank, either using LEDs on battery or sunlight, it will make a big difference in oxygen levels. It is all about the oxygen. Of course you need all the flow you can get, to allow gas exchange on the surface and against the corals. I am not sure temps will be a big problem with this event. Reefs can get pretty cool as long as it happens slowly. I swam on the Great Barrier Reef with 73 degree water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve175 October 28, 2012 Share October 28, 2012 Before I had my generator installed, I managed to get through a 36h outage by simply giving intermittent flow to the DT with a tupperware bowl (scooped up a bowl of water and dumped it back in): It's not that I am recommending this as the sole form of flow, but if you're desperate surface agitation is better than nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javier October 28, 2012 Share October 28, 2012 I picked up a pair from Quantum Reefs todays. Thanks guys! Now to go find some D batteries. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan October 28, 2012 Share October 28, 2012 A level head . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
426HEMI October 29, 2012 Author Share October 29, 2012 Well decided to solve all the problems at once today. Picked up a 5500 watt generator. I can pretty much power the whole house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k October 29, 2012 Share October 29, 2012 #1 aspect to maintain is a sense of calm. cooler heads will prevail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nbgen12 October 29, 2012 Share October 29, 2012 (edited) Best of luck to everyone Edited October 29, 2012 by nbgen12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onux20 October 29, 2012 Share October 29, 2012 Kinda off topic...Target in Burke still has D batteries for your air pumps if you are scrambling for more. (not that I was one of those people mind you!) Good luck everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul b October 29, 2012 Share October 29, 2012 I have a generator but before that I used my SCUBA tank with an airstone which will run a tank for a couple of days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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