Guest Salty_in_Manassas July 14, 2004 Share July 14, 2004 Folks- Looking for some advice. I'm now recovering from a substantial power failure. Water got into the circuit breaker box and it exploded--on the holiday! By the time I could get an electrician and he got any power at all, the lights were out for more than 6 hours (and still no parts!). Over night we had no a/c, and then the next day the power was out for about 10 hours. Thus, raised temps, lack of oxygen, etc. That was last week. Everyone still seems stressed (including me), but so far I've only lost an orchid dottyback. My question: What should I do in such an emergency? Every hour or so, I dipped from the sump cups of water and poured it into the main tank. I figured that it helped aerate the water a bit, but mostly I was trying to keep the bio-balls wet to avoid losing the bacteria. Someone has since said that it was unnecessary since the bacteria doesn't die--just goes dormant when it dries out. Since then, I did notice a spke in my Nitrate. I've been doing water changes (two sets of 16g since last week). I think that is under control. Another question: I've heard that I should slowly remove my bioballs so that the system is not dependent on them and compensating bacteria will grow on the live rock. (Theory seems to be based on 'after you've cycled, you only have the bacteria you need for the balance.') Thus, if there is a blackout, the rocks will have all the denitrifying power you will need, if you can recover at all. (But this seems to contradict the no need to keep your balls wet theory.) Avoiding ball jokes, anyone want to share their insight/experience? What happened to the veterans when Isabelle hit last year? Thanks! John [tr] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller July 14, 2004 Share July 14, 2004 We have balls, we own generators. :D We only lost power for 25 hours that time. '98 ICE STORM we lost it for 4 days, generator saved both the family and the tank. Ran pumps, heater, wired in the gas furnace and ofcourse TV/nintendo. No loss from the tank with the generator off at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krish July 14, 2004 Share July 14, 2004 Chip, How big is the generator? I saw ads from the local power company offering installation of the system. Big bucks. -krish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flowerseller July 14, 2004 Share July 14, 2004 10hp - 30amp - 5500 watts. $550.00 - 7 years ago Take a look at the NG backups if you have Natural Gas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caribbean Jake July 14, 2004 Share July 14, 2004 I experienced the same during Isabel. I did water changes every night and topped off with fresh water a little cold (72F) to keep the heat down. It was the day I learned that I needed a generator. Sears, Lowe’s and those places have generators. You need to determine the total amount of Amps you will use and then decide on the size of generator. Bring a list of items you want to power to the store and ask the assistant for help on selecting the generator that is right for you based on your load. Don't let them make you think that bigger is better (although that's what she said) but use common sense and calculate around your AMP requirements plus 20% for power in-rush and fluctuations. Jacob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eve July 14, 2004 Share July 14, 2004 If you decide to go with the power station hook-up (like Pepco's "Generlink"), just be sure that what they offer will be enough for your needs. There was no charge for installation but there is a $10 a month charge on the Pepco bill. After we got the Generlink, we discovered that you cannot use a generator larger than 5500 watts (I believe that's the limit). That would be more than fine for some but not for others so after having it for one year, we had it removed and just had an electrician install a separate panel off of the main panel that can handle any size generator we want (although we kept the same generator for now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Stearns July 14, 2004 Share July 14, 2004 I would suggest batery operated air pumps they are extremely inexpesive and would turn the water a bit and oxygenate a bit- Would be enough for short duration and softies/fish, but would probably not be enought for some sps dominant tanks. You can get them online for about 6-7 dollars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail July 14, 2004 Share July 14, 2004 Lots of data in this old thread re: Huricane Isabel and planning... Isabel & back-up power systems s Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest reverai July 16, 2004 Share July 16, 2004 You can also find good deals on USPs too on ebay. I can run the power head on my Nano Cube with my APC 1400( $39 on ebay) for over 40 hours. If I only need to run it for 20 minutes per hour I could make it last a week or more. There is someone on ebay whom is local who is selling with a starting bid of $5 an APC 900. With new batteries( $15 on ebay) that could push an air pump or or power head for at least a day or steady running. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest clownfish4 July 16, 2004 Share July 16, 2004 How long do battery operated air pumps last before they need new batteries? Also, what in the world are we suppose to do when the water goes out? I hadn't had my tank yet when Isabel hit, but we were without electricity and water for 3 days. Even with a generator, you won't have water pressure when the pumps go down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peacetypes July 17, 2004 Share July 17, 2004 A few hours prob. but you want a generater for things like Isabel IMO Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Salty_in_Manassas July 17, 2004 Share July 17, 2004 Thanks for the reply, and the hook to the Isabel discussion thread. ... brought back some memories! Shortterm solutions (battery airpumps and UPS) are a consideration now. Big buys like a generator will have to wait until there is a forecast for a big storm--but I can window shop in the meantime. Let's hope we don't have to go there for a while! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail July 17, 2004 Share July 17, 2004 Salty, I would tell you that you want to do more than window shopping. It took me weeks to get the generator properly wired into the house. If you have an electrician do it, longer. Acquisition of a generator when the storm is bearing down on you is the worst time to make the decision. Prices are high, and no easy way to bring the energy into the house other than extension cords, which is difficult at best. Do the window shopping. Do the calculations. Take your time. But do NOT wait for the next storm to hit before you pull the trigger. The best answer here is to have a backup plan that you are comfortable with. My generator (at 4200 watts) is too small. But, it will run my furnace (heat, not A/C), refrigerators, septic pumps and reef. Anything else is gravy. Keep looking into this. It is important to provide an environment that stays alive for our animals (fish and inverts and corals). It saddens me to hear the stories of dead reefs because someone hit a telephone pole and knocked out power for 6 hours. S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Salty_in_Manassas July 19, 2004 Share July 19, 2004 Steve (?)-- Sound advice, received and acknowledged. Several levels of fallbacks may be necessary. Financial issues are my only constraint... I share your concern for reef disasters that can be avoided--that was the motivation for my query in spite of my luck with this brush with disaster. Despite my short time in WAMAS, I have lived my life with a strong respect for life, including the little critters that are under my care. (Perhaps especially those little critters because they ARE under my care.) I chose this hobby because it fascinates me and reminds me of my early days of growing up in FL. Then I found the difference between an interest and a hobby--the latter is really a synonym for "obsession." My initial introduction resulted in me accumulating and consuming a library of more books than I had read in the past ten years--all before my first purchase. I have learned that these 'simple' creatures emulate the basic elements of all 'higher' forms of life. ... That despite all of the books and research, we know so little about them, and hence ourselves! I've accepted the responsibility of being a 'consciencious aquarist' (with full respect to the reference, and I am grateful to find that the officers and members of WAMAS are like minded. I only hope I can live up to the reputation and precedents that have been established. Thanks to all for the great support WAMAS provides individual hobbyists, the community, and our precious reefs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sph2sail July 19, 2004 Share July 19, 2004 Thanks for joining WAMAS. Spread the word... email yer friends. Nice post. steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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