What is your plan when the power goes out?

[barderer]

Even tanks up to 150 gal would be fine with a simple powerhead mounted at the surface so enough oxygen gets dissolved for the creatures. A deep cycle battery designed to be charged all the way down and up mounted to a controller circuit jacked off a cheap UPS would be ideal. If you really wanted to get the most life out of your battery you could use a DC power head(Tunze) to avoid the costly conversion from DC to AC from your batt via a inverter. A large deep cycle could probably power your power head for days. During the summer this would be more than enough as heat would not really be an issue as you could avoid running your lights and heavy pumps for days and the coral will be just fine. The tank would stay plenty cool just by the top being open to the air. Now in the winter you would need to heat, so for larger tanks you might need a generator, If I ever did a 200+ gal tank I would throw in a generator to the total cost.

[+Hydro]

I had several high $$$ corals that I lost when an ozone generator wiped out my tank. I lost everything. No really everything. I lost a "$500 efflo" as it was known at the time, and it was $500 an inch, that was the size of a dinner plate. I lost 3 blue ribbon eels that ate frozen silver sides from my hand and were as fat as any moray eel (people on RC were offering me upwards of $500 for one eel), it is common knowledge that these eels are virtually impossible to keep. I lost all my ultra "LE" pieces I had grown out from frags (courtesy of fishypets and Kingfish, as well as others) into large colonies. I was ultra stoked about the quality of my tank.

When it all went south in a matter of 8 hours I swore the hobby off. I had also purchased a 400g tank that I found out I cannot set up in my house due to foundation issues. I was invested near $12,000 in that tank. Man I was down. I had bought the house to put the big tank in. So yeah I was kind of out another $100K. I swore I wouldn't set up any more tanks. I swore I was out. I swore that if I did set up any tanks it would only be the big tank and I would have to get the foundation repaired before then.

Sure. Yeah right. That wasn't going to happen. Almost immediately ARC and other hobbyists I know came over to assess the damage. I did take about 7 months and only kept some frog fish to keep the tank running. I left the lights off for all 7 months hoping to kill off the hair algae that was getting a hold in the tank from the die offs. Then one day. Just like that it happened. I looked at the tank. I hooked up a skimmer rated for a 900g tank, cleaned the sand, cleaned the water, did huge water changes, and was impressed that the algae died back in about 2 weeks. I bought new bulbs and was suddenly excited again. Next thing I know folks on ARC are hooking me up with frags, some of them from the pieces I lost that I had fragged to them. I have been making rounds (even to your place) spending a little $20 here, $50 there. Been hitting up the shops lately dropping a Bill here and a Bill there. No none of this is happening with the big tank, just the same little 75g I accidentally cooked. As of about a week ago I stepped back and noticed something, my tank

It's hard for me to understand after reading yout post why you wouldn't find any value in owning a generator...that you would rather go through this again then have a backup plan in case you lost power for an extended time. Obviously you didn't lose your tank to a power outage but if you did the results would be the same. Also if you investing upwards of $12k dollars in tank equipment alone it seems that a $500 generator would have been on the list somewhere or at least some battery backups. With your logic it was worth risking $1,500 worth of hand fed eels, at the time a single coral worth $1ks, and I'm sure thousands in other livestock by not having any backup plan whatsoever. You are basically saying that if your tank dies don't worry you can spend a year starting over and ARC members will hook you up with replacement corals to get started again....did anyone give you hand fed eels? How bout a dinner plate sized efflo? In your case (and mine too) your livestock has more than just a monetary value, some of it is almost impossible to replace. In your posts in the beginning of this thread you say that I've got things all backwards, that I should use my generator to keep my fridge cold and to run a small a/c...that my comfort and the $200 worth of food in my fridge should outweigh my desire to keep my tank alive. I would rather be uncomfortable for a few days and throw out my food rather than go through what you went through over power. Please don't act like I would risk my familys health over my tank either (previous post), that doesn't even have to be mentioned...nobody would do that. There is a plan for my family, which is much more flexible, and a plan for my tank which is the original thread.

BTW I don't think that you are a smarta** but I do think that you like to argue with people...it's cool, I like to argue sometimes too.

[offroadodge]

i agree Hydro-i probly hv close to 10k invested in my set-up and when my chiller went out i to freeked out, and i wsnt home to do anything about it. Just glad that the breaker the chiller and MHs were on, were on the same so that when the chiller tripped it turned off the MHs also not to cook the tank. Cant wait to get the new chiller. If my power goes out my generator is big enuff to power tank, and all my fridges to keep food good, thats all i need. Water, i always hv about 55 gallons of RO so ive got it covered. oh and its always good to hv an extra return pump handy!!!!

[caferacermike]

Wow thanks for saying that my plan to restock my tank is to fall back on ARC folks with my hand out.

Hydro let's take a look at this from a few angles. I was last answering to your reply about how you'd quit the hobby 100% if you should happen to lose everything. I called bullsnot on that comment. I stand by it. My entire reason for that reply was to show how in the end, when the worst can and does happen, that the folks here at ARC tend to stand up and help each other. When I thought about hanging it all up folks helped me out. I don't understand why having a generator on hand would've helped me in that situation. I realize that you mention that it wouldn't but saying I should've had one anyways is ridiculous and not in line with my reply. I could tell you right now that you need an ozone machine. I could also say that you've been stocking your tank so quickly that that is the reason why you've lost over $500 worth of fish in the last month and if you truly cared as much as you've been claiming then you'd stop adding fish for awhile. No instead what I was trying to say is that you've invested so much into the hobby and that your tank is so specialized to it's location, that you will still be in the hobby with the rest of us. Rebuilding happens. Sometimes the best laid intentions go to "stuff". I've come to realize that sometimes it is out of our control and that it can be rebuilt. That's where I stand on the issue, and I'm going to say it again, when it all goes to "stuff" I'm going to be where it is safe for us and I'll take care of the tank when I can.

Now what I've been saying about the generators is due to you making this out as if it were worst case scenario. If the power is only out for a day, I'm not worried. My tank will be fine. It's not stocked heavily and has supported itself for over 24 hours without any attention whatsoever as I have stated before in this thread. I do believe generators have serious drawbacks and limitations. That is because I am forced to use them out int the field all the time in my construction job. They won't run for long at full power. They will need constant attention. I again stand by my statement that if this were worse case then I don't believe that you'd be able to keep up with it say if it were a week in the middle of the summer. Now if this were a perfect world and was taking place in December and the temp was a nice 60 outside sure we'd all stay in our home and take care of everything. However I'm looking at this as though it were worst case scenario be it middle of summer or how about a flooding in December? But again I know how flimsy a $500 generator is. As you want to call out the way I'm going to handle my situation over again, I am going to stand by my theory that you should be investing in a natural gas generator with auto start since you also have a business attached to the tank. It would be a great investment. And honestly since you are getting all sentimental about how this is your duty, then get the good quality whole building generator not some flimsy gas powered job that needs attention to run. I've seen so many people stock up on generators in this hobby and then resell them due to the hassle of them. I'm wondering if you are this prepared for everything else? I have over 100 vegetarian MRE meals in the shed, I have several gas powered lamps (good ol Petromax), several gas powered stoves (these are run on any liquid gas not propane), several tents, all kinds of stuff that if our home got totaled today, I and the Misses would be fine. Self supported. Since white gas stays good for years in it's container I even have plenty of fuel for lights and food. Now this isn't some doomsday prophecy, it's cause I like to camp a lot and have loads of left overs. But do you? Are you truly as prepared for this event as you claim? It's not just about sitting around and refilling a generator. It's about making sure you have the whole picture in mind. I feel that generators are only a short term stop gap. I don't feel strongly enough in them to run out and purchase one. I don't feel like stocking up on gasoline (with a limited shelf life) for a generator. I could convert one to propane, and maybe you should as well, but if there is no power around, I might not be able to purchase more propane when it all goes to "stuff".

So in the end I feel that if it truly gets to that point, then it's out of my hands. I'll run a little inverter for a couple of days from the truck but I'm not investing in a generator. Why not instead start putting up solar panels? I mean that makes a lot more sense to me. That way you can relax a bit when rapture takes us all. You say that it's all for the creatures, then invest in something better than a $500 generator.

[innate1]

EPIC

[Robb in Austin]

I advocate complete and utter panic when the power goes out. Post an emergency livestock liquidation thread in the for sale section, from your phone because the computer wont work, and let those of us with power make out like bandits due to your misfortune.

But that's just me.

[+Hydro]

I can't figure out at this point if we are talking about how to keep our reefs alive during a power outage or if we are dicussing the relability of generators or if we are discussing our preparedness for the end of the world....FYI I would let my tank go if it were the end of the world.

Do fish eat MRE's? I assume since you have vegetarian that you would at least share with your tangs.

Although it doesn't fall in line with this topic my generator actually cost $1,500 new (I got a great deal on it), Honda motor with a Baldor generator if that makes you feel any better about my preparedness. I actually built my first house using it, we lived in a camper trailer during construction on site. The generator was used for 3 months during the day for all of the tools and all night to run the camper in the middle of December....it ran perfectly for three months w/o little down time at all. I can walk out to my garage, put some gas in it, pull it ONE time and it will start. Despite your opinion of generators it is MUCH better than nothing. I know that you are trying to poke holes in my plan but you aren't going to convince me that I need to spend $10k on a new generator or NOT use my generator for my tank since it uses gas, neither makes sense to me.

I'm out!

[mFrame]

Here's my backup plan:

Backup plan

Oh crap, it's USB, so guess I will need a generator.

[barderer]

nice.