Hurricane Irma on the way

Flat4sti

New member
I live in south florida and am nervous that we have a major hurricane on the way. If I lose power for an extended period of time beyond all the other destruction is there is there anything else I can do with my tank. I don't have a generator. My house is built after Andrew, and is pretty solid so not really worried about that. I just don't want to lose my tank.
 
I went to harbor freight last time we had a power outage they have a generator called the tailgater it's like 100 bucks used that while the power was out and it's come in handy a few times since then not a bad 100 bucks!


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there are inverters that can connect to cigarette lighter in car to provide temp power along with extension cords. generator is obv the better solution. good luck
 
At a minimum get a battery operated air pump and load your freezer with bottles of frozen water. I live in SW FLorida which is also in the potential strike zone. Fortunately I have a generator but if I still need to be able to keep the tank water cool since the gen cannot run the A/C. Stores on the West coast of FL are either very low or entirely out of drinking water already. Went to Costco this morning and the line was out the door for water. I think they ran out shortly after I got mine. None of the big box stores have generators left.
 
For tank, the loss of power will be, assuming the house withstands the wind and any blowing debris, your biggest issue. From a personal standpoint, look to past hurricanes for information on local damage from flooding and to power and water infrastructures which will affect you ability stay/live in house. Remember everything can be replaced except you and your family, make decisions to stay or leave based on your safety a #1 priority!

We had Hurricane Matthew come thru SE Georgia last year, and we made out OK at house (though there was severe wind/tree damage and line poles down). We lost power from Friday evening thru Tuesday night. I did have a portable 4500 watt generator (previous Xmas present from Wife) and was glad we had it. Was able to keep both tanks pumping, limited lighting, and basic household appliances including refrigerator running) Bonus was we had gas, so we could cook and tank-less water heater allowed for hot water and showers.

With loss of power you will need to find a solution for keeping the water moving in the tank. I use Ecotech MP40s and Battery backup, but you can find some battery backups for PCs (although somewhat expensive to give you any decent run times).

A cheaper solution would be one or more of these, depending on tank size from Amazon (along with a contingent of D cell batteries):

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AP2XS...qmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&ref=pd_sl_188zhr2qu7_e

I believe you may also find this in some Home Depots.

Another issue will be temp, and of course lighting. Assuming the temp doesn't get over 83 degrees you should be fine, and unless your heavy in SPS you should be OK for a few days without light. Stop dosing during this period. Reduce feedings as well assuming any mechanical filtration offline.

Prayers go out to those in Houston and surrounding areas with Hurricane Harvey, and to any reefers who were affected.

I hope you fare well and the bad weather passes you by.

Sincerely,

David
 
As stated above....
Battery powered bubblers at a minimum.
Next best thing would be the car powered inverter that will let you run additional equipment.
Best if you have your own home is a generator, and stock up on gas.
Don't forget extension cords.

Good luck! Hoping FL doesn't get the what we just got in Texas.
 
GET A GENERATOR! I was in the Cape Coral area when Charlie hit in 2004 and had no generators. When the power went out everything in the tank was dead in 24 hours. Plus you can run some other comfort things for the house.

You could probably run a system with 2000-4000 watts. I have a 6000.
 
^ too late now, at least in my area. Every place is sold out, no gas cans, very little bottled water and gas stations have lines and are out of some higher octane gas. I just filled both my cars, my generator, and my only 5g gas can. The cars are rolling gas cans.

These kind of events make people think of what they are prepared for. I wonder how long a 100 g tank could survive with out circulating water? Maybe have a bunch of make up water and do partial water changes every few hours, maybe siphon water and put it back in to give it some aeration. Battery powered air stones/pumps are ok until you no longer have batteries. A power outage of 3 or 4 days is a long time. My plan is to run my gen for a few hours and then turn it off for a few hours to save gas if need be. Larger gens are gas hogs, I think my uses about 1 g per hour. There is no way I would have enough gas for 3 or 4 days, assuming that gas is not available at the stations.
 
I have a generator and a window AC. I am staying put. To leave Houma I would have to drive through one of three major metro areas to get anywhere.
 
What the tank needs more than anything else is gas exchange. Air pumps or water moving pumps you are using now. If you can't run them (no power, no backup), you need to agitate the water. Or just periodically remove a gallon and just pour it back in. What happens is with no gas exchange, something dies and bacteria can't process so something else dies and the effect just geometrically multiplies.

Maybe one of the science folk can explain it better. I only know I didn't know this stuff in 2004 and lost everything.
 
Good luck. I have used my cars as gas cans before. Be safe... no smoking. :)

If you absolutely get to the worst, drill a 1/8 hole in a 5g bucket and put it on the top of your tank. You can take tank water out 5G at a time and pour it into the bucket for 30-60 minutes of gravity fed aeration.
 
Go online and order a small generator. Have it shipped to your house. You will be happy you did. You don't need anything huge. 1000-2000 watts would do your tank pumps and some lights in the house. If you want to run a refrigerator you will need something a little bigger.
 
The bucket idea is a good one. I think I have everything covered. Gas, water, gen, battery air supply, food AND beer and wine. It isn't likely that we will take a direct hit, but that I mean the hurricane making landfall in Venice, FL. but if it is a cat 4 or 5 and lands anywhere in South or Southwest FL it will be a mess. The FL Keys are particularly susceptible.
 
Are you expecting another hurricane?

Just incase the track shifts further west. This is the first storm since we been in this building. We wanted to get it done sooner rather than later. Better to have and not need......
 
Based on the last NHC update we are not out of the woods. They have it on the Keys Sunday, not going up the east coast of FL. If it is in the Keys on Sunday we are prime targets.
 
Ron Reefman and I are very close to Key West "as the crow flies" so we are obviously concerned.
 
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