I'm Worried About Power Outage Come Hurricane Season

[MikeBrke]

I remember two years ago when we had some close calls with hurricanes and my power went out for 2 days. My tank wasn't set up then so I didn't have to worry about it.

My question is: Does anyone have a plan to keep their tank from overheating when the power goes out in the summer from a hurricane or whatever? I know a generator is an option but I live in an apartment so I can't use one.

Thanks,

Mike

 

[CMcNeil]

ive read on reef central about guys that were using power inverters and deep cycle batteries to run pumps.they talked about using there cars to recharge the batts.right now my plan rest on the hands of a boat livewell pump and deepcycle batts,but most likely i will break down and get a generator.

 

[denwak]

I suffered through Charley and Jeanne 2 years ago. Back then I had two reef tanks. I used the car inverter set up mostly, only a few hours a day for the pumps. The bigger issue was the heat. I didnt have a chiller then, and here in South Tampa, ice was in shortage cause everyone was without power. So I wound up rigging a makeshift chiller by running tubing through a cooler, and in the coller I had bags and bags of frozen vegtables from Albertsons. The cooler I was using kept cold for around 2 days at a time and Jeanne had me with out power for 6. It worked, other than a little bit of stress that I could see, the fish were fine. It was makeshift and last min. I was prepared for a day or 2 w/out power, not 6. Im better prepared now.

 

[alizarin]

I doubt the temperature inside your house would get past the mid 80s even in summer. Wouldn't most coral be able to survive that for a couple days? I use a couple battery powered air pumps for circulation when it comes up.

 

[mflamb]

My 390 is being setup in my billiards room which is 14x30. I have a window air conditioner and a large generator connected to my breaker box. We put a matress in there, so we can sleep and watch tv, thanks to rabbit ears. I can run the whole house except for the central a/c. I'll be able to run the tank, no problem.
Mike

 

[Warnberg]

I purchased a generator and a switchbox when I bought the tank. The tank's outlets are wired thru the switchbox, along with ceiling fans, refrigerator, freezer, water heater, etc.... so if we loose power I hook up the generator to the switchbox, fire up the generator and throw the switch.... power for 8 hours until the generator needs a refill of fuel.

 

[angelsil]

I have an installed generator. It was expensive but it powers pretty much our whole house using natural gas. Now if the gas lines go...we've got a problem.

 

[jenate20]

We just bought generator in june , i thank god we didnt have to use it this year. We payed about 400.00 on it just to run the tanks. The way that my boyfriend looks at it we may hot and no air but hey we have fish and corals. hahaha

 

[Don Lino]

it must be a guy thing...Im planing on doing the same thing! LOL

 

[mflamb]

If you have a generator, make sure you run it once a month, or it will deteriorate. If it is a gasoline generator, add a product called Stabil to the gas tank. It is a fuel stabilizer to prevent the fuel from deteriorating. Trust me, I'm a mechanic, I see deterioration failures from lack of use on numerous pieces of portable equipment (generators, welders, air compressors) everyday.
Mike