Mhucasey's SPS obsession

[nemodan]

As you remember Matt I had the same issue, with also an Alk peak that was 100 % my fault. After the 4 hours power outage, I programed the dosing pumps to work for extra hours to compensate the lost of dosing. That was a BIG mistake. That was one of the issues that started my tank problems. Also I had,a temp drop from 78 to 72 or a little less, if my memory is correct. It was winter in Boston and the house was without heating all that time.

I am sure you will be OK and nothing will be happening in your tank.

Can 1 day of extra photo period affect acros?

Best Daniel

 

[mhucasey]

Phew, you are very fortunate not to have experienced any issues particularly with your fish. I am glad that there are no casultaties. Your corals look stunning as always.

I certainly am. I was sure that at least one of the Resplendant Anthias would be a goner, but everyone did just fine. It was a "Planned" power outage to replace a neighborhood switch at 1AM sunday morning. I was up until it was over, manually stirring from time to time and dosing a bit of peroxide.

 

[mhucasey]

looking good Matt!! :bigeyes:

4h power failure isn´t too funny... no backup batteries or something?

I had a UPS, but the batteries went bad on it and so I had planned on replacing it before this planned power outage, but I got my wires crossed on the date and so I wasn't prepared...

 

[mhucasey]

When it rains it pours, as they say..
Well, the corals still look fantastic!
Which media did you use in the reactor?

Same media, i just cleaned out the whole thing, rinsed all the sludge out of the media, and reset with only whole pieces. Some of the media at the bottom was getting pretty disintegrated.

 

[reefmutt]

Same media, i just cleaned out the whole thing, rinsed all the sludge out of the media, and reset with only whole pieces. Some of the media at the bottom was getting pretty disintegrated.

It might be time for me to do the same... They get shockingly gunked up over time..

 

[mhucasey]

As you remember Matt I had the same issue, with also an Alk peak that was 100 % my fault. After the 4 hours power outage, I programed the dosing pumps to work for extra hours to compensate the lost of dosing. That was a BIG mistake. That was one of the issues that started my tank problems. Also I had,a temp drop from 78 to 72 or a little less, if my memory is correct. It was winter in Boston and the house was without heating all that time.

I am sure you will be OK and nothing will be happening in your tank.

Can 1 day of extra photo period affect acros?

Best Daniel

Yep, I remember the issues you had so I was a bit nervous. During the outage temp dropped to 74. Of course then I had a friend come over to return a tool and see the tank just after noon Sunday so I turned all the lights on for him. Normally they wouldn't go on until 3. After he left I just let them go. Then at about 11 PM i realized everything was still running, so I turned them off, thinking it was no big deal.

It looks like a couple of corals took on the reddish brown color at the tips I associate with getting too much light, so I only ran the lights for 6.5 hours Monday and then was back to 7.5 hours Tuesday. Everything seems to have taken it in stride.

The ALK and Calcium are finally almost balanced after all my adjusting over the last week, luckily there was no need to meddle with those. Alk is 7.7, Ca 425.

 

[mhucasey]

It might be time for me to do the same... They get shockingly gunked up over time..

The stuff at the bottom of the rinse bucket was pretty sludgy/sandy. I'm glad I did it and will do that every 4 or 5 months from now on. I just swished the media though saltwater and replaced it a handful at a time.

 

[maxxII]

I certainly am. I was sure that at least one of the Resplendant Anthias would be a goner, but everyone did just fine. It was a "Planned" power outage to replace a neighborhood switch at 1AM sunday morning. I was up until it was over, manually stirring from time to time and dosing a bit of peroxide.

Why dose peroxide?

I'm assuming it was to add oxygen to the water...but why not just use battery powered air pump(s)?

 

[plyle02]

Matt,
I am glad to hear things went well, judging from the pics, all looks well. I have had to do the stir thing during a power outage of about the same time, not planned. I was surprised to not encounter any losses, still risky, lol... I swear I keep trying to remind myself to get a small generator, something I will move to the front of wish lists. Hope all is well!

 

[mhucasey]

Why dose peroxide?

I'm assuming it was to add oxygen to the water...but why not just use battery powered air pump(s)?

Peroxide is an old fish store trick for power outages, it oxygenates the water. I don't have a battery powered air pump, so thats why I didn't use one

I have about 30 sets of inverters, battery chargers, Batteries, etc from some mobile computer carts at work that we were throwing out. I think I'll cobble together a backup system that can fully power the system(minus lights) for a long time during an outage. With a few Deep cycle batteries I could get 10+ hours I think.

 

[mhucasey]

Matt,
I am glad to hear things went well, judging from the pics, all looks well. I have had to do the stir thing during a power outage of about the same time, not planned. I was surprised to not encounter any losses, still risky, lol... I swear I keep trying to remind myself to get a small generator, something I will move to the front of wish lists. Hope all is well!

So far so good, yep. I figure if the fish can survive in a bag during shipping then they can handle a reasonably short power outage. If this was during the day I would have had full power from the Solar array, so it was bad in terms of timing. I will start working on a battery backup system though.

I'm surprised you don't have a generator, being in a state(Florida) that has had a natural disaster or 10 in the last few decades:worried2:

 

[Wazzel]

So far so good, yep. I figure if the fish can survive in a bag during shipping then they can handle a reasonably short power outage. If this was during the day I would have had full power from the Solar array, so it was bad in terms of timing. I will start working on a battery backup system though.

I'm surprised you don't have a generator, being in a state(Florida) that has had a natural disaster or 10 in the last few decades:worried2:

Fish and corals spend 24 hours, give or take, in bags during shipping. A few hours without power in our tanks is nothing to worry about, as long as temps stay stable.

 

[spkennyva]

I swear I keep trying to remind myself to get a small generator, something I will move to the front of wish lists.

Me too! Several years ago we lost power for over 4 days in August. That would be a reef tank disaster today.

 

[dkeller_nc]

Fish and corals spend 24 hours, give or take, in bags during shipping. A few hours without power in our tanks is nothing to worry about, as long as temps stay stable.

And as long as you're not using reactors that will come back on when power returns. Anything over an hour in a sealed reactor that has a modicum of detritus in it is problematic because of H2S (hydrogen sulfide) generation. DAMHIKT.

 

[Scorpius]

With the amount of blood, sweat, and cash I've spent on corals and fish buying a $500 portable generator to keep my creatures alive in a power outage is worth it. I have a battery backup for my vortech pumps for the occasional thunderstorm outage. I have had to use my generator several times last year so it's already paid for itself in saved livestock .

 

[dallasg]

what a great setup, well worth the days used to read the thread...

Love the corals and that powder blue

 

[sahin]

Glad the tank are alright. Corals look lovely and the colours will annoy Darth Acro I'm sure. Very happy to see the rebel alliance going from strength to strength. :beer:

 

[mhucasey]

I made another new friend today!

I want to rescue them all

 

[reefmutt]

Matt, that's a masterpiece waiting to happen.

 

[MichaelW]

Nice echinata.. I am currently babysitting a very similar one for somebody. Wish I could keep it for my sel.