Preparing for Hurricane Sandy! How to survive without power?

C

CRC88

New member
So as most of you have probably heard...Hurricane Sandy is off the eastern seaboard and is expected to make landfall sometime early next week between Washington DC and Boston. I have the misfortune of living square in her path, more or less the bulls-eye for her landfall...Delaware.

Since it is too late to go out and buy a generator (all sold out), I'm wondering how I should plan to help my reef survive this storm. The biggest concerns I've read are Temperature and Oxygen.

Oxygen: I plan to go out and buy some hydrogen peroxide. I've read that you can add this to your tank to keep Oxygen levels up. How much do I add to my 90g? Also, how effective is agitating the water?

Temperature: I have a Gas stove, so I should be able to light it with a match and heat boiling water. I don't plan to add the water directly to the tank, but rather, float a pot of hot water in the tank and let it warm the water slowly so I dont mess up my salinity. What types of temperature ranges are reasonable to expect?

Is there anything else I should be aware of?! Something else to watch out for? I would be devastated if anything happened to my tank!! I'm assuming I'll be without power for 12-72 hours...

Has anyone had experience with an extended power outage? What are your stories? I'd love to hear them!!
 
Good luck brother.

I have a helpful reference for your peroxide considerations, there are some animals that can bathe in it no prob, and some that will die in the presence of any trace amounts, at least its avail for reading though so you can predict

google this thread here:
"pico reef pest algae problem challenge thread"

There is no set dose for power outages. When that's used in the LFS, fish only tanks, he just dumps some in to make sure the fish aren't panting/heavy opercular motion signaling low O2

if you wanted to get real technical, you could orp measure the water for max tolerances and buy a lamotte O2 test kit for maximums. Some is better than none

I think water agitation is safer. A combination of the two might work too

For your heating options my thought, especially having a few days notice, is to go buy and hook up some cheap 12v car batteries in parallel and run an inverter to simply power heaters and pumps, no lights, that can get you days.

Update our thread if you use h202 for power outage that will be a new one!
 
What about some battery powered air stones? I have 3 that I used with the last outage. Each battery charge lasted a full day.
 
Power inverter and a car battery, Run 2 small pumps, one pointed at the surface for gas exchange and the other circulating the water throughout the tank.
If you use the stove, be sure to do it outdoors,
 
Been there done that .Yes the inverter will work ,till you run out of gas or kill the battery.. Battery operated air pumps are good to have if you can get them in time. The biggest problem I had was flooding ;house sump down. Now I have a generator.
 
I think next time there's a big storm predicted to smash into the coast nearby, I'm just going to go buy a small generator. After spending thousands on my tank, a few hundred for a generator doesn't seem that bad...
 
Last year I used my neighbors power inverter every few hours to keep the return pump going along with an air stone. I also have 3 battery backups that can be used for roughly 18 hours for the pump. Also for temp blankets work wonders wrap the tank as much as you can and keep it wrap to keep as much as the heat in. Then get some adult beverage to calm your nerves and wait it out, they just raised our winds to 50-80 mph here our power lines Re under ground but I am not holding my breathe.
 
I bought a $200 generator at B.J.'s a few years ago. Two days later our power was off for eight hours, so the generator paid for itself first time out. Walmart sells a thing in the fishing department that people use to aerate a minnow bucket. I don't know what to call it, but it's battery operated and will help. You can also dip a cup in the water and pour it back in a few times an hour. Whatever disturbs the surface adds oxygen. Putting hot water in bottles is a good idea, but you'll have to be vigilant. Make sure you have one of those old fashioned floating glass thermometers. DON'T put peroxide in there. Good luck to you. I'm pretty far inland, but we're preparing for power outages too, just because of high winds and downed lines.
 
Sandy didn't hit us directly but we had a lot or water a bad weather, I solve my problem with a computer ups and an air pump, ups holds works for about 10 hours until power came back.

This was my yesterday adventure.
 
Living on the Gulf coast all my life let me first say I have been thru a few. Without the use of a generator you need to buy a DC to AC power convertor. They go all the way up to 750 watts. You can get your hands on them at most good auto parts houses and online but I do not think you have time for online now. I would guess on that 90 gal tank size your return pumps run somewhere around 100 - 150 watts. You would need to be able to access your auto and need a full tank of gas. Make sure you have a good new battery in it and be prepared to run it for hours. Personally I utilize my F250 Diesel for this job as I can run it for day and night if needed, but I am usually also fighting high outside temp as well. Not as big a problem for you I wouldn't think. Also will need a heavier outside type extention cord like you would use for christmas lights. This helps to avoid building up heat and loading up your pump motors. These won't run heaters but keep a supply of heated pots floating should help

Good luck w/ that tank and may God bless you guys up there
 
CRC88 said:
I think next time there's a big storm predicted to smash into the coast nearby, I'm just going to go buy a small generator. After spending thousands on my tank, a few hundred for a generator doesn't seem that bad...
Click to expand...

I'm not sure why you can't get this done now. I'm sure they're pretty much gone locally but you still have a couple days. So travel a hundred or so miles inland, call hardware and home supply outlets in Baltimore or Richmond. Don't let yourself go down without a fight!
 
Home Improvement stores aren't the only source for generators. Harbor Freight carries them and the big box warehouse stores like Sam's, B.J.'s, and Costco carry them. I bet some of the larger hardware stores like Ace, etc. have them too. Whatever the cost of a generator, it's cheaper than losing all your livestock and having to either start over or give up the hobby because of utter heartbreak at losing everything.
 
Good call about the generators.

If that doesn't happen, you need a good plan though
Peroxide has roughly a thirty year use track record in reef and sw tanks for power outages, its tried and true for a reason.

The thread mentioned gives very safe dosing ratios to use per gallon so you aren't guessing.

If you must battery power, use multiple in parallel or just have 4 car batteries ready to swap every few days and hope power restores within 7-10 if you cant get a generator. I wouldn't run all the pumps...conserve juice. Just bare minimum for one pump, a little peroxide for boost, if you don't get a generator.
 
the bait bucket air pumps at walmart will run approx 24 hours on the cheap dollar store D cell batteries (2 batteries per pump) and i think they are "rated for 7 gallons but i have in the past used 2 or 3 on a medium stocked 55g, if you need to go this route i would used at least 4 on a 90g but getting a good supply of batteries could be an issues just before a predicted weather event

generator is the way to go but getting one now may be an major issue and getting more fuel for a prolonged outage could be an issue depending on the scope and duration of the outing so 2 sources or more of emergency back up power is always advisable


GOOD LUCK and STAY SAFE
 
For those in Maryland that live near the House of Tropicals LFS, they have an abundant supply of battery air pumps and stones. Bought a couple last night and they still had dozens left. The D batteries to power them might be harder to find though.

My pump in the tank only draws 45 watts so if I need to I can run an extension out to my Durango and use the inverted outlet on it.

Heat shouldn't be an issue and if it is I can warm the water with the gas stove.
 
agreeive?fish said:
generator is the way to go but getting one now may be an major issue
Click to expand...

About 3 years ago we had a major ice storm event here in Tulsa... Oklahoma isn't known for its peaceful weather; we always have ice storms but this one was epic. Our power outage in sections of the city lasted for 14 days, with temps falling to the teens daily.

We heated one room in our home with the woodburning fireplace but the rest of the home was at or near the outside air temperature by the 3rd day. Up until that storm I had never thought about having a genny on hand but you know that saying about hindsight, right?

All of the home improvement stores in the area were either out of power and closed or sold out of generators but I managed to find one hardware store about 30 miles out of town that had a shipment coming in. People were lined up around the block waiting on the owner to open the loading dock gate, and as soon as he did they were selling 8000w gennys at $1000 a pop and 6000w gennys at $700. He had 40 of each, which were gone in the time that I sat there, which was about 30 minutes. I purchased an 8000w unit, which helped us survive the rest of the outage, and has served well to this day

That whole experience was a real wake up call to the power needs of my family and the fact that its better to be prepared ahead of time rather than waiting till after the fact. Consider a genny to be an investment in your family... with ours, we can run almost everything in the house. Also consider having a main line shutoff installed and a 220 connection so you can make the most of your investment. You can't run everything on extension cords. lol
 
jasonrstewart79 said:
About 3 years ago we had a major ice storm event here in Tulsa... Oklahoma isn't known for its peaceful weather; we always have ice storms but this one was epic. Our power outage in sections of the city lasted for 14 days, with temps falling to the teens daily.

We heated one room in our home with the woodburning fireplace but the rest of the home was at or near the outside air temperature by the 3rd day. Up until that storm I had never thought about having a genny on hand but you know that saying about hindsight, right?

All of the home improvement stores in the area were either out of power and closed or sold out of generators but I managed to find one hardware store about 30 miles out of town that had a shipment coming in. People were lined up around the block waiting on the owner to open the loading dock gate, and as soon as he did they were selling 8000w gennys at $1000 a pop and 6000w gennys at $700. He had 40 of each, which were gone in the time that I sat there, which was about 30 minutes. I purchased an 8000w unit, which helped us survive the rest of the outage, and has served well to this day

That whole experience was a real wake up call to the power needs of my family and the fact that its better to be prepared ahead of time rather than waiting till after the fact. Consider a genny to be an investment in your family... with ours, we can run almost everything in the house. Also consider having a main line shutoff installed and a 220 connection so you can make the most of your investment. You can't run everything on extension cords. lol
Click to expand...

I was in that storm. Northern Arkansas, was without power for a month. Was not fun.
 
I keep a deep cycle marine battery (kind used for trolling motors) on a float charger in the garage. Two months ago we had a pretty good storm roll through & knocked out power for 6 days.... Hooked up a 1000w inverter, and it was enough to power both my 29g FW community & 28g nano reef for the entire time.
 
Phranque said:
I keep a deep cycle marine battery (kind used for trolling motors) on a float charger in the garage. Two months ago we had a pretty good storm roll through & knocked out power for 6 days.... Hooked up a 1000w inverter, and it was enough to power both my 29g FW community & 28g nano reef for the entire time.
Click to expand...

6 days, continuously?
 
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