SNIPERSPS Tank Crash
- Thread starter Zaphod
- Start date
piercho
New member
It seems like power interruptions or eqt failures are what brings down most tanks. This is why I don't waste precious brain space fretting over sandbeds, etc.
It would be hard for a power source to operate untended through a 48-hour power failure without some pretty complicated backup eqt. I would need a self-starting generator, an automatic bus transfer, and a adequate source of fuel. That is a lot to expect a hobbyist - even an advanced hobbyist - to invest to protect a tank. In the circumstance SNIPERSPS found himself in, most of us would be dependant on a friend/nieghbor hooking up our generators and tending them for us. He might have called someone to do that if he hadn't been mislead by the power company into believing the power outage would not be for so long.
It would be hard for a power source to operate untended through a 48-hour power failure without some pretty complicated backup eqt. I would need a self-starting generator, an automatic bus transfer, and a adequate source of fuel. That is a lot to expect a hobbyist - even an advanced hobbyist - to invest to protect a tank. In the circumstance SNIPERSPS found himself in, most of us would be dependant on a friend/nieghbor hooking up our generators and tending them for us. He might have called someone to do that if he hadn't been mislead by the power company into believing the power outage would not be for so long.
sfsuphysics
Active member
Well spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars for a skimmer that
could clean the waters near Chernobyl, we'll spend over a hundred dollars on something that reflects light back into the tank (per bulb), $60-$100 per bulb ever 6-12 months, $100+ for water clarity RO/DI (not to mention cost of replacing resin), salt for water changes is piddly, Hundreds of dollars EVERY MONTH on electricity for a tank, and I haven't even gotten to the expensive corals that go into a tank. Yet we can't be expected to spend a few hundred bucks to save all that expensive stuff??
Looking at the article above you can make a long lasting UPS that auto-turns on for $150, that should help you until you get home from work, and you can get a 1000watt generator for just over $100. In the grand scheme of things, not that much to get started.
Am I "prepared" not really, I mean I have an inverter to hook to my car that can run my tank for quite a while. But then again I don't even have a tenth of the tank that Hugo had.
piercho
New member
I have a 15 amp generator. I've used it to save my tank twice. Small gas powered generators are cheap and are a reasonable investment. But they do absolutely nothing if no one is there to hook it up and tend it. To automatically start a generator, automatically transfer the load, and keep the generator from running out of fuel for 2 days takes a whole different level of investment. We are not talking a few hundred bucks range. You are trivializing the situation and making SNIPER sound like a careless reefer or someone with missplaced priorities. IMO he's not, he's just a very unfortunate person hit with a situation even the best prepared reefer would be hard pressed to deal with.
sfsuphysics
Active member
I"m sorry if I come off as sounding like I'm trivializing the situation, but I think you're reading too much into it and by no means do I think Hugo is a careless reefer.
What I'm saying though that it's not as difficult nor expensive as you make it sound. But I'll stop here since I don't want it looking like i'm trivializing or putting Hugo down in any way. I just think when something like this happens it really serves as a wake up call to everyone.
What I'm saying though that it's not as difficult nor expensive as you make it sound. But I'll stop here since I don't want it looking like i'm trivializing or putting Hugo down in any way. I just think when something like this happens it really serves as a wake up call to everyone.
Snipersps certainly had a awesome tank! Sad to hear about the crash.
However, only thing I wonder is, didn't he have a generator? At Home Depot they have 6000 watt/hr generators for about 600+. If he had one of those, he would have been able to run his pumps, lights, etc.
Mike
However, only thing I wonder is, didn't he have a generator? At Home Depot they have 6000 watt/hr generators for about 600+. If he had one of those, he would have been able to run his pumps, lights, etc.
Mike
I read somewhere where he said that he did have a generator, but the the info coming from his power company kept promising that it would be up within the hour. By the time he realized they were full of hot air (honestly no pun intended) and he fired up the generator, it was too late, the damage had already been done. And we all know how that sort of a crash just feeds on itself and rolls downhill with frigthening speed
Leopardshark
New member
IMHO, no matter what the power company said, after 3 hours of power outage, I would have turned on the generator.
Mark
Mark
marine_freak
In Memoriam
Just goes to show you need a GAS GENERATOR when you have that kind of investment... 2 yrs prior I lost a 400 gallon sps reef to an ice storm..... 15,000k down the drain in livestock..... I now own a very, very large generator and I have used it more than once!!!! I hope he invests in one.... such a shame to loose colonies of that magnitude and beauty...... Hope this does not squelch his love for the hobby, I certainly thought twice before I got back into it!!!!!
SunnyX
New member
Sorry to hear of the loss.
I keep one of these just in case: http://www.kingsoninverter.com/inverter.html.
As long as the Tunze and heater stay on I have no problems.
I keep one of these just in case: http://www.kingsoninverter.com/inverter.html.
As long as the Tunze and heater stay on I have no problems.
gcarroll
Active member
You are absolutely correct. Hugo did have a generator. He made a mistake in judgment that is all. Unfortunately it was to the detriment of the entire tank. As anyone knows with SPS there are no foolproof systems. One mistake is all it takes and unfortunately he made one. The biggest reason this tank was lost was that Hugo lost his cell phone one week earlier and all his contact phone #s were in it. Just imagine how problematic that would compound problems if in the middle of the night you had a problem and had no computer or phone #s to contact other reefers for advise. It was just an unfortunate issue and no matter what anyone says, they could have a catastrophic loss just as snipersps did. I am just glad that he has reconsidered and decided to rebuild.
Here in the 'tri-state' area, where the power goes out more often than the country of Togo, we have long since learned to NEVER rely on anything the power company tells us. Ask the people of Queens, NY, what they were initially told when their power just went out for nine days. I think the new era of self reliance is definitely upon us; Big Brother is married and probably has a mistress. In any event, he is far too busy to take care of us anymore.
I have TWO generators: a whole house one that the tank is on, and an auxiliary one in case the house one fails (which has happened twice). I realize not everyone is as nuts as me about this stuff, but as the demand for power grows and these sysyems continue to age, it seems obvious that we're going to see problems like this more and more often. So if you do have a tank you've put a lot of time, effort, and money into (or, say, a refrigerator with food in it), a generator should no longer be considered a luxury. Remember, we're still pretty early into the summer, folks.
And Hugo,...there are no words, man. Hang in there. Let us know if there's anything we can do.
I have TWO generators: a whole house one that the tank is on, and an auxiliary one in case the house one fails (which has happened twice). I realize not everyone is as nuts as me about this stuff, but as the demand for power grows and these sysyems continue to age, it seems obvious that we're going to see problems like this more and more often. So if you do have a tank you've put a lot of time, effort, and money into (or, say, a refrigerator with food in it), a generator should no longer be considered a luxury. Remember, we're still pretty early into the summer, folks.
And Hugo,...there are no words, man. Hang in there. Let us know if there's anything we can do.
mrkrispy
New member
I live in California. During the rolling "blackouts" I invested in a couple of the battery backup air pumps. We have lost power many times for up to 12 hours and I haven't lost anything. (I also don't have to worry about heat loss so much though).
They cost $9 at online vendors.
They cost $9 at online vendors.
Neptune777
Premium Member
I recently purchased a generator to avoid a crash like his....
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