Hurricane Dorian!!! What else do I need to do or get?

[MW319]

Should I move one of my mp40s to a higher spot in my tank in case I loose power from hurricane Dorian? Who am I kidding, I live in Orlando so I should say when I loose power. Yesterday I purchased a 2nd Vortech battery backup (last one at lfs) and I’m going to daisy chain them together to double the run time for that mp40. I’m thinking I would move it high enough to break the water surface and better oxygenate my tank.

Besides having extra top off water and premixed saltwater available in case I need to do a water change, is there anything else I should do or need? Oh and I’m freezing water bottles so I can add them to my tank to keep temperature down. I also did a large water change Tuesday.

Waterbox 170 - 5 months old, fish, zoas, torches and hammers.

Still thinking about going to Macna, but I’m afraid if I go, I won’t be able to stop myself from buying way to much stuff.

 

[Huskymaniac]

Battery operated air pumps.

 

[Sailingeric]

While you have power, I would test how long you powerhead will run on batter power. That way you know how to manage it, either lower speed or off and on cycles.

 

[MW319]

Battery operated air pumps.

Thanks I just called pet super market and they put 2 of them aside for me. Now I need to find D size batteries

 

[Huskymaniac]

Try walmart or target. Really any fish/bait tackle shop should have them. If you want to spend some money also grab a bunch of UPC battery backups from best buy or any where that sells c ok computer supplies. Good luck and stay safe.

 

[MW319]

While you have power, I would test how long you powerhead will run on batter power. That way you know how to manage it, either lower speed or off and on cycles.

Good idea, right now it will default to run at minimum speed to maximize run time once the power goes out and batteries kick in. I’m hoping they will last fo 60 hours like they state in the manual but I’m sure they won’t last that long.

 

[MW319]

Try walmart or target. Really any fish/bait tackle shop should have them. If you want to spend some money also grab a bunch of UPC battery backups from best buy or any where that sells c ok computer supplies. Good luck and stay safe.

Thanks Huskymaniac

 

[Daniel Morales]

What I'm doing is I have 3 battery backups.I got some Sun Sun JV0 110s they use 2.5 watts each and i'm putting them on a timer to extend life.usually run 15 minutes every hour. I have 2 solar Air pumps Which last 50 hours each(they also run D batteries. Got 10 gallons of saltwater and 10 RO/DI on standby.Should be enough for a 10 and 14 reef.

Cheap Timers on the pumps can really extend runtime and water quality .

I left for 2 weeks after Irma still no power and Came back and yes 2/3 of my corals died but my fish made it and all my softies.Which was a win because I did not expect anything to survive.

This time I'm staying and I can actually monitor them got lots of SPS in which I have little faith honestly.

I moved my powerheads to the top and angled them down to push oxygenated water to the bottom of the tank.

I do think putting them at the top does help gas exchange.

 

[MW319]

Thanks for the advice but sorry to here about your loss after Irma

 

[brandon429]

**powerheads need to be aimed up not down for max o2, this occurs at the surface and you need boil/surface boil to make it happen ideally

a cheap bubbler's effect on surface boil will out oxygenate most pump arrangements, an efficiency degree that is astounding in fact. bubbles beat powerheads in almost any config for life support for reefs

 

[Daniel Morales]

**powerheads need to be aimed up not down for max o2, this occurs at the surface and you need boil/surface boil to make it happen ideally

a cheap bubbler's effect on surface boil will out oxygenate most pump arrangements, an efficiency degree that is astounding in fact. bubbles beat powerheads in almost any config for life support for reefs

i

 

[acro-ed]

Sounds like you've made all the standard preps (frozen water bottles, air pumps, do a water change beforehand).

I strongly advise having a generator, but I understand it's not possible for everyone. If the power is out more than a couple days it's going to get sketchy quick without a generator running the tank.

 

[12gallonsofhex]

Thanks I just called pet super market and they put 2 of them aside for me. Now I need to find D size batteries

If you can find lithium D size batteries, buy them.

 

[brandon429]

additionally, this is the time to clean a sandbed or actually remove the whole thing, before the storm.

put it back after, if you want the best chance for any reef tank that is in distress.

Sandbeds are a massive liability during stilled times. If anyone wants to prep the tank best as possible, then lets run a surgical full sandbed removal that way fifty billion aerobes mixed with waste in the bed doesn't sap the fish of o2

You do not have to ramp down, your rocks can instantly handle your whole bioload the sandbed bac are incidental, not needed etc. can be removed instantly if you use correct procedure. in our sand rinse thread, 100% of tanks for all pages were able to instantly remove or rinse the sand back to totally new without a cycle.

you want the lowest organic loading / excess waste possible in a storm-ready reef, and, you want bubblers over powerheads. even powerheads on battery backups aren't as efficient at 02/co2 exchanges as a tiny little bubbler.

 

[Daniel Morales]

Well what I meant by that is my powerheads kinda splashed at the surface and pushed air bubbles down.And I downsized aquariums after storm .The smaller tanks are easier all around to deal with for me at least.And if I wanted I can just take the tanks and all the in habitants to a relatives house if power is restored sooner.

Dut I do agree on your case it may work better facing them upwards but I dont think MP40s can be faced up or down.

 

[brandon429]

nice, very cool thread prep it bet it will build nicely/get lots of people getting ready and trading ideas

 

[philosophile]

Gas powered generator, not only for your tank but for your perishables. iif you're not concerned about running a fridge, a small generator can run your return and chiller and pumps.

Premix some saltwater in case things go bad and you need a water change.

I've heard people using hydrogen peroxide as a last ditch effort to maintain oxygen levels after extended power outages. I dont know how well it would work, but if you have nothing else, it might be something to consider.

Finally... stay safe, and don't risk your life for your tank. evacuate if you're told to. you can live to reef another day.

 

[brandon429]

peroxide is indeed great to keep on hand its been a lfs staple for outages for decades, nice call.
helpful summary for that angle:
no marine fish we keep is known sensitive, although one offs occur occasionally. we had a guy lose a cleaner goby during a tank cleaning, yet in threads of tank cleaning there aren't repeated goby loss, so one offs do happen but our normal fare reef fish tolerate any reasonable dose into the tank.

1 mil per ten gallons can be added daily, twice a day in high bioload tanks, it wont harm anything other than lysmata shrimp, decorative macros and fireworms and coralline just a little.

prepping the sandbed or removing it altogether like an appendix about to predictably rupture would be in my opinion the #1 least thought of angle for the event, we're used to seeing sandbeds as good, all the time, any circumstance don't touch them. not the case here, remove it if you want the best chance for the reef to live. I strongly bet the collective oxygen command of the sandbed to be in excess of all the fish and respiring animals we bought on purpose.

if those aerobes crash and die due to no oxygen, that's an unstoppable loss cascade even with prime on hand for use. I gotta place bubbler access as #1 most important prep, #2 is sandbed prep in that order of importance for biological prep. clearly the best hardware prep is a generator of some sort.

 

[Island Reef 242]

I would advise you to get a small generator, something that can run your tank, a fridge, and some fans. Your tank should be fine for a day or two running off your MP40. But if your power is off for longer than 3 days your corals will start to suffer. If you have a sump/refugium put an air stone in there as well. And if you have an ATO that is not hooked up to your back up battery you will have to remember to top up manually while power is off. If you can though, get a generator, they are life savers for you and your tank when the power is off for long periods of time.
I am prepared for Dorian, looks like it will just miss me here in Nassau, fingers crossed. Good luck to you, stay safe.

 

[AZMSGT]

No experience on the matter, but your idea of putting the MP40 near the top is a good one IMHO.