TOP 5 THINGS TO NEVER BE WITHOUT! Are you prepared?

[revhtree Verified Admin]

So today's QOTD comes to us an inspired by member @WallyB! I think it's a great topic and would love to hear your thoughts on it as well. So what are we talking about here? We're talking about the TOP 5 THINGS TO NEVER BE WITHOUT! So I decided to come up with my own list and I want to hear what you think the top 5 things are for yourself. So here are mine in no particular order.

1. Generator: Something to give power to your tanks life support equipment in case of a power outage.

2. Mixed Salt Water: Fresh new saltwater ready to initiate a quick water change or to use to house corals and fish in another emergency location. This may also be dry salt with the ability to mix up some new water quickly. Which leads to my next item.

3. Fresh RO Water: The extra fresh water will give you the ability to mix saltwater or give you the ability to mix MORE after you have used the mixed water from my previous point. You can never have too much water IMO.

4. Spare Return Pump: Most hobbyists house equipment like heaters, skimmers, reactors, dosers in a sump or other areas besides the main display. If your return pump dies on you will need a back up to keep the water flowing to these important parts of your system. Just as important is the flow it provides. In the event of a power outage this may be the only item you'll want to be running. See point number one.

5. Spare Tank or Containers: I thought about spare plumbing parts here and they would make #6 on my list but let's pretend you don't have a plumbing issue but you have a leaking tank issue. In this case you're going to need a spare tank or enough containers to house your fish, corals and live rock.

It's hard to choose just the top 5 things because spare heaters, reefing buddies, carbon reactors and things like that are very important but if I have to pick just 5 these would top my list.

So what are your TOP 5 THINGS to never be without?

 

[sfin52]

I keep spare seals for my canister filter and rodi water. I also keep a spare circulation pump. Saved my tank and a buddies tank.

 

[madweazl]

I do have a number of things on stand-by in case the crap hits the fan. Like the original post, I have a generator, 50g of fresh and mixed salt water at all times, the mixing station pump can be connected to the main loop if the return pump fails, and I have a spare 65g tank if I had to move some things in an emergency situation.

 

[TinCanHero]

Personally I only have a few of those items too, I also never keep RODI or SW on hand and it can take two days to get 100L made up. One thing I'm woefully unequipped for is a power outage. I should really keep an eye out for a second-hand genny, I'm sure you could get one for under £75 and let's be honest here you could count that in coral in only a colony or two. on the other hand it's unlikely where I live but certainly a possibility.

 

[HB AL]

Generator, battery operated air pumps, return pump although already have 2 running, extra 25 gallons of water, although I could always run to the market and get some distilled, and a spare 50g tank sitting in garage. Funny thing is I’ve never had an emergency other than a hex acrylic splitting open around 25 years ago, and the rare power outage unless it’s a long planned maintenance one then I just fire up the generator and plug in everything on the tank and the tv and WiFi and fridge,

 

[Peace River]

For me - RO water; salt; spare return pump, USB air pump, and buckets.

 

[Greybeard]

I've got a PTO driven 7200w Generator, and keep plenty of diesel on hand. Living out in the woods, I've had ample opportunities to test it... works fine. During an outage, I run a cord to my pellet stove, keep the place warm, to my tank, return pump and heater controller only, tank can live fine without the rest for quite a while. The 3rd extension cord goes to the kitchen... George Foreman grill, toaster oven, whatever the wife needs it for. The 4th to my office, laptop, phone chargers, etc.

I've also got a cheap battery powered air pump, length of silicone air hose, and an airstone. Primitive? Maybe, but it'll keep the tank oxygenated during a brief outage.

My NSW mixing/delivery pump has the same output size and flow rate as my return pump. If the return pump were to fail, I could substitute the mixing pump pretty quickly, be fine until I could order another one.

Aquarium Heater... one component I've never trusted. Mine is a BRS titanium tube on the BRS branded controller, plugged into an Apex with it's own temp probe... should be pretty safe. I have a brand new Jager 300w sitting on the shelf, and the 2 year old Finex Titanium 500w that I replaced last year still works fine.

I keep 60g of new salt water mixed. That's a 50% water change, if I needed it.

I don't store RO/DI water. With the RO system I'm using, I can filter water fairly quickly. Don't see the need to store it. ATO runs off the RO/DI directly. I do have a store of drinking water, but chances of using that in my tank are pretty slim

I have an old 55g aquarium in the barn, and the old 50g Rubbermaid mixing container (replaced it with a barrel a few months back). Plenty to hold my animals, should something catastrophic happen.

I figure I'm about as safe as I'm going to be.

 

[chet31]

Everything but the generator

 

[Jax15]

Generator, battery operated air pumps, return pump although already have 2 running, extra 25 gallons of water, although I could always run to the market and get some distilled, and a spare 50g tank sitting in garage. Funny thing is I’ve never had an emergency other than a hex acrylic splitting open around 25 years ago, and the rare power outage unless it’s a long planned maintenance one then I just fire up the generator and plug in everything on the tank and the tv and WiFi and fridge,

Wow you’re equipped!

 

[ByronP]

Generac that powers the whole house (never used yet...), lots of salt (enough to make 300+ gallons at all times), spare pumps and parts, enough piping and parts to almost build anything, system already uses 4 500w heaters so if 1 goes it's not a big deal, 30+ lbs of DI resin, 2 ro/di units (1 in my main watering closet from well and 1 spare attached to city water), and some battery backups just in case generator fails (highly unlikely since I have 10kw of solar power too. The only thing I don't have an exact spare of is the main lift pump that feeds my living room but I could easily swap in one of the spare pool or jet pumps if needed. So I think I am mostly prepared for the worst but you never know...

Ohh and spare tanks and distilled water sitting in the garage...

 

[Pete Luna]

Tank broke two weeks ago. My top five after the fact.

1- written plan for what if
2-after hour numbers for LFS
3-containers big enough to handle most content
4-circulation pump for all
5-heaters for all

Spare RO or salt may help with a leak but not a break. I called my LFS and two local reefers they put coral in their tanks the LFS brought supplies. 6 hours it took to move everything and clean up.

 

[Dempsey941]

1. Spare Heater
2. Spare powerhead/wavemaker
3. Spare rodi water
4. Buckets
5. Test kit solutions

 

[Feet4Fish]

Generator, salt, RO water, back up return pump and oxydator

 

[Jax15]

I have a number of replacement parts - heaters, spare return pump, fittings, Rubbermaid containers, and have a mix station.

Most of the “backups” I didn’t buy with that purpose, but are past components I’ve since upgraded but are still in working order. It feels good to have some “parts” lying around.

The one deliberate backup purchase I made was a UPS wired into a single MP10. A gennie isn’t practical for my house, but a battery backup seemed like a critical investment. Even so, it would only buy me 4-5 hours tops. I do have a battery powered air pump if I need to run beyond that.

 

[svogun]

65 gallons of saltwater and RODI water available. Back up return and skimmer pumps. I run a calcium reactor so I have two part and a dosing pump available in the event of a reactor failure. 40 gallon hospital tank fully cycled and running. 30 gallon frag tank separate from main tank in case corals need to be moved. Still need a generator however, my town has its own electric company so any outage has been short lived as cables are underground.

 

[tdlawdo]

All of those things above. I installed a central whole home generator when I got the tank. I also have some of all types of medication, spare heaters, air pumps and hoses, back up return pumps large and small, backup power heads wet side and dry side, two separate internet account lines, 75 gallons of salt water and 50 of RODI, a small frag tank and two biocubes on stand by only one operating and a 24 cube with live rock and pumps all working and ready for an air bnb type move in for my live stock. Two extra LED lights (noopsyche) in case my radions ever fail. My generator has the automatic transfer switch and runs on a buried propane tank of 500 gallons. I’m sure I’ll think of others but in my back pocket is BRS website for overnight orders

 

[Shelby]

I have a generator and fresh water for mixing all the time. The biggest concern for me is a hurricane and I have to evacuate, I’ll lose it all. Sure I have a generator in case there is a power outage, but you have to be there to turn it on and set it up. It’s possible to be away a week or mor if a hurricane visits.

 

[MikeYasin]

I’m on solar and whole-house battery backup. Small generator in shed just in case. Check.

1) RO - weekly timer + flood guardian automation with a 50 gal storage,

2) Bucket of salt,

3) Spare heater,

4) Spare return pump, and

5) 10 gal QT

 

[Leslie Tabor]

All 5 of your things and also spare heater! In Minnesota, I feel the heater going out could be very bad depending on the time of year!

 

[Fishy Art]

So today's QOTD comes to us an inspired by member @WallyB! I think it's a great topic and would love to hear your thoughts on it as well. So what are we talking about here? We're talking about the TOP 5 THINGS TO NEVER BE WITHOUT! So I decided to come up with my own list and I want to hear what you think the top 5 things are for yourself. So here are mine in no particular order.

1. Generator: Something to give power to your tanks life support equipment in case of a power outage.

2. Mixed Salt Water: Fresh new saltwater ready to initiate a quick water change or to use to house corals and fish in another emergency location. This may also be dry salt with the ability to mix up some new water quickly. Which leads to my next item.

3. Fresh RO Water: The extra fresh water will give you the ability to mix saltwater or give you the ability to mix MORE after you have used the mixed water from my previous point. You can never have too much water IMO.

4. Spare Return Pump: Most hobbyists house equipment like heaters, skimmers, reactors, dosers in a sump or other areas besides the main display. If your return pump dies on you will need a back up to keep the water flowing to these important parts of your system. Just as important is the flow it provides. In the event of a power outage this may be the only item you'll want to be running. See point number one.

5. Spare Tank or Containers: I thought about spare plumbing parts here and they would make #6 on my list but let's pretend you don't have a plumbing issue but you have a leaking tank issue. In this case you're going to need a spare tank or enough containers to house your fish, corals and live rock.

It's hard to choose just the top 5 things because spare heaters, reefing buddies, carbon reactors and things like that are very important but if I have to pick just 5 these would top my list.

So what are your TOP 5 THINGS to never be without?

Being new to the reef aquarium hobby. I soon realized the importance of having some back up equipment. Given the big investment in my small 55 gallon DT tank and 10 gallon QT I feel it important, as the budget allows, to have certain pieces of equipment on hand. I bought a portable generator which I used twice since I live in an area of California that experienced power outages due to winter fires. I have back up pumps for my filter, protein skimmer, HOB refugium and both RO and Salt mix 20 gallon containers. My wish list has an ATO and spare tank on itI