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

[themcnertney]

1. Towels (can never have enough towels)
2. Shopvac (so many uses)
3. Trash Can Water (RO/DI stored in Brute trash can)
4. Saltwater (stored in Brute trash can)
5. Salt (always have a bucket or two as backup)

 

[ReefRondo]

All of the above except the generator but lucky if we get a power cut once every 2 years and even then it is for under an hour. Now I've said that I think I'll get a generator...

 

[MikeYasin]

All of the above except the generator but lucky if we get a power cut once every 2 years and even then it is for under an hour. Now I've said that I think I'll get a generator...

nothing like jinxing yourself!

I'm in North Cali. Now that our utility has permission to kill power for safety reasons, power outages are guaranteed to happen several times a year.

 

[S88UNO]

I’m literally just about to start my next tank build. The tank arrives in February, so in the mean time, i’ve started equipping my garage with the necessary redundancies! Tank of RODI and mixed salt water, All set up for auto water changes

battery back up on the wall for flow.

I always keep a spare heater above all else.
Full build posts TBC!

 

[Sofishtication]

I always have a fresh 5 gallon barrel of both sw and ro, numerous spare heaters and pumps I’ve accumulated over the years, and my spare tank is bigger than my main tank.... I’m not saying I’m hoping for a leak so the mrs allows to set up the big boy but.....

 

[Mical]

Spare return pump(s), spare heaters, 50 gals RODI water, & both tanks on 1500w UPS' (extra salt of course)

 

[luisgo]

When you live in Puerto Rico, like I do, power for your tank is a big issue. Two years ago hurricane Maria, one month without power and two days ago an earthquake 6.7, first significant in many years, makes you more careful of your contingency plan. I have a small 3K manual power generator used during the night and 44 solar panels during the day (no batteries). There is no way you can run a small generator 24/7. Two Jebao powerheads are connected to a UPS which runs for 3 or 4 hours until I turn on the backup. Always maintain salt, RO water, big containers and a spare chiller and pump. Not less important a lot of beers to deal with the stress!!

 

[HB AL]

All of the above except the generator but lucky if we get a power cut once every 2 years and even then it is for under an hour. Now I've said that I think I'll get a generator...

I’m in the same boat as you my power rarely goes out and if so it’s for an hour max so I just fire up my usb battery powered air pumps. But a couple years ago we had a planned power outage that was to last 8 hours, so I went out and bought a 3500 watt generator and it was nice being able to run everything on the tank, the tv, and WiFi. Nice to have just in case.

 

[gtrider]

battery powered air pump and a generator. Also a way to know if your power goes out when you're not home.

 

[Beardo]

Have a 3,500 watt inverter generator.
Use natural sea water and try to keep a minimun of 75 gallons on hand and my tote holds up to 275 gallons.
Keep spare DI water in a 45 gallon brute can.
Have a spare return pump.
Multiple heaters but most are undersized for my tank.
Spare aquariums: 3 20L aquariums, a 29g, a 10g, a 42g and a couple stock tanks that housed my tank inhabitants for months during a move.
Try to keep a bucket of salt even though I use NSW but getting pretty low now.
Lots of misc. plumbing parts and small pumps as well.

Now that I type this out I realize I'm a hoarder.

 

[Tiatank]

Also keep a couple temp probes for the apex.
Spare pump for tunze ATO
5 Cobalt heaters in case the tank breaks and all the coral and fish have to go into Rubbermaid containers and trash cans
various plumbing parts
Plumbing attachments for the spare return pumps so if I need to switch out the vetra and add my spare sicce I have the attachment to the union premade and ready to go
Spare impellers for each pump.

 

[andrewkw]

I'm currently in the market for a secondary backup power source. As I just learned having one generator might not be enough if it doesn't run. I just had the first 24hr+ power failure in over a year and grew complacent. Learning about how small engines work at 2am standing in freezing rain when your phone is at 10% is not ideal. I did eventually learn where the spark plug is, what it looks like ect and get it going the next day but not before having to stay up all night mixing my tanks by hand and with 1 battery powered air pump as well as hydrogen peroxide powered pumps.

1) Generator - 7500 watt when the power is out I pretty much run everything, lighting skimmer ect.

2) RO water. I have a 55g drum that by design only empties about halfway. So I always have at least half of that on hand + water is in my top off containers. I don't feel like I need to keep premixed saltwater on hand. In a true emergency I'm not going to have enough to 100% replace the water in my tanks and I would move everything out of 1 tank if I absolutely had to.

3) Backup return. This can double as water mixing pump. I just have a cheap one but it will work until I get another one. My main return pump is quite old so I am aware it could go at anytime.

4) Generator 2 - I plan on buying a cheap on on amazon soon and just taking it out of the box and making sure everything is there. I won't put oil in it and just keep it in case something happens to first generator. Just a little 1500w guy which would run all my pumps ect.

5)Emergency emergency emergency supplies - Generator 2 should eliminate this but I try and make sure there are always a couple of potatoes in the house along with some hydrogen peroxide. In an extended emergency which is unlikely to happen I can use this to oxygenate my tanks. If it ever gets to be a long term emergency and gas becomes a problem to get I can at least keep things alive a little longer this way. Now it would probably take some real end of the world thing to make this happen, but it's also possible if there is a 2 day power outage I miscalculate how much gas I have on hand and I run out of gas in the night. There are no 24hr gas stations close by and if it is something like an ice storm I'm not going to travel far for gas. 5) sounds really paranoid but when you've had a generator issue it makes you paranoid.

 

[ca1ore]

My top 5:

1. Power outage plan - standby generator, portable as backup for the backup and battery backups for my vortech pumps.
2. Spare return pump - I don't run dual pumps but I do keep a drop in replacement.
3. Spare heater - cheap and prone to failure so having a spare is important.
4. Polyfilters, carbon on hand just in case something leaks or goes amiss.
5. The idea of having premixed SW on hand is appealing, though somewhat challenging when your system holds almost 700 gallons.

 

[Johniejumbo]

I keep a little RODI made up, a couple battery powered air pumps with extra batteries. Some Prime. Clean buckets. A little clip on head lamp. And I have a separate little tank I keep running and ready in case I need a life raft. It’s growing some lovely star polyps until it’s needed for more.

 

[Bob Lauson]

Back up generator
Main pump
Heater
One Radion XR30w
Neptune classic controller
Kalk stir motor
Dosing pump
50 gallons of fresh salt water
30 gallons of RO/DI water

 

[Tickybear]

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?

Besides your top five , I also keep 1 Aqeon and 1 Marineland hob filters. I also keep a 2000w rechargeable inverter and a 400watt car inverter. All my cooking would be on the grill. I also have several working spare parts.

 

[Ayzel1]

I have salt, return pumps, rodi water, and an old 2 bulb t5 fixture. I still need to get a back up ato, and power heads. I am just gathering the necessary stuff to keep my tanks going I case of equipment failure in my current tanks....and I also have a 110 aquaclear hob filter with some matrix media and sponge sitting inside my sump.

 

[Scott Ulrich]

1. gas powered generator and small emergency air pump that turns on until I'm home
2. extra powerheads
3. extra heaters
3. extra rodi water (usually)
4. extra tank used as a qt but available in emergency

I usually do not have extra salt water made up OR an extra return pump (but it would be good to have).

 

[Brian_68]

I’m literally just about to start my next tank build. The tank arrives in February, so in the mean time, i’ve started equipping my garage with the necessary redundancies! Tank of RODI and mixed salt water, All set up for auto water changes

battery back up on the wall for flow.

I always keep a spare heater above all else.
Full build posts TBC!

I assume not but I have to ask with your pic - Are those copper pipe and brass fittings in contact with your saltwater mix?

 

[H3rm1tCr@b]

I try to always have distilled water on hand. I have at least four heaters I'm not using right now, a big ol bag of salt, erm... plastic boxes... oh an air pump, argh I hope we don't have an earthquake any time soon.