What to do when it all goes wrong: Do you have a plan for emergencies?

[reefnfun]

You also have to practice the right verbage when it happens. "Don't worry honey, It's just a small flood." I have a rubbermaid tub Plumbed in that can hold everything in my display tank if it fails. I have a pump sitting there for no reason but to circulate the water if the sisplay tank fails. I also have a backup generator. I have had lots of emergencies over the years.

 

[zoomonster]

You also have to practice the right verbage when it happens. "Don't worry honey, It's just a small flood." I have a rubbermaid tub Plumbed in that can hold everything in my display tank if it fails. I have a pump sitting there for no reason but to circulate the water if the sisplay tank fails. I also have a backup generator. I have had lots of emergencies over the years.

Good plan lol. Thats actually one thing on my short list I need to get. I really don't have anything large enough to hold all the animals from my 200g if disaster strikes. A few things could go in my 32g but that about it other than resorting to Brute 44g plastic trash cans I have.

 

[AstroCoral]

I don't have an emergency plan for everything but I used to have a written power outage plan for my family in the event we had a power outage and I was not home (what needed to be connected to a generator). I now have a UPS that will run my critical equipment for around 5 hours which should give me enough time to get circulation and heat/cooling running off a portable gas generator. If I invest in a larger tank, I think a Generac or Tesla Powerwall may be a good idea.

 

[CoralB]

SHHHHHHHH !!! Knock knock knock !!!

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

I've got some plastic buckets and a bottle of Prime, does that count?

I do have a spare 15 gallon which I can move stuff into if I need to, let's just hope there's nothing in there quarantining if a disaster happens.

 

[Kmst80]

I have a well detailed plan if my RS 750xxl bust a seam. My buddy has a number to a good divorce lawyer. He guarantees she wont get more than 1/2.

Is that half of the damage?

 

[MikeCRK]

If a man has to do something, something like a draft of the emergency plan, it will be done.

You do not need to remind it every six months!

 

[Distracted_Nerd]

9 years ago i had a marineland 120G tank dump 100 gallons on a hardwood floor.. that was not fun. in 2 weeks i am setting up a reefer350 G2+. My wife said the only way i could do it would be to ensure if it leaked the floors would not be ruined. SOOOooo.... im getting one of those foldable swimming pools to put the stand in... big enough to unfold and open the stand doors and foldable so can close it up mostly against the stand.. Not sure if it will work, we will see

 

[Greybeard]

So... Written? No, but a plan? Sure!

1st, you want to KNOW there's a problem. That's why monitoring is so important, If temp varies, power fails, pump electrical draw changes, pH spikes... Apex alerts me. Knowing that you've got a problem, quickly, is critical.

Power outage: Running a small Tunze flow pump on a battery switch, it'll run for 24 hours or so, give me time to respond. We have a gas generator, it'll run the return pump and heater. Tank can do without all the extras for a while. Only real problem would be an extended outage during the summer... no AC would be an issue, but that sort of thing is quite rare. Generally, our power problems are during the winter storms.

Equipment failure: Once alerted, I've got a spare return pump, spare heater controller, and a spare heater tube. As long as those items are running, you've got time.

Tank/sump failure. 1st, try and minimize the risk. Quality gear is about all you can do. it's a Planet Aquarium tank, purchased new, in good condition. Sump is a BashSea, also purchased new, in good condition. Plumbing is all well built, strong, and easy to access. Stand is welded tube steel, way overbuilt for the load. Chances of a failure are as low as I can make them... but yeah. That's every marine hobbyists nightmare. I do have a 100g Rubbermaid trough in the garage. Ideal? No... but it'd allow me to re-home everything while I figure out what I'm doing.

 

[Labridaedicted]

Depends on the degree of the emergency. In the event of a seam failure, I have tanks on hand that can hold the fish and corals. Everything else I have backups for so it's not a huge issue. Also have a really big gas Genny that can run most of the house for when the power goes out (which it does all the time at my house). My biggest problem is that it seems that every time something fails, it's while I'm put of town.

 

[Gundy]

I don't have written SOP's for every scenario because that would be crazy but I do have:
Extra heaters
Dual return pumps plumbed in a way that each can power my manifold or UV depending on which valves are open and closed
60 gallons of saltwater always on hand
60 gallons of RODI water always on hand
Extra EB832
20 kw backup generator
Extra MP40 wet sides
Extra dosing pump heads and tubing
Polyfilter/Cuprisorb/carbon
Extra RODI canisters and media

I would think that every system- small to large should have back up supplies, medication, extra tanks and equipment specific to your tank. Sometimes a situation becomes an emergency because you don't have or can’t get something you need immediately. The larger the system the more you should be prepared for.

Also, consider supply disruptions (during Covid or baby formula situation) where you may not be able to get the things you need. Having extra food, salt, equipment or having extra items you normally use would be a wise investment. I know a lot of people have stockpiles of extra supplies for their reef and in doing so will be able to handle- or even avoid an emergency. Just my .02 cents.

 

[Rockit]

I almost always have 30-ish gallons of RODI and 30-ish of SW ready to go. I have a generator. Multiple backups for everything that is required to keep the tanks alive. A variety of meds and magic insta-cycle potions if I need to set up an emergency tank. Multiple Rubbermaid bins to temporally house critters.
And I'm bringing the wife/reefing partner (Missquoted1) up to speed on how everything works so she can take care of issues when I'm at work. Most likely if there's an emergency caused by storm/flood/fire, I'll be working.

 

[Barncat]

I have a Skywin USB air pump; power goes out? It just keeps running!

 

[Barncat]

I have a Skywin USB air pump; power goes out? It just keeps running!

Also depending on temps I can wrap it in a space blanket or throw RO/DI ice cubes into the water!

 

[jda]

I should be able to handle everything... at least that I have thought of.

I have a spare tank with reef-level water parameters and lights for a seam or glass break on the main display - I had a friend in Missouri get a bullet from a deer hunter through his wall that took out the corner of his 180g, so I learned from this as much as I could. This gives me a chance to get at least frags and all of the fish to the spare tank.

Otherwise, planning ahead is the only way to go. The most important thing is to buy the most reliable equipment - for me, this is nothing with a controller or that does not have a 5 year track record... so no DC pumps, Apex, etc. for me. The second most important thing is to have at least TWO different power circuits to your tank - split you equipment up between the two and especially the flow pumps from the return pump. Generator in the house. Chiller in the house, even if not hooked up. Extra heaters. Extra pumps. RO/DI on hand with extra salt - mixed up salt is even better, but not always easy. Lots of extra food, CaRx media, MH bulbs, etc. in case supply chain issues happen.

I really feel for the folks in the way of hazards every year. Ice storms and tornados were bad enough when I was in the midwest, but I might just get out of the hobby if I was in Florida and had severe hurricane risk.

Edit: Triple redundant ATO is super important. I also will not use dosers anymore since they can stick on and nobody needs that much Kalk or 2 part in their tanks.

 

[KrisReef]

I am supposed to be writing an emergency oil spill response plan for a remote river that has no one closer than 4 hours away who could respond to an oil tanker or automotive wreck that puts oil into the water. I am struggling to get up the motivation to put the plan together and one reason is a little belief that the natives taught me: " Having a plan is an invitation to the demons to unleash the spill that you are thinking about."

A few years back I ran an offshore oil spill equipment exercise in the morning and in the afternoon, a few hundred miles north we had a catastrophic release from a pipeline into the Pacific Ocean near Refugio. I worked a few months walking the shoreline afterwards, which is the only good thing that came from that plan, perhaps?

With saltwater aquariums, it is a matter of when, not if, something bad will happen. (Knock on wood)
Water, electricity, and gravity are all forces we can only control for so long. Having some design based failure plans are always helpful.

Reefer Matt. I am amazed with your superpowers to control water, electricity and especially gravity! I have tried but the best I can do is remember to shut the water off before the RODI barrel overflows. I had a really close call this weekend!

This is what I am afraid of everytime I think about taking a vacation away from home.

We need a thread asking how people deal with the stress of keeping a reef tank and going on vacations.

So I don't have a plan but I do have a cabinet full of remedies for lifes challenges.

I hope I can stay sober one more day.

 

[keef reeper]

Recently edison replaced a power line across the street from my home. They gave us a heads up so i had time to set up my 9k watt generator and hook up the reef and fridge and tv and all that for the family haha

 

[MrWellington]

As a newbie to this hobby and a 35+ yr seasoned pro in critical IT services, both my reef and fowlr tanks are designed for component failure. Heat, Flow, Pumps, RO, Salt reserve, power, WiFi, etc. Because It's not IF it will fail.

I find it's always cheaper to build for failure than react to it.

 

[ryan265]

Step 1: Panic
Step 2: Cry

Ah…that’s the wife’s plan with everything.

 

[CBonito]

My plan is to scream and wait for help.