For those of you in areas prone to Tropical Storms/Hurricanes, what's your plan of action in such events?

[DIYreefer]

Hi everyone,

With Hurricane Beryl headed my way (for now), prepping for an extended power outage has weighed heavily on my mind. I have three separate systems (one display tank and two frag systems) that range from 100g to about 160ish gallons each. I've got a generator that will run at approximately 50% of its max load when powering all of the tanks. I've also got a larger generator that will also run at approximately 50% of its max load when powering three portable air conditioners and my refrigerator. I've got enough fuel on hand to run both generators 24/7 for about week if necessary. Both generators have been tested and are good to go. I have 60g of premixed saltwater on hand as well as 60g of fresh ro/di. Oh, and I have a bunch of battery powered aerators and plenty of new batteries as well. I think I'm good!

I'm curious to know what you guys do in similar situations and am open to any recommendations for things that I may have missed. I want to be as prepared as possible and still have tomorrow for additional prep if necessary. Let me know, thanks!

 

[FinalPhaze987]

Following along. Interesting to see what people have planned. There are some good deals on back up power on Amazon lately, especially from ecoflow

 

[DDenny]

Generator(s). Looking at adding a whole house generator in the near future. When power goes out for me I don’t run lights just the pumps.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

being in NJ, we get very dangerous winter storms. I just picked up a 3500 watt generator for $200. This will save my tank and give my home heat if we ever get another Sandy.

 

[FinalPhaze987]

being in NJ, we get very dangerous winter storms. I just picked up a 3500 watt generator for $200. This will save my tank and give my home heat if we ever get another Sandy.

$200 new or second hand? That's one heck of a deal!

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

$200 new or second hand? That's one heck of a deal!

brand new. It’s not high end like a Honda. But the reviews were great. Got it on FB marketplace

 

[Reefering1]

Hi everyone,

With Hurricane Beryl headed my way (for now), prepping for an extended power outage has weighed heavily on my mind. I have three separate systems (one display tank and two frag systems) that range from 100g to about 160ish gallons each. I've got a generator that will run at approximately 50% of its max load when powering all of the tanks. I've also got a larger generator that will also run at approximately 50% of its max load when powering three portable air conditioners and my refrigerator. I've got enough fuel on hand to run both generators 24/7 for about week if necessary. Both generators have been tested and are good to go. I have 60g of premixed saltwater on hand as well as 60g of fresh ro/di. Oh, and I have a bunch of battery powered aerators and plenty of new batteries as well. I think I'm good!

I'm curious to know what you guys do in similar situations and am open to any recommendations for things that I may have missed. I want to be as prepared as possible and still have tomorrow for additional prep if necessary. Let me know, thanks!

Sounds like you have what you need. Just come up with a plan and stick to it. Have plywood to cover the generators if you have to run them in the rain. Ensure they're far away from the building. More rodi is never a bad idea, imagine power being out for 2 weeks.. figure out a plan for your dosing. If your not running 100% normal, demand will drop; most dosers require internet to adjust. I didn't realize that one, ended up unplugging the doser every other day to slow it down. And a bathtub full of water for the toilet will come in handy;-). Do laundry, dishes and as much cleaning, prior to, as you can. Nothing worse than a hot, humid, smelly place with no clean laundry or dishes.. and propane, get some

 

[mousehunter]

Long term - whole house battery backup with a whole house generator. Have the batteries power the house, then the generator can run at load when it kicks in to recharge the batteries. Generators loose efficiency when running at low load - they drink fuel when run for extended periods of time. I have a whole house generator on a rental. I think it is good for 3 days then I have to wait for the propane truck. Working on my last house (or most likely last house). Seriously considering going with a diesel generator then - at least I would not be dependent on the propane truck for refills. NG is not an option where I live. New house will also have solar (probably excessive solar, so at least 1/2 the time it could run completely off grid).

Scaling that down, then it is a battery backup that can run 8-10hrs of life support or so, and a portable generator that can run 2 and recharge it. Not like those portable generators are really designed to run 3 days straight - I think that is getting close to their service interval. If the battery back up can stretch to 10hrs - then that is only two 2 hr generator runs a day.

I have the generators now - abet I have not run them for a while (which is a huge issue with portable generators - will they actually start when you need them). I am looking at the battery backup. The one I am looking at can also be charged with external 12v batteries - at a rate that is very close to my projected discharge rate and is also not picky about it's solar input. But solar is probably even less dependable than a generator during questionable weather. But again, it is a stop gap measure - real answer will be a house that can deal with it.

 

[DIYreefer]

Sounds like you have what you need. Just come up with a plan and stick to it. Have plywood to cover the generators if you have to run them in the rain. Ensure they're far away from the building. More rodi is never a bad idea, imagine power being out for 2 weeks.. figure out a plan for your dosing. If your not running 100% normal, demand will drop; most dosers require internet to adjust. I didn't realize that one, ended up unplugging the doser every other day to slow it down. And a bathtub full of water for the toilet will come in handy;-). Do laundry, dishes and as much cleaning, prior to, as you can. Nothing worse than a hot, humid, smelly place with no clean laundry or dishes.. and propane, get some

Excellent ideas, thank you! All equipment will run with the exception of the T5s over my frag tanks and the halides over my display tank. All systems have LED which I intend to run since they don't produce much heat. Heat is my biggest concern (the reason why I went and got two extra portable a/c's (already had one). All three combined still aren't rated for the square footage of my house, but I think they will get the job done well enough. I've also got a few high velocity shop fans that I can use if necessary.

I don't have anything that utilizes propane, but my stove and hot water heater use natural gas. So we should be OK there.

I really like the filling up the bath tub idea. That's something I would have never thought to do but could very well come in VERY handy. Thanks again!

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

1. Keep the wave pump and a case fan on a quality UPS. 24/7/365. If you aren't home and something goes south, this picks it up for you.

2. 2200 Honda or similar inverter on whole tank.

Or better yet,

3. Whole house Generac.

At least once, some point every single year I have to deal with this. While the storms were still worrisome to me (before the Generac). This plan for power loss hasn't failed yet.

Here are some links.
APC UPS.

Amazon.com

2200 watt inverter.

Amazon.com

Whole house system listed price does not include installation.

22kW Home Generator with Transfer Switch | G0070430 | Generac

Standby Generator, 22kW | With Whole House Switch | WiFi Enabled | One of the most powerful air-cooled generators on the market today, the Guardian® Series 22 kW automatic home standby generator can provide whole-house backup power for many homes.

www.generac.com

 

[DIYreefer]

I have the generators now - abet I have not run them for a while (which is a huge issue with portable generators - will they actually start when you need them). I am looking at the battery backup. The one I am looking at can also be charged with external 12v batteries - at a rate that is very close to my projected discharge rate and is also not picky about it's solar input. But solar is probably even less dependable than a generator during questionable weather. But again, it is a stop gap measure - real answer will be a house that can deal with it.

I checked both generators yesterday, they're running great. I'm glad that I did, even though I change the oil, drain the fuel, and change the spark plug after each extended use there was an issue with my larger generator yesterday. It started up and ran just fine, but it was spraying fuel everywhere (which was kinda scary, lol). The gasket between the engine and the carburetor had deteriorated to the point of failure. It was an easy fix after a trip to auto zone for some gasket paper (or whatever it's called) and a few minutes with an exact-o knife. Would have sucked to have not caught that before I needed the generator. All good now.

I've very seriously considered a whole home generator, but I just can't justify the cost vs how little use it would likely see. I live in a new subdivision (less than 5 years old) and all of our utilities are underground. In the 3 years that we have been here our lights have never even flickered. The only time I will likely ever potentially need a generator will be during hurricane season, and even then it's rather rare (which is why I'm ok with running extension cords all over my house. It won't be enjoyable, but it's so infrequent that I don't think it will bother me too much). Additionally, we are on the same power grid as a nearby hospital. I believe we take priority in a wide spread power outage. They will want to restore power back to the hospital asap. That's my theory, at least. I suppose I'm likely to find out just how true that is within the next 36 hours or so.

 

[Sump Crab]

I am in FL so I have a lot of experience dealing with reef tanks and power outages over the past 20 years. My first line of defense is a battery back up for my main powerhead. If the power is out a long time I break out my gas generator. Don't forget to run fans on the waters surface if your house gets hot!

For those who cannot have a generator look into buying a 12v portable livewell pump. I am not referring to a 12v air bubbler. What I am talking about has a large submersible pump, length of flexible hose, and a spray bar. These will keep your tank going for a long time with just a 12v car battery.

 

[mousehunter]

I am currently living in town. We have had two 3 day intermittent blackouts in the last 3 or 4 years (15 minutes of power every 3 hours iirc).

Rent house is in Bolivar. They have been "upgrading" the electrical system there the last few years - which ultimately has led to probably 10 days a year without electricity for hours. Renters expect AC to work when they are on vacation. The whole house backup means we don't have to refund weeks worth of rent. 1/2 the houses in our neighborhood now have whole house generators - they saw our renters staying cool, and installed generators for themselves. All of these blackouts were planned by the electrical service provider - fair weather blackouts.

Next house will be rural. While it is hard to know how often I will loose electricity - I am going to be fairly far down the line when it comes to getting it back up. I had a friend living rural just outside of Pensacola. His rental lost power for 3 months... He was end of the line when it came to reestablishing power after a hurricane. It worked out OK for him, he was renting from his employer - and they were shut down for those 3 months, so he just went and lived with his parents while the rebuild was happening.

Redundant back up power is a luxury - but in the end, which is more important. AC or a swimming pool. I will spend my money on the power before the pool.

 

[Biff0rz]

I live in a cold climate area (michigan) with frequent power outages. I had a generator that I got from home depot and it worked great to power the tank and some other things in the house....buuuuut it was a pain in the butt to pull out, hook up, and keep feeding it gas all the time, especially during multi-day outages. 16k later, I now have a whole-home generator. My wife is happy about it, so easy sell, she hates being too cold or too hot

and I did consider the whole-home battery backup thing, but, I'd need multiples of them and they don't last too long in the cold we get here.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

Hi everyone,

With Hurricane Beryl headed my way (for now), prepping for an extended power outage has weighed heavily on my mind. I have three separate systems (one display tank and two frag systems) that range from 100g to about 160ish gallons each. I've got a generator that will run at approximately 50% of its max load when powering all of the tanks. I've also got a larger generator that will also run at approximately 50% of its max load when powering three portable air conditioners and my refrigerator. I've got enough fuel on hand to run both generators 24/7 for about week if necessary. Both generators have been tested and are good to go. I have 60g of premixed saltwater on hand as well as 60g of fresh ro/di. Oh, and I have a bunch of battery powered aerators and plenty of new batteries as well. I think I'm good!

I'm curious to know what you guys do in similar situations and am open to any recommendations for things that I may have missed. I want to be as prepared as possible and still have tomorrow for additional prep if necessary. Let me know, thanks!

how are you making out? Please keep us posted.

 

[DIYreefer]

how are you making out? Please keep us posted.

I think we will dodge this one. The latest update shows that the storm is headed a bit further north of where I live. It's starting to rain a little bit and the wind has shifted from coming out of the south east, to coming out of the north. We will still get some strong wind and a decent amount of rain, but that should be about the extent of the excitement around here. Hopefully

 

[DIYreefer]

I live in a cold climate area (michigan) with frequent power outages. I had a generator that I got from home depot and it worked great to power the tank and some other things in the house....buuuuut it was a pain in the butt to pull out, hook up, and keep feeding it gas all the time, especially during multi-day outages. 16k later, I now have a whole-home generator. My wife is happy about it, so easy sell, she hates being too cold or too hot

and I did consider the whole-home battery backup thing, but, I'd need multiples of them and they don't last too long in the cold we get here.

Yeah, messing with the generators isn't ideal, that's for sure. If power outages were more common in my area I would very likely get a whole home generator but as it is, I've only had to bust out portable power twice in nearly 20 years in the hobby (Hurricane Harvey in '17 and the big Tx freeze in '20).

 

[Reefering1]

I think we will dodge this one. The latest update shows that the storm is headed a bit further north of where I live. It's starting to rain a little bit and the wind has shifted from coming out of the south east, to coming out of the north. We will still get some strong wind and a decent amount of rain, but that should be about the extent of the excitement around here. Hopefully

Winds from the north... that means it has past you already?

 

[DIYreefer]

Winds from the north... that means it has past you already?

Not really, no. It's still physically south of where I live but the outer bands of the storm are starting to come in, and as such the wind direction has shifted as well. Basically, the beginning of the storm effects have started. I really don't think it's going to be too bad here, just need the storm to stay on its current trajectory. If by chance it starts to turn more west/north west then we will likely see much heavier rain and stronger wind.

 

[Biff0rz]

Yeah, messing with the generators isn't ideal, that's for sure. If power outages were more common in my area I would very likely get a whole home generator but as it is, I've only had to bust out portable power twice in nearly 20 years in the hobby (Hurricane Harvey in '17 and the big Tx freeze in '20).

That's not bad! I lose power about 2-4 times a season lol