Somethings Brewin'...How do you prepare your reef for impending bad weather?

[AlyciaMarie]

One thing I never thought about before setting up a tank is the impact a power outage can have on my reef. If you did, kudos to you! Luckily, I live in an area where the weather is generally mild (except for an occasional tornado in the spring). But power outages can happen anywhere, anytime, and for any reason. As the growing potential for a hurricane looms over the Gulf Coast, I can't help but wonder...

How do you prepare your reef for impending bad weather? Share your power outage tips in the comments!

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

Hooked up return pump and mp40 to a 1000 watt powercell. Once we get past 6 hours or so, i have brand new Honda inverter generator.

 

[College_Reefer]

I'm sitting right on the edge of it and will get all the wind and rain from the strongest bands so I'm getting prepped already... We have buried powerlines, so power outages are few and far between for us (knock on wood) but in case I just jinxed myself, the biggest thing is having a generator big enough to run the whole house and tank followed by bubblers in case the generator goes out and if those somehow go out, a battery inverter for car/boat batteries to run essentials.

 

[shakacuz]

i have been both lucky, and negligent in being prepared for such events.. with my next build i do hope to have systems in place to keep life going in an event of an outage. the seems to be the only hazard to the tank.

 

[deome]

Thankfully I'm on the same power grid as the nearby school and shopping center, so I don't lose power for more than 15 mins or so. Sometimes it can be out for up to an hour. No reason for concern about hot or cold.

I do, however, need to buy a new controller system because any interruption in power causes my Apex module to go into comm failure; I have to manually reset the whole thing, start a new aquarium system in Fusion, and I even have to re-calibrate all my probes and set up the Fusion dashboard all over again, losing all my measurement data in the process. And that's assuming the current module isn't bricked entirely, forcing me to swap to a backup module while I deal with Neptune Support to get a replacement. Basically screws me out of an entire day or longer.

 

[BristleWormHater]

My tank if I turn off the ac

 

[Cthulukelele]

I use a battery bubbler and wrap the tank in a space blanket. If it's hot instead I float bags of ice. I also pray

 

[Barncat]

Here's my current way to do things:
- I keep my USB air pump charged and ready to deploy. It lasts 48 hours which is generally more than long enough for the power outtages which happen in my area.
- If the power goes out I wrap my tank in tinfoil, reflective side in - I want to get an actual reflective space blanket for this in the future!
- I have two 5 gallon RO/DI buckets which I can throw my fish and coral into if my tank bursts; I've had to do this once before and I throw my small heater in.

 

[kdx7214]

I live in an area that hasn't had a major weather incident in over 100 years, so I don't prepare for it at all.

 

[Dburr1014]

I have a 24 hour battery on the return and a genny.

I have no preparation to do.

 

[splunty]

I have my (nano) tank on battery backup. The battery lasts about 24 hours with just the return pump. About 6 hours with the heater AND lighting on.

The backup for that? Another battery backup!

The backup for that? Battery powered aerator and low-tech lexan, mylar covers and hand warmers.

Backup for all of that? Prayer.

 

[BR260354]

I do a few of those plus other. I recently setup an Ecoflow Delta Pro Ultra with Smart Home Panel 2. I have it on EPS mode. I estimate I can run for about 40 hours. That includes both aquariums and the refrigerator. I also have a route that when grid power is down, shutdown a few smart switches that are plugged into those critical load circuits. That will trigger to shutdown my display lights, UV and a few other items. That could buy me more time.

 

[danreef55]

According to the boy scout code plan for the worst and hope for the best
Whole home generator - Storage of enough water to do a 35% water change with spare heaters and salt.

 

[divewsharks]

I put solar and a battery on the house.