0
Power Outage & Hurricane Preparedness
Posted by
Bayou Reefkeeping Staff
,
07 October 2011
·
255 views
By: kirk_m
There are many different disasters that may befall a reef tank. Some of them are entirely out of our control, such as a tank busting, but many are also preventable. One of the most common problems that reef keepers face is power outage. Our tanks depend on the constant supply of electricity for lighting, filtration, water movement, and temperature control. So, what’s a reef keeper to do when the power goes out? First, remain calm, get your family situated and as comfortable as possible, then turn your attention to your tank.
As with everything in life, it’s always best to be prepared for an emergency rather than waiting for it to occur and then try to come up with a plan. There are items which should be kept on hand in order to keep our tank inhabitants alive for extended periods power outage. One of the most economical and practical items you can own is a simple battery powered air pump and airstone. You should have several of these in your “emergency preparedness kit.” They can run for several days on D cell batteries, and do not need to be run constantly, so as to preserve battery life. Run them for 15-20 minutes every hour. The stream of bubbles adds vital oxygen to the water and also creates water movement, which encourages gas exchange at the water’s surface. Another useful item is a power inverter. If you have both an inverter and a deep cycle marine battery, you can connect the inverter to the battery and then plug your pumps into the inverter on an intermittent basis to keep the water moving in your tank via power heads. With today’s low wattage, high efficiency propeller pumps, such as Tunze, Hydor, and EcoTech, you can keep your water circulating for quite some time if you run them intermittently.
The second (and arguably worse) problem with a power outage is that when the power goes, so does the air conditioning of your house. So, your tank’s temperature will rise. To manage this, you should have ice AND a manual thermometer available (because that fancy aquarium controller with its temperature probe is now useless). If there is a hurricane approaching, or some other predictable power outage, make sure you start freezing and bagging ice long in advance. Large ziplock storage bags are best. I would recommend double bagging, just in case there is a leak. You don’t need to use RO/DI – tap water is fine as long as it does not leak into your tank (hence the double bagging). Clamp these make-shift ice-bags to the top rim of our tank, with the “zipper” facing up. That way, as the ice melts, the bag cannot invert and leak through the “zipper,” spilling chlorine or chloramine laced water into your tank, putting your inhabitants at risk. If you don’t have a sump, be mindful of your water level as you place the bags into your tank, as each bag displaces water — too much will overflow your tank. At what point should you consider adding ice? Personally, I would wait until the temperature hits 83-84 degrees Fahrenheit. Others may differ in their opinion. My tank routinely hits 81-82 degrees during the summer by the end of the light cycle, and, I’ve never had any ill effects. Some respected authors feel that 86 is the critical temperature above which coral deaths will start.
A far better, but more expensive, way to manage power outage is the use of a portable generator. They are available in a variety of sizes (kilowatts) and price points. Besides running parts of your tank’s life support system, they can also be used to power household appliances, like your refrigerator, or a small A/C unit, depending on how many kW your generator is capable of, as well as the amount of amps the generator’s circuit can handle. It is my recommendation that you buy the biggest generator you can afford. You need to run/test the generator weekly, too. Nothing is worse than needing the generator and not having it start on you because the carburetor is gummed up because you haven’t run it, or the battery is dead (if you have an electric starter model that doesn’t also have a pull cord). If you have a battery assisted start, make sure you keep a trickle charger on the battery. When storing the generator, follow the manufacturer’s instruction with regard to draining the fuel. Use of a fuel stabilizer, such as Stabil, can be helpful too. When running your generator, make sure to observe all safety precautions. Don’t be stupid and run it in your house or garage! Many have made that mistake and paid the price with their lives due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Have plenty of extension cords handy. Finally, make sure you have enough gasoline on hand to last a few days.
Having a generator handy allows you to manage your temperature more effectively. You can run a small window AC unit in your tank room, as well as a circulating fan (which makes cooling far more efficient!). Don’t be surprised if your family congregates in the tank room as a result! As with use of battery-operated air pumps and the like, just use the generator to run things intermittently so as to conserve your fuel supply.
If you live somewhere that snow and ice storms are a routine occurrence, and temperatures are in the freezing range, the only way you can heat your tank during a power outage is by using a generator, to the best of my knowledge.
The ultimate, however, is a stand-by generator, such as those made by Generac. These can power your entire house, and they switch on automatically with a power outage via an automatic transfer switch 30 seconds after loss of mains power. When power goes out at your home, your central AC, tank, refrigerator, EVERYTHING will still run as long as there is constant supply of natural gas to the generator. If there is need to evacuate, as long as your house doesn’t blow away, or a tree doesn’t fall through it, you can be reasonably sure that your tank will still be alive when you come back.
In this discussion, the issue of lighting really hasn’t been discussed. It is my opinion that lighting is of secondary concern during a power outage. Your corals will not die immediately due to lack of light. Temperature will take them long before that, and lack of oxygen will take your fish even sooner. So, your primary focus should not be on lighting your corals. If you have a generator, turning on the lights will only serve to increase water temperature, making your efforts to maintain that parameter more difficult.
In cases where you do not have a standby generator, and the power outage is for more than several days, and has no end in sight, it would probably be best to ask a fellow reefer living in an unaffected area to hold your livestock if possible, so, it is always good to have a large ice chest or two in your preparedness kit for transport of livestock.
Best of luck to you all during this hurricane season!
There are many different disasters that may befall a reef tank. Some of them are entirely out of our control, such as a tank busting, but many are also preventable. One of the most common problems that reef keepers face is power outage. Our tanks depend on the constant supply of electricity for lighting, filtration, water movement, and temperature control. So, what’s a reef keeper to do when the power goes out? First, remain calm, get your family situated and as comfortable as possible, then turn your attention to your tank.
As with everything in life, it’s always best to be prepared for an emergency rather than waiting for it to occur and then try to come up with a plan. There are items which should be kept on hand in order to keep our tank inhabitants alive for extended periods power outage. One of the most economical and practical items you can own is a simple battery powered air pump and airstone. You should have several of these in your “emergency preparedness kit.” They can run for several days on D cell batteries, and do not need to be run constantly, so as to preserve battery life. Run them for 15-20 minutes every hour. The stream of bubbles adds vital oxygen to the water and also creates water movement, which encourages gas exchange at the water’s surface. Another useful item is a power inverter. If you have both an inverter and a deep cycle marine battery, you can connect the inverter to the battery and then plug your pumps into the inverter on an intermittent basis to keep the water moving in your tank via power heads. With today’s low wattage, high efficiency propeller pumps, such as Tunze, Hydor, and EcoTech, you can keep your water circulating for quite some time if you run them intermittently.
The second (and arguably worse) problem with a power outage is that when the power goes, so does the air conditioning of your house. So, your tank’s temperature will rise. To manage this, you should have ice AND a manual thermometer available (because that fancy aquarium controller with its temperature probe is now useless). If there is a hurricane approaching, or some other predictable power outage, make sure you start freezing and bagging ice long in advance. Large ziplock storage bags are best. I would recommend double bagging, just in case there is a leak. You don’t need to use RO/DI – tap water is fine as long as it does not leak into your tank (hence the double bagging). Clamp these make-shift ice-bags to the top rim of our tank, with the “zipper” facing up. That way, as the ice melts, the bag cannot invert and leak through the “zipper,” spilling chlorine or chloramine laced water into your tank, putting your inhabitants at risk. If you don’t have a sump, be mindful of your water level as you place the bags into your tank, as each bag displaces water — too much will overflow your tank. At what point should you consider adding ice? Personally, I would wait until the temperature hits 83-84 degrees Fahrenheit. Others may differ in their opinion. My tank routinely hits 81-82 degrees during the summer by the end of the light cycle, and, I’ve never had any ill effects. Some respected authors feel that 86 is the critical temperature above which coral deaths will start.
A far better, but more expensive, way to manage power outage is the use of a portable generator. They are available in a variety of sizes (kilowatts) and price points. Besides running parts of your tank’s life support system, they can also be used to power household appliances, like your refrigerator, or a small A/C unit, depending on how many kW your generator is capable of, as well as the amount of amps the generator’s circuit can handle. It is my recommendation that you buy the biggest generator you can afford. You need to run/test the generator weekly, too. Nothing is worse than needing the generator and not having it start on you because the carburetor is gummed up because you haven’t run it, or the battery is dead (if you have an electric starter model that doesn’t also have a pull cord). If you have a battery assisted start, make sure you keep a trickle charger on the battery. When storing the generator, follow the manufacturer’s instruction with regard to draining the fuel. Use of a fuel stabilizer, such as Stabil, can be helpful too. When running your generator, make sure to observe all safety precautions. Don’t be stupid and run it in your house or garage! Many have made that mistake and paid the price with their lives due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Have plenty of extension cords handy. Finally, make sure you have enough gasoline on hand to last a few days.
Having a generator handy allows you to manage your temperature more effectively. You can run a small window AC unit in your tank room, as well as a circulating fan (which makes cooling far more efficient!). Don’t be surprised if your family congregates in the tank room as a result! As with use of battery-operated air pumps and the like, just use the generator to run things intermittently so as to conserve your fuel supply.
If you live somewhere that snow and ice storms are a routine occurrence, and temperatures are in the freezing range, the only way you can heat your tank during a power outage is by using a generator, to the best of my knowledge.
The ultimate, however, is a stand-by generator, such as those made by Generac. These can power your entire house, and they switch on automatically with a power outage via an automatic transfer switch 30 seconds after loss of mains power. When power goes out at your home, your central AC, tank, refrigerator, EVERYTHING will still run as long as there is constant supply of natural gas to the generator. If there is need to evacuate, as long as your house doesn’t blow away, or a tree doesn’t fall through it, you can be reasonably sure that your tank will still be alive when you come back.
In this discussion, the issue of lighting really hasn’t been discussed. It is my opinion that lighting is of secondary concern during a power outage. Your corals will not die immediately due to lack of light. Temperature will take them long before that, and lack of oxygen will take your fish even sooner. So, your primary focus should not be on lighting your corals. If you have a generator, turning on the lights will only serve to increase water temperature, making your efforts to maintain that parameter more difficult.
In cases where you do not have a standby generator, and the power outage is for more than several days, and has no end in sight, it would probably be best to ask a fellow reefer living in an unaffected area to hold your livestock if possible, so, it is always good to have a large ice chest or two in your preparedness kit for transport of livestock.
Best of luck to you all during this hurricane season!
