Dary's tank!

[Gregcoyote]

I am going to buy a natural gas generator and wire it to the house. I had extension cords running everywhere and yes, we got most everything powered back up. Today the workers are on the roof making repairs. My house is a modern looking type tree house. So when the trees thrash around, we duck.


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[Dary421]

Originally Posted by Gregcoyote

I am going to buy a natural gas generator and wire it to the house. I had extension cords running everywhere and yes, we got most everything powered back up. Today the workers are on the roof making repairs. My house is a modern looking type tree house. So when the trees thrash around, we duck.


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I've been seeing these commercials out here for the natural gas / propane generators that are wired in to the house and go on automatically when e power goes off .,sounds like exactly what you're doing ,... The peace of mind would be worth it in the long run.



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[Gregcoyote]

Yes, our electrical system is old and exposed to the trees here, so it goes down regularly. My issue was what to do if it happened while I wasn't at home.


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[Dary421]

I'd love to know the aprox cost of setting up something like that ., this has got to be one of the most nerve wrenching but rewarding hobbies there is ,..,not only do you have to be a scientist, carpenter ,chemist , banker, a zoo keeper but a master plumber / mechanic just to piece all this expensive machinery together to make everything run smoothly,.... So here you have a aquarium full of beautiful exotic corals and fishes that more than likely has cost you more money than your automobile has , this is all balanced on a razors edge anyways .,now you throw in that extended power outage and no matter how beautiful that tank is ,..it's going to be toast without that backup generator.
Ya just gotta love this hobby !!!


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[Gregcoyote]

I want to back the whole house up. That will take a 20kw unit (200 amps). You also need a transfer switch. That all comes to about $5-6k. Then you need a pad for the generator, run natural gas/propane pipe, then run some big as# cables to your circuit breaker box and the new transfer switch. That could come to the cost of the generator if you don't do most of it yourself. If you don't know how to wire a home, then it would be best farmed out.

But then when the electricity goes out, a few moments later it comes back on. No refueling every 8 hours. And it's automatic. As my coral collection grows (literally) I'm thinking it's good insurance.


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[Sniperhank]

Also something interesting that I've thought about is solar. I wish I had the time, effort, and funds to put that together.


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[Gregcoyote]

I've built some solar powered communication systems, but for my power needs and room, a genset is my best option. But anyone who can do solar has my blessing as it is a deluxe way to go.


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[mr_X]

I had a guy wire a 220 line to the box and to an outlet outside. He made me a cord to plug my pull start generator into that outlet. When the power goes out, I shut the main off and then plug in my generator and fire it up. I still need to be home but no longer need to run cords. My generator is 5500 running watts, so it powers everything important

[Gregcoyote]

Be careful. I am pretty sure it doesn't meet code unless he provided a transfer switch. For power line repairmen safety, most communities require a transfer box to insure you don't accidentally power the line past your residence. It makes sure that main breaker is switched off before providing genset power. It also allows you to select which circuits are alive.
Maybe that's how your electrician hooked you up.

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[Dary421]

Well it's been a crazy week ., we had to rebook our Hawaiian trip that leaves in a little over 30 days when the rental home owner in Hilo informed us that the hurricane did a lot more damage to the home than first thought., that property in all likelihood would not be inhabitable until 2015.. So we adjusted our airline tickets and found a condo at a very familiar resort in Kailua Kona that we've stayed at before.., all in all prob for the best.
My razor light fixtures arrived as promised and I got them up and running on " manual" mode for now ., I've got both fixtures adjusted to 15% on the whites and 40% for the blues., to my eyes that looks to be about the saturation of light and color that the other two fixtures were at.., in a week or so I'll up the % a notch or two as the corals adjust to these newer fixtures ., I kept one if my stark fixtures to cover the mid section of the tank.
The razors are incredibly thin and light and are truly a beautifully crafted piece of machinery., after awhile I'll prob use one of the automatic settings that are programmed in to adjust the intensity of the lights etc when they start up and shut down but for now., it's good !
Yesterday was the day that I got up enough nerve to install a new canister on my bra extremely leaky Spartan Rodi unit...., I'm happy to say that the new canister perform perfectly (as it should ) and did not leak a drop unlike the previous ones.
I also decided to build a few shelves under one of the cabinet doors to make room and organize some of the aquarium supplies that just seem to multiply as time goes by.
I just finished my weekly pwc and tank wise I think I'll call it good and sit my butt down and pop the top off a adult beverage and relax a little



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