Emergency Preparedness

[Magicmarymac]

Because of the recent natural disasters I have been thinking about emergency preparedness for my tanks. I thought I was covered back in the day by having an air pump that ran off D batteries, but that was when I had only one 12 gallon tank. Lol

That gadget is still great for transport, but now I have four tanks a 46, 36, 10, and an Evolve 4--and they are all on the second floor. We have a generator downstairs, but I doubt it would cover the freezer, refrigerators, etc. --and the tanks.

What do you folks do for emergency backup plans?

 

[Alyxx]

I always keep extra prime around just in case something happens and I have to do frequent water changes in case of power outage. The battery air pumps are something I would like to pick up, I just haven't gotten around to it. Now that hurricane season is close I should get onto that! Where I live there are lots of trees so the power goes out fairly often during normal storms but hurricanes are practically a guarantee for a few powerless days. Last summer we were out of power for a week following hurricane Issac - longer than anyone else we knew- because a tree took down our meter pole at the very beginning of the storm. We became last priority for the power company because this was a fix to an individual residence instead of a fix that would bring power back to a whole area of the grid.

 

[Oscar98]

For saltwater i would get a ro/di machine and have 50+ gallons of water ready or more depending on your sizer tank in 1 or more 55g drums. Them mini gas powered generator for the filters. Prime, stress coat, etc..

 

[MMantelli]

Solar powered outlets with battery backups.

 

[Magicmarymac]

Solar powered outlets with battery backups.

Something to research, for sure!

 

[MMantelli]

In my state if you use natural energy like windmill or solar the city will actually pay you for the excess power too.

 

[Drummer254]

Things to remember if u don't have a generator. Watch your water temp. Most important during a winter outage but could be of issue in the summer as well. If your stove is gas powered (like mine) putting heating water and putting it in a water bottle and floating it in your tank can help Stabalize temperature.

Keep BB alive. BB needs a food source to keep it alive. If your filter is not running take the bio balls or whatever media you have and float it in the tank.

Also unplug your filters. If the power comes back on and you are not around to prime the pump you can burn your motor having it run dry.

And lastly if you don't have a battery airstone make sure to stir the water as often as possible to help aerate it.

Hope these tips help.