• Why not take a moment to introduce yourself to our members?

t gallo

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
ok the power went out, silver spring md , a suburb of washington dc.

turned on the generator and lets see what happends tonite, so far the tank is fine, all pumps running, and im able to run the computer and other good stuff due to my generator.
 

ReefMon

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Ours has been flickering, and was out for 2-3 minutes, but were just getting started.

Looks like a long night for all the mid-atlantic area reefers....

Good luck to everyone in Isabel's path!
Glenn R
 

Mogo

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
During the Blackout this summer, my power was off for 18 hours straight and a total of 22 hours out of 24. Just me and my wooden spoon for circulation every so often. My temp dropped from 80 to 73. A wild pH fluctuation when power came back on. No damage to anything in my tank. None. 8O Same with my lfs. Makes me think that a well established tank can withstand alot of stress. Hope everyone makes out ok through Isabel.
 

ElMonoCalvo

Experienced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
We lost power last night around 9 PM and I immediately removed the cover/lights and hoped for the best. I have a 30 gal reef tank and was caught totally unprepared for an extended black out. The power came back on a little while ago, almost 18 hours without, and I got everything back up and running. All the inhabitants seem to be doing ok :D , the only point of concern is that a couple of my snails have crawled out of the water to the lip of the tank :? . In hindsight, I went out and picked up a couple battery powered aerators with spare batteries for next time.
 

t gallo

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
well my tank made it just fine, the power finally came on tuesday morning, 5 days .

now i know how long one tank of gas/ 5 gallons will last me, 8 hours. the tanks is fine and the corals and fish are all well.

if it wasen't for my generator i would of lost everything and i would recomend to anyone reading this to get one.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Awesome!!!! 5 days without power is a real accomplishment. Nice job!
 

Mogo

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
8O 5 days! And here I was sweating out a power failure of less than 24 hours. Glad you made it through.
 

cdeakle

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Tony,

I'm interested in buying a generator for power outages and such. How much did you pay for yours and what did yah get?

-puff
 

t gallo

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
well there's a couple of things you should consider before buying a generator.

1) how much power/running amps do i need. always choose more then you think you will need.

2) portability, will it be easy to manuver into place when the time comes, opt for ones with big wheels so you can wheel into place without popping a nut.

3) what size gas tank comes with it, the bigger the tank, the more sleep you will get. you dont want a generator that needs to be filled every 4 hours.

4) this is very important, HOW LOUD IS THIS DAMN THING. most of us live in stone throwing distance from our neighbors and wouldent like if they threw stones at us when we went out to fill the gas tank at nite. do your research on this, get the quietest one you can. keep in mind that quiet costs money, in other words louder is cheaper .

5) what color does it come in, just kidding :lol:

in my case, i opted for brute power. it's made by generac with a briggs and stratton motor, it sounds like a lawnmower on crack. purchased from home depot and rated for 5500 watts and surge's to 8500 watts if need be. cost, about 700.00 .

it works for me, i dont have any neighbors behind my home so noise wasen't an issue. it has a 5 gallon tank wich will last me about 7 to 8 hours of run time.

it powers my two iwaki 100's, one iwaki 70, one sequence pump 1/3 hp,one 1/2 hp chiller, 3 400 watt radiums, my family room, tv ,my fridge.and the computer room.

hope this helps in picking the rite one for you.
 

ReefMon

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Maybe a way to get around the neighbour/noise issue would be to offer them a spare outlet

Exactly what I did, plus offered freezer space to a few and had a gaggle of kids over to watch DVD's.

We were lucky, only lost ours for 24 hours, there are still people in the DC area with out and the Tidewater/Va Beach area has at least a week more before they are fully restored.
 

LA-Lawman

Advanced Reefer
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
i had a power failure here in cali a few months ago. i dont have a generator. but my tank is a 90g with a decent surface area. i took off the lids and was fine for 2 days. so i think i am good for at max that long. i didnt stir the water or anything. when the power came on i did have some film starting to form on the surface..... just in time i guess. I am looking at the honda generators. they have the eco-throttle feature that only revs the generator to meet power demands. they are really really quiet too.
 

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top