Well... it's been a rough ride.
We lost power yesterday around 8 PM after a bad thunderstorm. FirstEnergy's outage map showed most of the region out, so I knew this wasn't going to be a quick fix.
I had an EcoTech MP60 on battery backup, but a few months ago I bought a 9,500-watt Generac generator for emergencies. The problem? I never even opened the box and it was sitting on my workbench. weighing 225lb i had to make a plan to remove it.
So there I was in the dark with no generator experience, about two gallons of gas, and one 100-foot extension cord. I figured we'd make it through the night on battery backup and deal with the rest in the morning.
My wife, son, and I slept in the living room, then I sent them to my mother-in-law's house while I stayed behind. I found gas, got the generator off the workbench with a ramp, added oil and fuel, and started it up.
It fired on the first try.
Then the panic started.
Every time I plugged in my return pump, the breaker tripped. My kleins butterflyfish and yellow tang were struggling, my Achilles tang was stressed, and my orange shoulder tang had turned nearly white. It was gut-wrenching and I realize I was procrastinating because all looks fine for 9 hours. but then the ecotech battery back up reduced power and it was a rap!
My neighbor and I tried everything until we finally used the 30-amp adapter that came with the generator. That solved it but wasted almost 45 minutes.. I desperately tried to stir the water on my own but it didnt really help.
I learned that some DC equipment doesn't always play nicely with portable generators, and the proper adapter made all the difference.
Soon the fish looked much better. I went to mother in laws house and Later that evening I realized its going to thunderstorm so I rushed home so I can cover the generator some how.
The tank had climbed to about 79°F, which wasn't terrible. I had already put a fan over it, added fresh Chemi-Pure/carbon, and kept feeding light to avoid extra ammonia.
Then the rain started before I could do anything.
For over an hour I stood outside holding an umbrella over the generator and extension cord connections while lightning flashed around me. Not my smartest move, but I wasn't risking water getting into the electrical setup.
Eventually I rigged a shelter with a broken patio umbrella and some 2x4s. It's ugly, but getting all the cords and generator drenched I worried it would stop working in the middle of the night.
Right now I'm running the return pump and MP60s, closed loop, skimmer with the powerheads aimed near the surface for gas exchange. The fish are improving, and power is projected to come on in 24 hours, which feels like an eternity.
This experience taught me a few important lessons:
This hobby can be rewarding, but situations like this make it incredibly stressful. I am thankful I got the generator because If I didn't have it everything would be dead.
I hope everyone else effected by the storms is okay. I'll keep updating
Thankfully the backup carried us through.
