Redundancy - How are you minimizing risk in your reef?

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

What are some ways that you guys use redundancy to minimize risks in your reef? What are some of the ways you've found to avoid or at least minimize disaster from equipment failure, etc.?

 

[brandon429]

Great thread

My small reefs are either sealed for no evaporation in between tank services or partially sealed so that they will run around five days without a topoff. To me the ato doing a full dump or no dump at all while on vacation was the ongoing risk so we just stopped daily topoff altogether to get around it by making evaporation do as we please not the other way around.

 

[Kungpaoshizi]

Eliminating things outside of the main tank.(no sump to leak, no return pump to fail, no overflow to plug, etc) 2 heaters that are small enough if stuck on won't cook the tank but will prevent a rapid fall of temp if only a single one works. 2 powerheads in case one fails. No biological filtration other than sand/rock. Rope leak sensor vs single position sensors. Small enough ATO container so it doesn't matter if the whole thing gets dumped in. Educating the significant other so she can act accordingly in my absence.. :)

 

[dbl]

Two electrical outlets, each on a different breaker, with vital equipment split between the two. So the main pump is on a different breaker than the flow pump. My lights are split between the two breakers as well. Idea is if one breaker trips, at least you will hopefully still have some life support still on the tank.

 

[melypr1985]

Two electrical outlets, each on a different breaker, with vital equipment split between the two. So the main pump is on a different breaker than the flow pump. My lights are split between the two breakers as well. Idea is if one breaker trips, at least you will hopefully still have some life support still on the tank.

I would think if your going to do it this way (splitting equipment between two diff breakers) it would only matter to have the powerheads split. I only mention it because lets say you have your return pump on breaker A and your skimmer on breaker B. If A trips then it doesn't really matter if your skimmer is still going, not to mention it will just bubble over back into the sump. Same goes for the heater. If the return pump gets shut off some how it doesn't matter that any of the equipment down in the sump are still working because the sump is effectively cut off from the display. So lets say you have your return pump on a really good battery back up so it DOESNT shut off when the breaker trips..... Then it's a great idea to split the equipment up so that you still have some kind of life support still on the tank.

It's early and I'm still tired. I may be way off base here. If I am.... Sorry :)

 

[brandon429]

http://www.petsmart.com/gsi/webstor...ugnE9zc_XkmCtZQjUxUHD6FJMj-qWG?SKU=36-5174805

there is a better model that stays plugged in and off, awaiting power outage to come on but same design. this has literally worked to save my reef in a power outage, two D cells ran about 30 hours and had time left in a test. my use was a few hours outage. it seemed to be running as well at the end of the test use as it did initially, radioshack batteries.

 

[dbl]

I would think if your going to do it this way (splitting equipment between two diff breakers) it would only matter to have the powerheads split. I only mention it because lets say you have your return pump on breaker A and your skimmer on breaker B. If A trips then it doesn't really matter if your skimmer is still going, not to mention it will just bubble over back into the sump. Same goes for the heater. If the return pump gets shut off some how it doesn't matter that any of the equipment down in the sump are still working because the sump is effectively cut off from the display. So lets say you have your return pump on a really good battery back up so it DOESNT shut off when the breaker trips..... Then it's a great idea to split the equipment up so that you still have some kind of life support still on the tank.

It's early and I'm still tired. I may be way off base here. If I am.... Sorry :)

I don't think you're off base at all, regardless of the time of day, and you bring up valid points. In my particular case, I have the return and skimmer on the same breaker, so if I loose main flow, I loose skimmer so it doesn't go nuts. On the other breaker I have my CL pump, and recently a Gyre. So in either case, I will get flow inside the display and in both situations, I have at least one outlet to break the water surface. I'm not concerned with the heater being in SW Florida because I actually fight the heat - all year round! And I have 4 LED's, so there are two on one breaker and two on the other.

For clarification, I mentioned this simply from a "redundancy" standpoint. If total power loss, that's a different animal and a topic for another thread.

 

[steve&mari]

I use controller for 2 heaters different outlets so if one fails the other still works. Outlets control temp settings so not relying on the heaters thermostat to run them. Run all dc pumps so less power used and ability for battery backups use. Also have generator for any prolonged power outages. Sumps able to handle the backflow if return pump stopped. Have multiple float switches for sump and ato settings so that's protected multiple times love our tunze ato lol. Only have the gyre, return pump and skimmer pump as only pumps so less power and heat into system with backups on hand. Have a backup light if needed. Return pump feeds all reactors so only one pump to fail. Extra tank and ro/di n sw on hand if ever need it for major leaks. Temperature is monitored by the controller and another digital thermometer n a glass thermometer so 2 places it's checked in sump and 1 in display. We also have 4 of the battery air pumps if needed.

 

[AlexG]

For my new system I have installed 2 20 amp circuits that will split the equipment of the system so if there is a breaker trip not all power will be lost. I am also planning to install a generator and transfer switch for backup power.

 

[dbl]

...I am also planning to install a generator and transfer switch for backup power.

That's the my next step...I have the generator but am missing the transfer switch, which means I need an electrician!

 

[dbl]

...Extra tank and ro/di on hand if ever need it for major leaks.

Totally agree, having both RODI and saltwater mixed is important, since Mr. Murphy can rear his ugly head when we least expect it. I typically always have 55g or RODI on hand, and mix 55g of salt at a time. When I use about half of that, I make more. Great point Steve and/or Mari.

 

[steve&mari]

We keep 40 gallons of ro/di and 30 gallons sw ready for our 40b setup so should cover any major water needs in a emergency. Got a extra 30g tank and Rubbermaid totes if needed fast for corals and fish. Plus as we all have a collection of odds n ends from years of keeping fish n reefs. The mix of miscellaneous old powerheads, heaters and skimmers ect lol.

 

[kacrocorals581]

I have two 12v Trojan agm deep cycle batteries wired in series that well automatically take over if the power goes out. They well run all the important parts of my DT for about a week at full power.

 

[Lenny_S]

Up until now I've always kept my aquariums in the basement. So little spills and issues weren't a big deal and cleanup was straight forward. But I never liked having my living work of art "hidden away" in a place the rest of my family and friends don't spend much time. My newest build is a 160 gal reef tank, and I'm putting it on the main floor of my house which is hardwood. So now there is little to no margin for error.
So I've done a number of things to keep it safe and non destructive.
Starting with the floor itself... It is a pretty new home with 12" engineered floor joists on 16" centers. I put the tank on an outside wall perpendicular to the joists but in the finished basement I incorporated a load bearing wall beneath the tank where the front edge of the tank would be.
Next I built the stand with a 4" deep tray incorporated in the bottom. This way if there is any leak it will be held in the tray unless its major.
I also got an apex system with the advanced leak detection module and sensors. One sensor is in the tray and I can get an alert and shut certain things down automatically.
Next was the sump, I used a 60 gallon tank for that but my normal volume is only 40 gallons. This gives me 20 gallons extra space and I made sure my back siphon in the event of a power outage or pump failure won't over fill it.
I added float switches at my max desired water levels in any container I have (ATO, skimmer skimate holder, sump, etc). Again connected to the controller.
I have a small ups for the controller and network so I can get an alert if there is a power outage.
And finally like others have posted, I have a fair bit of redundancy wit 2 of a lot of things.
I really like this thread and will follow it because I'd be interested in any ideas from other reefers on this topic.

 

[maroun.c]

- 4 main lines to the tank independent from home electrical.
Two of those are powered by regular electricity and a back up generator, one has a UPS backup which I still have to install and one without backup. Equipment is divided on those to cover whatever scenario I could imagine.
- 2 return pumps one on standby fully connected so only has to be turned on if the one running fails.
-DIY vortech battery backup that will last up to 3-4 days
-80 G fresh saltwater ready at anytime and 40 G freshwater that can be salted and used. 200 GPD RODI in case I need more water.
- carbon reactor filled and ready to be hooked in case of emergency.
-will be adding video monitoring cameras.
- spare skimmer on standby

 

[jpfaubel123]

7 things
1. Generator, any size. Bigger the better
2. Extra powerheads, heaters, return pumps handy, always.
3. Always have enough extra water made, to do a sufficient size emergency water change if needed.
4. Separate circuit outlets. One for return pumps, one for powerheads, in case one trips while your not home or at work, there is still circulation.
5. Leak detector
6. Holding bins for fish/ coral /water, in the emergency case of something contaminates your tank.
7. Check and re check

 

[Reefer82]

I have extra powerheads, secondary tunze return pump that's a 60 second swap, extra skimmer, UPS for the Apex and a single small powerhead, 2 smaller heaters, a tunze ato with a small enough reservoir it won't end all life if it dumps and large enough that I get by for about a week before a pump runs dry, the sump has capacity to handle a full spill of the ato as well as water from the tank if it loses power,

The tank is on its own (more or less) own circuit, it only shares with a ceiling fan/light. I have a small portable generator that's capable of running the entire tank with a few watts to spare for my other tanks as well. Plan to go much larger with a 10kw model and a manual transfer switch this spring. I have enough fuel on hand for about 24hrs with plans to go for 48hrs on the larger unit as it'll be propane powered with 2 100g tanks on standby.

I have enough carbon to handle about a 10x the water volume of my tank, same for gfo, phosban, etc.

225g of salt mix still sealed and I try to keep about 50% of my tanks volume of water on hand. It'd be enough to fill 2 brutes with the rock and/or livestock if the need arose to abandon ship so to speak.

The one thing I don't have? Battery powered air pump. For some reason it keeps getting forgotten while at premium or online.

The best of all is we have the very supportive local club of INDMAS with dozens of members willing to help if needed.

 

[Squishie89]

-QT for corals and inverts. This way I deal with any pests ahead of time and can watch for any pests that may be hiding or too small to see when first purchased. This has turned out to be a HUGE help. Since getting corals in the CQT I have encountered; hydroids, aiptasia, vermetid snails, asterina stars.
-Back ups of major equipment: heaters, return pumps, water movers, I even have some crappy lights for just in case
-RODI water in buckets. I really need to upgrade this to better buckets, but at least I have it.
-New display is going to have an Apex with a bunch of goodies, also a herbie overflow
-A local forum with people I trust to help if a problem were to arise.