buy a generator if you do not have one!

[orthokardia]

this morning a received $550 of new corals. soooo sweet. pics soon!
this afternoon the power is out due to storms.
last month spent $300 on a generator. Got my money back already!

-bart

 

[pickupman66]

OOOOO!!! good job buddy.. thats a nice unit you got too. pretty slick that it runs on propane! ours has blinked here today, but not for more than a second. just long enough to kick off my halides.

 

[Lenny]

If you don't buy a generator at least buy some battery powered air pumps. They are real cheap about $8.00 and last forever! Saved my stuff when my generator stopped working!

 

[fishdoc11]

I've had good luck with air pumps like these as a stop gap:
VIA-DC-250 Premium Aquatics - VIA-DC-250 Aquarium Supplies
A couple of these can easily keep a 120 going for 6 to 8 hours (assuming temps aren't too cold or hot)
The ones I have are the silent air models if I'm not mistaken. I also bought a generator years ago after the power being out all night and will pull it out after a couple of hours. If you do get generator get a QUIET one if you can afford it. You will be happy you did. Mine is LOUD!....but I'm still glad I have it

 

[josh_tn]

Originally had this typed up last night but then my cable modem decided it didn't want to sync up while running on generator power.

Glad you have one Bart. Our power has been off over here for several hours now too. Got my generator running as well. Actually ran the HVAC and water heater together for a while with the tank lights turned off and not much else on in the house, just some overhead lights. I didn't really need it, just wanted to see if it would do it or not. It really pulled a load on it when the AC compressor kicked on but it leveled out in a few seconds. That's pretty much pushing all I can with it though. I tried turning on the actinics and skimmer and it was enough to cause some minor surging so I shut off the HVAC. Nice to know I could run it if I really had to though.

Lindsey, good to know yours is still on. I wondered if yours was out too. Duck River said they had a LOT of trees and power lines down in this area.

Not sure what time our power came back but it was on as of 6am so hopefully we're in the clear now.

 

[pickupman66]

Jeez Josh. you have some AWFUL power service out there. honestly, I cannot believe ours actually stayed on. we went to home depot so I could get the pvc to make a new stand for my skimmer chamber and when we came back I noticed the power had gone off again as one of the halides had not come back on. I havent truly tested my generator yet but I will try and do so tonight. right now I have to back feed it into the panel across two 20amp circuits, but 4th of july weekend, dad and I are putting 50amp on the outside wall by the driveway so I will be able to backfeed from there.

 

[H@rry]

I bought a generator two years ago and never really needed it. If I ever begrudged a penny I spent on it, I changed my mind when the tornadoes swept through north Alabama. We were without power for 4 days and 5 nights. I burnt about 25 gallons of gas but I didn't lose a thing. It is the best investment I've made for my tanks; above lights, skimmers, calcium reactors, etc.

If you don't already have one go get one. If you don't it might be a good idea to take some good pictures of your tanks now before the power goes out.

 

[Dowtish]

I have access to a 5000 watt honda, and it's in my garage now. It belongs to my work, but it's a family business, so it's kinda "mine". I was leaving town for 6 days, and the day before the power went out. I went in the crazy storm and unloaded it from my office/shop. It was inside an enclosed trailer that was backed in backwards. I was on a forklift in a torrential down pour for about 30 minutes. Got it loaded up, and called Jay(Smyrnareefer) at 9pm to come help unload it. He responded with "sure", and came right over. Good to be a paying club member of MTRC! I now have peace of mind, and that is invaluable when it comes to this hobby.

 

[Brad Syphus]

A helpful tip to those of you that do have a generator. It is important to start these up at least every other month to make sure it is running well and that the carburator doesn't get clogged up with old gas. Nothing worse than having a generator that wont start. I pull mine out and run it everyother month just to make sure . Too much depends on it.

 

[Dowtish]

here are some other options
Free Electricity with AC Power Inverters

 

[pickupman66]

YUP! good advice. I am Lucky to have NON ethanol gasoline available right by my house so that is better for it than the 10% ethanol crap. also, be sure you put some fuel stabilizer in the gasoline like Stabil or Seafoam (my preference), so the gasoline doesnt sour. I keep mine with a full tank, a 5 gallon can (used for mower gas), and I keep the boat full of gas (40 gallons) so I have enough to get us thru for a while.

 

[aquaman67]

Don't just run it, put a load on it too.

I use and old hair dryer, 1500 watts and plug it in while I let it run.

 

[H@rry]

put a load on it too.

What does that do for it? I just crank mine up and then shut the fuel valve off and let it die. I just want to get all the moving parts "moving".

 

[pickupman66]

Load testing it works out the generation circuits.

 

[Zef004]

We had some bad storms This years so far. And I'm glad I got a generator now Honda 2000i. It run my 180g and seahorse tank for 12-13 hrs with one tank of gas. 6hrs with tv, computer stuff, and heating an air unit.

 

[pickupman66]

load tested tonight for about 20 mins. ran a 1500w heater space heater, 3x250 watt halogens plus the main pump and even the chiller was cycled on. generator performed flawlessly on the two 20amp circuits. this lets me know the generator will work for the tank and most everything else we want to hook up.

one odd thing though. when I plugged in the outside systems, the skimmer overflowed. it was as if the pump had more power. Very odd.

 

[mrcoffee]

So what are the best generators to get? Which ones should be avoided what is the best bang for the buck? I have been thinking about this myself and i am planning on getting one once I get back to town. What should I look for?

 

[pickupman66]

Personally, I dont know a whole lot about them. I woudl advise making sure it has plenty of power for you. mine is a 5000 watt unit and will run my entire tank along with fridge and freezer and most of the electronics in the house.