Help with post hurricane survival

[mileysmustache]

Hi everyone

We went through Dorian yesterday, luckily only a category 2, but we’ve been without power for 24 hours and it’s beginning to effect the fish. My backup UPS failed about 4 hours in and I’ve been aerating by pouring water in the tank every hour since, including overnight. Tank is a 13.5 Fluval Evo with several corals and two clowns. The clowns are the ones struggling. They’re still active, but are breathing visibly and occasionally yawning/going to the surface for air. I do have a 6 gallon that is faring better and my mom’s house across town has power, so I’m trying to decide whether it would be safest for the clowns if I move the 6 gallon to her house and acclimate them into it, or try to wait out this outage. Right now, they’re saying another 12 hours minimum.

I’ve never moved a salt tank before and know it’s risky, but I also know it’s risky to try and go a second night without power because, while I’m doing everything I can, my clowns are beginning to deteriorate.

 

[Rogued_Reefer]

Hi! Do you have any way of getting a battery powered bubbler ASAP? I would suggest trying to get one of those to get oxygen In the tank quickly! How’s the temperature? #305reefclubsquad any other ideas?

 

[mileysmustache]

Thanks for such a quick reply! I tried buying multiple bubblers a week before the storm, but crappy timing because my one LFS happened to be moving that week and they were sold out on amazon :/ The city is shut down now, they’ve declared a state of emergency and are sending in military to help with the cleanup. temperature is fine, even my corals are fully open. It’s just the fish.

Logistics aside, I’m so frustrated with my UPS. I felt so prepared, did a test run, everything. It just crapped out and I don’t know why and don’t have reception to call their tech support so I’m stuck.

 

[Rogued_Reefer]

Thanks for such a quick reply! I tried buying multiple bubblers a week before the storm, but crappy timing because my one LFS happened to be moving that week and they were sold out on amazon :/ The city is shut down now, they’ve declared a state of emergency and are sending in military to help with the cleanup. temperature is fine, even my corals are fully open. It’s just the fish.

Logistics aside, I’m so frustrated with my UPS. I felt so prepared, did a test run, everything. It just crapped out and I don’t know why and don’t have reception to call their tech support so I’m stuck.

I know the feeling and it sucks! I’m in Florida and we prepared hardcore for it. In everything redundancy is key 2 is 1 and 1 is none! Keep that in mind. Do you have any fishing store nearby? You might be able to pick up a bait bubbler there! State of emergency up to what level? Because here they only issue curfews and you can be out and about during a time window.

If nothing is available to you right now I would either ramp up the surface agitation and windows open every 15-30 minutes or straight up grab the fish and take it to your mom’s place! How long is the trip?

 

[Mikedawg]

I would also test water parameters and you might consider doing a water change if ammonia/nitrate is increasing significantly. Would be easy to keep clowns in a bucket with aeration (take pump out of your Fluval) at your mother's house without having to set up six gallon. Good luck.

 

[mileysmustache]

I know the feeling and it sucks! I’m in Florida and we prepared hardcore for it. In everything redundancy is key 2 is 1 and 1 is none! Keep that in mind. Do you have any fishing store nearby? You might be able to pick up a bait bubbler there! State of emergency up to what level? Because here they only issue curfews and you can be out and about during a time window.

If nothing is available to you right now I would either ramp up the surface agitation and windows open every 15-30 minutes or straight up grab the fish and take it to your mom’s place! How long is the trip?

Everything is closed. There are live wires on lots of streets. I was at her house today so I know the road to there is safe though. Her street is one of the only places in the entire province with power, the lineup for Tim Hortons was so big there this morning, it made national news she’s only about five minutes from me, so I’m thinking it might be the safest bet?

 

[MrWheelock]

You could also run a small power inverter off a car battery if you have an inverter. Also saw a thread on here where people have taken apart thier battery backups and hooked them up to larger batteries such as those for cars or electric start lawn mowers.

 

[W1ngz]

Does your car have an AC plug in it? With an extension cord you may be able to use that to get minimal power to things for a few hours at a time without killing the car battery.

I’m so frustrated with my UPS. I felt so prepared, did a test run, everything. It just crapped out and I don’t know why and don’t have reception to call their tech support so I’m stuck.

Depending on the size and what you're running, 4 hours actually isn't so bad from a UPS. They're not designed to run pumps, and that kind of load is pretty hard on them.

 

[mileysmustache]

I would also test water parameters and you might consider doing a water change if ammonia/nitrate is increasing significantly. Would be easy to keep clowns in a bucket with aeration at your mother's house without having to set up six gallon. Good luck.

About to run tests now actually! Both t

Does your car have an AC plug in it? With an extension cord you may be able to use that to get minimal power to things for a few hours at a time without killing the car battery.

I am on the tenth floor of my apartment building, so I would need a very long extension cord haha. We’re pretty stuck. I’m in a small town with VERY limited access to fish supplies, everything is shut down, and this tank is my child so it’s been a stressful time to say the least!

 

[MrWheelock]

You could also run a small power inverter off a car battery if you have an inverter. Also saw a thread on here where people have taken apart thier battery backups and hooked them up to larger batteries such as those for cars or electric start lawn mowers.

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[Mikedawg]

Some reefers use Amquel to neutralize ammonia btw if that becomes a problem. I would move clowns under the better safe than sorry theory since you can't predict when power will be restored and you might want to get some sleep!

 

[tgrick]

The UPS running for 4 hours is about average. It needs to convert DC to AC and that takes power away from the total life. Moving a small tank is easy. You can use 5 gallon Home Depot buckets. You can use any plastic container you have available. Do you have any automotive places close to you? You can purchase a power inverter that will take the auto 12v and convert to 120. It will at least give you relief for a while.

 

[W1ngz]

Given all the details I can see, just putting the clowns in a bucket and moving them somewhere with electricity so you can plug in an air pump for a day or two might be your best bet.

 

[rmoore311]

No gas powered generator? Given the circumstances, you can tell your apartment complex to f-off because of the noise but I know they can be tough to get your hands on in an emergency like this. Sounds like a quick move would be best bet, or see if an lfs has power and could take them in. Best of luck!!!!

 

[kpctoy]

Good luck Man!

 

[VB313]

I wish I could help more but prayers and best wishes

 

[CindyKz]

I have never experienced a hurricane with a tank. If it were me I would probably risk moving it.of l

Whatever you decide best of luck to you!

 

[mileysmustache]

Hi everybody!

So sorry for the radio silence, shortly after I posted this, all cell towers and internet crashed, so I had no way of getting ahold of anyone, never mind the internet. Below is the story of what happened, it’s crazy!

Some quick context, I live on the tenth floor of an apartment building. It is illegal for us to operate generators at the level in my area, additionally, the exhaust wouldn’t have killed by parrots. Not an option. I did everything possible to prepare, including multiple batteries, air pumps, three bags of salt on standby, pre-made water, a brand new test kit, UPS, prime, etc. I did not feed the fish on the day of the storm to protect parameters as much as possible and also did 50% water changes on both tanks the morning of.

After posting this, I decided to tear down my 13 gallon Evo and move to mom’s. We got the entire thing torn down, being careful to save the water and disturb the sand bed as little as possible. We were already to take it down, when the generator powering the elevator crapped out (it had been 48 hours at this point). I was forced to leave the tank and water behind and carry my fish, corals, and Liverock down twenty flights of emergency stairs. It was not fun. The fish are setup at mom’s with a HOB and their light. Corals have been fully open and I have been testing the water daily and have not detected a cycle.

After I got home from setting up, my 6 gallon Fluval Edge began to crash as well. I did a 50 percent water change and ran the air stone, but the firefish that lives there was barely moving. He swam deep into some rock and I feared the worst. Luckily, I was able to get reception long enough to check in on Facebook and saw another local reefer had a 400 gallon and electricity and was offering to house fish for those of us in the storm path. I hit him up, plucked the entire piece of rock from my tank with the firefish in it, and drove an hour out to this dude’s house. He rigged up some drilled Tupperware and rock in his tank to house my firefish (and so we could get him out again lol). We wiggled him out of my own rock and he was unresponsive, but we waved him gently in the water and got some water and oxygen flowing over his gills and the bugger came back! He, my clowns, and all my corals are alive and thriving in their respective refugee camps while I cycle both my tanks.

The power came back on yesterday, after nearly four days. The whole thing was a hot mess and my biggest takeaway was that, as humans and reefers, we can only prepare for so much. We like to think we are invincible with technology, but we are very much not. I’m so proud and so, so grateful to have somehow made it through this weekend without one loss. Even my anemone is alive and it spent two days in a Tim hortons cup. It was a crazy ride and I’m so looking forward to getting everyone home, but I’m taking advantage of this unplanned fresh start to rescape my tank, a few DIY filter upgrades, and maybe even a new light.

 

[W1ngz]

Even my anemone is alive and it spent two days in a Tim hortons cup.

This is frackin hilarious. Glad everyone made it through, with a little Canadian help

 

[mileysmustache]

This is frackin hilarious. Glad everyone made it through, with a little Canadian help

Yeahhhhhh it was looking like death so I pulled it, it’s been struggling since the start of my summer when my previous clownfish ripped off all its arms. It’s still alive, but we’ll see haha. If I lose it, I can’t even blame the hurricane. It’s been on death’s door for months, but both of us refuse to quit.