LFS San Antonio loses everything.

[Jeffcb]

I have been reading horror stories on FB about people losing their Reef tanks. We have had 3 days over record low temperatures in Texas. Low of 9 degrees and six inches of snow. Yes six inches of show shuts San Antonio down lol. Power outages for hours and even days. I read one FB stories were the guy had a generator on his tank but it couldn't keep up because the house fell below 32. Said he lost everything.

I just spoke to the owner of one of the larger LFS in San Antonio and he said anything living has died. Frag tanks . coral tanks , marine fish, fresh water fish, Huge African Cichlid breeder tank..... all lost. I wanted the Gem Tang.:( Power was out for 2 days. It is very sad. :(

I have been fortunate and have only lost power for 12-13 hours at a time. My Reef tank did drop to 66 but power is on and all looks well. There are a lot of fish tanks goin down in Texas right now. Stay Safe, Stay Warm!

 

[Zach B]

That's horrible, hoping everybody recovers. We recently had -18° with windchill past -30°. Stay warm all

 

[Jimbo662]

One of the LFSs in Austin says they've not been able to get to the store for two days and are assuming complete loss too. So sad!

 

[landshark777]

Thanks to electric company with its random power cuts my reef tank died with everything in it.On my third day with no power in Corpus Christi Texas.Ran a battery powered bubbler for two days to keep circulation going but my house dropped to 40 degrees.Lost my awesome Sailfin Tang.Picasso Triggerfish.Lawnmower Blenny-Gladiator Clownfish...all my snails and crabs.All my macro algae.Does anyone know if I have to recycle my tank? Or can I just take out all my little buddies and do a 50 % water change.Did all my bacteria die at 40 degrees? Down and Out in Texas :(

 

[CMMorgan]

I saw that happen when hurricane Irma came through Florida. I was fortunate that my power stayed on but the news predicted "the storm of the century" and millions of people evacuated the state. Several clients of mine had reef tanks and came home to tanks full of foul smelling death.
Since then, I make sure we have a generator, gas, air bubblers - battery operated and extra batteries. We are lucky that we don't see extended cold - or snow - in this area but power outages are real ... and cruel.
God bless everyone trying to get by right now.

 

[brandon429]

.

 

[alysak6075]

Thanks to electric company with its random power cuts my reef tank died with everything in it.On my third day with no power in Corpus Christi Texas.Ran a battery powered bubbler for two days to keep circulation going but my house dropped to 40 degrees.Lost my awesome Sailfin Tang.Picasso Triggerfish.Lawnmower Blenny-Gladiator Clownfish...all my snails and crabs.All my macro algae.Does anyone know if I have to recycle my tank? Or can I just take out all my little buddies and do a 50 % water change.Did all my bacteria die at 40 degrees? Down and Out in Texas :(

You might need to run it for a week with the way it is and test for ammonia, if no ammonia then you dont need to recycle. If you do get ammonia, just give it a week or 2 and it should be fine.

 

[LJLKRL05]

I am in Louisiana and lost power for 12 hours. Ran my generator for about 5 hours to get the temp back up in the tank and have circulation for a while. Used a battery powered air pump too. No losses thank goodness.

I hate to say this, but I expect the PETA type folks to use this as another reason to push against the aquarium trade.

 

[landshark777]

You might need to run it for a week with the way it is and test for ammonia, if no ammonia then you dont need to recycle. If you do get ammonia, just give it a week or 2 and it should be fine.

Thanks a million!! Will do :)

 

[blasterman]

Living in a Northern state I've learned to keep a gas vs electric stove for thus such a reason. I simply do not trust heat over copper wire. Even if my power goes out I just pop the oven and keep the place warm. Even large tanks can be kept healthy for days with a 10-15watt power head aimed at the surface on a battery backup as long as they stay above 70F.

I forget that utility infrastructure tends to differ in other regions. Here's to hoping those stores get back on their feet.

 

[landshark777]

Thanks a million!! Will do :)

Just scooped out all the dead bodies in my tank,,,,,,cannot believe my 3 Zoas survived in 40 degree water temp for 3days!!! Everything else is dead.....except 1 Macro Caulerpa Algae too. Did a quick water change. Thanks again for the tip,,,,

 

[Viva'sReef]

I know there's not a lot of encouraging words, just hoping everybody is warm and safe. Really sorry about all the tank losses

 

[zukihara]

This is a horrible situation with many people dying I feel horrible for everyone going through this.

 

[Blumy]

Anyone know if Fraghouse Corals was affected? I really like them as a vendor.

 

[Even Further]

We lost power for 3 days, and had 1 shot of power for 6 hours Tuesday morning. I was able to keep our tank at 65 to 70 by heating tank water in a pot. Glad we have a natural gas stove. Everything survived.

 

[Blue Ring Octopus]

I am sorry for everyone's losses, heartbreaking what happened, it seems the only protection is a huge Propane tank, generator and wall heaters, probably get most for cheap, on the used market.