Power outage here in CA. Police ask me to turn off my generator!

TheOne

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If you can wrap a blanket over the tank it will help with the temp.
 

CMO

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Noise ordnances are on the list of hot-button R2R topics. Good to know!


I change my vote, after finding out he is in a condo. You have a HOA that probably gives you detailed instructions on how to live your life..... so you’re stuck


And if I lived in a condo, and my neighbor ran a generator all night, the well being of his fish would be the least of my concerns.

Medical equipment? Ok. I guess I can be inconvenienced for a night....... Fish? Nope

Tank equipment is the life support system for the animals we keep. So for people keeping fish in cold climates that require high wattage heaters that can't be run off a battery backup you just would force them all to freeze to death? I'd have to imagine animal cruelty laws supersede HOA noise restrictions.

These responses are saddening.
 

TheOne

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Lol, thanks for helping.

I would look into getting a bigger battery also. I bought the smallest deep cycle battery I could find at Academy Sports. It should run an mp40 for at least 24 hours.
 

TheOne

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Tank equipment is the life support system for the animals we keep. So for people keeping fish in cold climates that require high wattage heaters that can't be run off a battery backup you just would force them all to freeze to death? I'd have to imagine animal cruelty laws supersede HOA noise restrictions.

These responses are saddening.

So what about your neighbors? Do you have no care in what they think? I ride a Harley but I don't set outside and fire it up at night. I also talk to my neighbors so I would at least try to explain the situation to them before 10pm at night. What if they have an infant? So you have no care for an infant either? C'mon be realistic about all of this.
 
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CMO

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So what about your neighbors? Do you have no care in what they think? I ride a Harley but I don't set outside and fire it up at night. I also talk to my neighbors so I would at least try to explain the situation to them before 10pm at night. What if they have an infant? So you have no care for an infant either? C'mon be realistic about all of this.

You have got to be kidding me. The people and yes the baby will be just fine where as the fish may not. Heck, how about some ear plugs? Would I kill all of my animals (fish) so my neighbors and baby can have their beauty sleep. Absolutely not. If they had a problem with this would I care what they think? Absolutely not. If the Police came for a noise compliant I would nicely explain to them that the generator is powering life support equipment to which they would not have an issue (and if they did they'd have a lawsuit). The fact that you act like this isn't even a question is very sad. You are comparing riding a Harley to running life support equipment for living animals in an emergency. Wow.
 
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TheOne

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Look, I was just trying to help the OP as I went thru a power outage yesterday. I ran my MP40 on a backup battery for almost 9 hours with no problems. My 160 gallon tank is pretty heavily stocked with around a dozen fish including several Tangs and probably 25 corals, mostly acropora and everything was fine.

So what is your answer then? Turn the generator back on? The oxygen level is going to be the main concern. The temp will slowly drop but shouldn't be the main concern right now. I would look into buying a quieter generator and also building a soundproof box as it looks like your situation isn't going to get any better anytime soon with PG&E.
 
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Viking_Reefing

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I guess I can turn it back on in the morning again. Right now my only fear is the livestock in the tank. The tank is loaded with sps colonies. If anyone live in the area and willing to help. Please let me know. Much thanks!
Tell them to shove it. You didn’t create the situation and you should be able to respond as needed.
 
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Leicobra

Leicobra

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Tell them to shove it. You didn’t create the situation and you should be able to respond as needed.
Guys I appreciate it all your help and comments. The reason why I share this experience on the site is to help others who are in the same situation as mine. I am well aware of my neighbors's needs as well. No need to argue over right and wrong. The sad truth is that as a hobbiest, this is what all of us need to go through sometimes in reefing. As for now the tank is running on backup battery.please feel free to let me know if anyone is kinda enough to house some of my corals. All and all I am grateful to have all of you around when I am going through a tough time like this. Thanks also to reef2 reef for putting together a great website!
 

jason

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I live in Coffey Park northern ca where 3/4 of my neighborhood burnt down 2 years ago and we just evacuated due to the new fire. People make it seem like all generators have a low DB and think they can run it all night. At the same time I’d love to see those 3k generators run for 3-5 days straight. Well I had a buddy loose his reef tank with a 4K Honda generator that he ran during the day (9pm he shut it off due to noise compliance ). Then he ran a deep cycle with an inverter which died in short time due to running minimum 2x250 watt heaters, 1 gyre and led lights only ran for 5 hours. This was a dominant sps tank. After 3 days with a temp fluctuations the tank went south by day 5 90% was done. I’ve been doing a lot of research and I can’t see anyone keeping a 200+ gallon reef tank alive for 3 plus days besides having a legit home generator like a generac 10,000 watt generator etc.... going forward and knowing what PG&E will be doing with these common electrical shut offs. I’m staying within a 50 gallon tank where a 250 watt heater and 1 power head can be powered by a deep cycle at night, then I can run my Westinghouse generator during the day. I did dabble into running a sound box over the generator which also decreased the DB a lot! Good luck everyone again this is just my thoughts and what I experienced with my tank and a buddies.
 

Hitch08

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Wow. This is rough. Hope that your tank stays warm enough till morning. I'd certainly turn the generator back on come morning. Don't know that I'd wait until 9:00 am, especially if the temps are getting real low.

My best to you.
 

EMeyer

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Reading this makes me doubly glad to have left CA and urban living.

It's hard to wrap my head around calling the cops on your neighbor for running a generator. Who does that?

Hope all of your power is restored soon and your terrible neighbor moves far away!
 

tripdad

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For heating the water in an emergency, place hot water in a sealed container and place it in the tank. If no stove,grill available then place hand warmers, the chemical kind, inside a vented container suspended in the top layer of water. This will keep your temp up. Best of luck in a tough situation.
 

Thales

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also now that you know your neighbors arent understanding in this situation. a non fuel generator might be the way to go for the current living situation. Ive looked at them. at 9am... run the generator.... charge the batteries and run what your doing now after 9pm...

as soon as the clock hits 9am. id fire it up.

i think they are allowed to leaf blow starting at 8 am. So fire it up then.
 

Breadman03

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There was a recent animal cruelty charge for someone who abandoned a fish tank when they moved out. It sounds like they would be forcing you to commit a crime that may be considered a felony. I'd look at hybridizing your system. Use some sort of battery backup to keep a powerhead running and run the generator periodically to charge the battery and let the whole system run for a bit.
 

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