Training For Hurricane Season

Biologic

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Hey Guys,

I want to see if anyone is using a similar strategy. Heat is a killer for reef tanks during a hurricane. Last year for Hurricane Ida I personally had to tank down my tank, because I couldn't handle the heat for that long. Running a huge generator was really expensive. Not sure if anyone else has had thoughts on this. I am training my corals to deal with heat. Or more training myself to accept that these corals can get hot.

Hurricanes are a seasonal phenomenon, driven by surface sea temperatures. See Clear Water Beach Tampa Florida. Historical records show peaking on Labor Day, see graph below. It's something that coastal lovers like us deal with. We make preparations to handle these storms by purchasing back up generators. Unfortunately, the expense of an entire home back up generator, that also runs the Air conditioner --- is simply not possible for most people. A smaller generator is much more affordable just for the tank itself, cost wise to run.

Clearwater-Beach.png

hurricaneseasongraphics_7.jpg

As a result, home temperatures inside the house can reach into the upper 80's during a storm outage -- our temperatures in the tank can reach that high too without active cooling via fans or chillers -- but that can only go so far to get our tank back into the 70's with the ambient humidity and temperature so high during an outage.

So why not train them to accept seasonally higher temperatures? Well considering where they are collected in shallow water up to 4 to 40 meters deep. It's clear they live in a seasonal temperature range of 78 F to 84 F -- sometimes more extreme.

webgraph-220607.jpg


Enter the Apex Seasonal tables found on Apex.local (not fusion) Essentially what I've done is shift the seasonal temperature variation they would experience in the wild, as if they were living in the same temperature variation here close to the Gulf of Mexico. To train them to accept high temperatures according to the seasonal changes we experience naturally in Gulf which drives seasonal phenomena of Hurricanes. A smaller generator just keeping the basic life support going.

My hypothesis -- During an extended outage. No light. Just basic flow and areation, with adjusted temperature with fans, keeping it close to where it normally will be (based on the table below) can help push through an outage. This is because I have trained them to handle the higher than typical reef stable 77F to 79F temperatures.

Screen Shot 2022-08-15 at 1.34.25 PM.png

Currently my aquarium has been running like this since May. I've slowly gone from 79F now to 83.3F and will peak at 84.1F and go slowly back down as if it was in the wild.

This Neptune Apex feature is also used in labs to drive coral spawning, along side with moonlight. I have yet to see spawning, because my tank isn't mature, but I haven't seen overly negative effects of running at a higher temperature.
 

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doubleshot00

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Battery backups are great temporarily but long term up to a week a generator is the only answer here.

Get a plug for your house and a large generator. I am literally in $1000 for a 10k generator and plug. Facebook marketplace is the best place to pick them up.

If you live in an apartment or condo your screwed so idk what to tell y’all :face-with-tears-of-joy:
 

Big Smelly fish

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I live in south Louisiana and have adjusted over the years. I was using a portable for years. Gas is expensive, but it works. We where out for a week after Ida. Portable ran 24/7 except to refuel and cool down. It’s the best option in our area. Only thing better is a whole house generator. We installed a whole house this year and haven’t had to use so far.
 
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Biologic

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Not everyone has EcoTechs -- when I mean extended outage. I am talking multiple days. The last outage I had lasted 29 days. Hurricane Ida was a catastrophic storm -- that's difficult to overcome. On average I typically see a 2 to 3 day outage.

Battery backups are great temporarily but long term up to a week a generator is the only answer here.

Get a plug for your house and a large generator. I am literally in $1000 for a 10k generator and plug. Facebook marketplace is the best place to pick them up.

If you live in an apartment or condo your screwed so idk what to tell y’all :face-with-tears-of-joy:

Oh I totally have a whole house plug. I do not need extension cords. I back feed into my panel. Gasoline costs a lot of money. Same with natural gas. Especially with extended outages that range in the weeks as previously mentioned with Hurricane Ida. This is an open discussion for those who do not have those options like Condos and apartment folks.



The goal is to adjust the corals to accept higher temperatures as they would see in the wild and mitigate what's possible with smaller generators (or battery back up, if possible) without the need of home air-conditioning. I say smaller generators because that's at what's at a minimum is possible for extended outages that last for days.
 

AydenLincoln

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Not everyone has EcoTechs -- when I mean extended outage. I am talking multiple days. The last outage I had lasted 29 days. Hurricane Ida was a catastrophic storm -- that's difficult to overcome. On average I typically see a 2 to 3 day outage.



Oh I totally have a whole house plug. I do not need extension cords. I back feed into my panel. Gasoline costs a lot of money. Same with natural gas. Especially with extended outages that range in the weeks as previously mentioned with Hurricane Ida. This is an open discussion for those who do not have those options like Condos and apartment folks.



The goal is to adjust the corals to accept higher temperatures as they would see in the wild and mitigate what's possible with smaller generators (or battery back up, if possible) without the need of home air-conditioning. I say smaller generators because that's at what's at a minimum is possible for extended outages that last for days.
That really sucks but I do understand it. The other option I’d say is to plan ahead of time and find someone to house it not located in the storm path or a fish store that obviously has to have generators/plan for things like this.
 

Big Smelly fish

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Wow twenty nine days is a super long time. Our was 7 day during Ida, that average for us.
29 days will break the bank. Especially now with fuel cost. Ida you had to spend hours just trying to find gas. Where do you live?
 
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That really sucks but I do understand it. The other option I’d say is to plan ahead of time and find someone to house it not located in the storm path or a fish store that obviously has to have generators/plan for things like this.
That’s actually what I did. After 5 days, I knew it was hopeless. I broke it down and dropped it to my LFS
Wow twenty nine days is a super long time. Our was 7 day during Ida, that average for us.
29 days will break the bank. Especially now with fuel cost. Ida you had to spend hours just trying to find gas. Where do you live?

I live in St Charles Parish. We took much of the impact. Mostly wind. Every power line in the parish needed inspection and repair or total replacement.

I have a huge generator that can run an entire house off of gas. That’s not cost effective in 2021 or now. Especially with hyper inflation we have now a year later. I am going to source a small 1500 watt gas generator just for the tank. Like an off brand Honda from Harbor freight.

I can use the big generator sparingly.
 
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I can imagine the damage you got. I’m in Denham Springs and we took a good hit also. Not that bad. The flood of 2916 took my tanks out along with the house and cars

Yep no flooding. Amazingly not. Nice to find another Louisianan here who knows the pains and worry of storm season.
 
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I live here also , hurricane Laura and delta lost everything,with heat ,a chiller for tank ,get a solar generator with enough batteries after storm put everything together and save tank , I'm ready this year ,even have a place and another tank 2 hours away north if something ready bad coming to move everything including solar ,be prepared to save your animals
 

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Is the water supply usually affected during hurricane outages? I wonder if a heat exchanger run off of a tap (simplest form would be to just dump a long coil of ro tubing into the tank) would be enough to actively cool the tank enough to keep it in a tolerable range.
 
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Is the water supply usually affected during hurricane outages? I wonder if a heat exchanger run off of a tap (simplest form would be to just dump a long coil of ro tubing into the tank) would be enough to actively cool the tank enough to keep it in a tolerable range.

That's a really interesting idea. Usually it's not affected. Lift stations (poop pumps) which run on electricity and are supported by generators during the outage. I would have to test that prior to an outage.

However, it's not always the case. Rare case -- last year during Hurricane Ida, massive barges in the Mississippi River, which carries tons of minerals, coal, corn, wheat, and other items are tied down and secured before a storm comes. This previous storm had sustained winds of 150 miles and gusts into the water inlet for the county's municipal supply. Despite all of this, we did not devolve into chaos, as our country and its residents prepare for contingencies. Many leave due to the evacuation mandate.
 

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I agree in principle that seasonal temp variations would be perfectly fine for corals and tropical sea life (as long as care is taken, some species in the hobby trade definitely are harvested in deeper / cooler waters and may not tolerate >80 F well), the question from a hobbyist perspective is whether that will affect growth / coloration in an adverse way or positive way, which will in turn also affect chemistry needs and dosing / water change routines.
 
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I agree in principle that seasonal temp variations would be perfectly fine for corals and tropical sea life (as long as care is taken, some species in the hobby trade definitely are harvested in deeper / cooler waters and may not tolerate >80 F well), the question from a hobbyist perspective is whether that will affect growth / coloration in an adverse way or positive way, which will in turn also affect chemistry needs and dosing / water change routines.



Good question -- Most of my corals are SPS, so presumably more shallow water. I am not 100% happy with my coloration right now, who is right?? I am not sure if that's as a result of the temperature or my nutrient levels, which I've been manipulating with amino acids. I am going to lay off for a little bit on those. Phosphates stay pretty consistent while nitrates tend to hover at zero. Hence my meddling.

ICP values are pretty good. A little low in key micro elements like iodine and iron, but nothing is in over abundance.

I am expecting more growth as a result because of metabolism will be higher. I haven't notice any significant slow down.

pH and alkalinity has been unaffected -- its not easier or worse for those values. I use the ACI Kalkwasser method for pH control via the Neptune DOS and saturated kalkwasser.

Oh when you put your hands into the water -- its remarkably warm. lol
 

razorskiss

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Good question -- Most of my corals are SPS, so presumably more shallow water. I am not 100% happy with my coloration right now, who is right?? I am not sure if that's as a result of the temperature or my nutrient levels, which I've been manipulating with amino acids. I am going to lay off for a little bit on those. Phosphates stay pretty consistent while nitrates tend to hover at zero. Hence my meddling.

ICP values are pretty good. A little low in key micro elements like iodine and iron, but nothing is in over abundance.

I am expecting more growth as a result because of metabolism will be higher. I haven't notice any significant slow down.

pH and alkalinity has been unaffected -- its not easier or worse for those values. I use the ACI Kalkwasser method for pH control via the Neptune DOS and saturated kalkwasser.

Oh when you put your hands into the water -- its remarkably warm. lol
I definitely enjoy diving in 80-82 F water more haha
 

doubleshot00

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Not everyone has EcoTechs -- when I mean extended outage. I am talking multiple days. The last outage I had lasted 29 days. Hurricane Ida was a catastrophic storm -- that's difficult to overcome. On average I typically see a 2 to 3 day outage.



Oh I totally have a whole house plug. I do not need extension cords. I back feed into my panel. Gasoline costs a lot of money. Same with natural gas. Especially with extended outages that range in the weeks as previously mentioned with Hurricane Ida. This is an open discussion for those who do not have those options like Condos and apartment folks.



The goal is to adjust the corals to accept higher temperatures as they would see in the wild and mitigate what's possible with smaller generators (or battery back up, if possible) without the need of home air-conditioning. I say smaller generators because that's at what's at a minimum is possible for extended outages that last for days.
If my outage is 29 days the last thing i care about is my reef tank. No offense. I think most living in hurricane/blizzard territory think max 3-5 days. But if its longer than that im thinking i have bigger fish to fry.

Inside your home with no power a reef tank probably will get 85+ in the south so trying to acclimate them above 80 is just not worth the risk imo.
 

ZoWhat

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Did the OP really say he has "trained his coral to withstand higher temps" ??


Cracking Up Lol GIF by reactionseditor

.
 
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Biologic

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If my outage is 29 days the last thing i care about is my reef tank. No offense. I think most living in hurricane/blizzard territory think max 3-5 days. But if its longer than that im thinking i have bigger fish to fry.

Inside your home with no power a reef tank probably will get 85+ in the south so trying to acclimate them above 80 is just not worth the risk imo.

None taken. I've actually been in this situation. Trust me, the previous outage that lasted 29 days, within the first 3 days was clear there was no end in sight. I shut the tank down. Actually my tank was running at 83 to 84. This is more for purposes of an extended outage and/or making plans to mitigate losses as what I did in the previous outage. Furthermore, I've running at 80+ since June, basically 80 since May.
 
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Biologic

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Did the OP really say he has "trained his coral to withstand higher temps" ??

Yes I said it. Anything else you'd care to add? All the data I presented, your idea was a cringe reaction gif. Cool.
 

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