Damn Wind! Power's out and I'm hurting!

[King Jason]

Power has been off since 1AM last night (over 12 hours now). My 60g reef is not a happy camper. I've been stirring it every hour (got my little brother on Winter break to stir while I’m at the office) since I woke up and found out the power is off. I have a generator but it decided that it doesn't want to run for more then 5 minutes (Murphy's law?!) without stalling. If the power is still off when I drive home I will see if I can pick up a generator from a friend.

The Temp. is not a problem, it has only dropped to about 72-74 (usually about 78-80). SPS are “goo”ing bad. My LPS corals seem to be alright (not a lot of “goo” coming from them, my Leathers and Xenia also look bad) I’m happy about the Xenia dying (hate the stuff), but I was planning on selling some of my huge leathers back to the LFS to help pay for my new 190g. My fish were hovering around the surface of the water when I woke up. Once I started stirring it every hour I found they are acting pretty normal.

How long can my tank take this before I get some serous consequences (if I don’t already have them)?

 

[aquarist=broke]

If you're stirring, I hope you are creating enough surface agitation to oxygenate the water.

I don't know the answer to your question, and I have no idea of how you will read responses once you get back home....

 

[mountainbiker619]

I’m happy about the Xenia dying (hate the stuff),

I would be happy to take any Xenia off your hands if you ever care to get rid of it.

 

[Anonymous]

Generators need a litlle TLC. Good gas. If that isn't the problem then most likely your oil is low. Most modern generators have an automatic shutdown when oil is low or the generator isn't on flat ground.

 

[turtlespd]

King Jason,

I feel you man. Last night when the winds started i got some surges..and some major minor **** offs. I couldnt really sleep because my system really runs at night. I was worried about all kinds of things that could happen. I sure hope i do see a black out for more than 30 min otherwise my sps will be dead. I have room over here if you need to hold some sps but i dont know if that will be good enough. I might get a power outage tonight. What ever winds you have in Huntinton i have it ten times worst. I live in the Hills and in a two story home. It feels like a earthquake up here.

Paul

 

[Anonymous]

My power was off about 15 hours 2 weeks ago after a big scary storm we had. Everything was fine, but I was one worried reefer. Hope your power is back on by now and your corals are OK...

 

[King Jason]

I’m happy about the Xenia dying (hate the stuff),

I would be happy to take any Xenia off your hands if you ever care to get rid of it.

You can have as much as you want (if any is still alive). Shoot me over an email when you want to drive up.

Found out a tree fell down at the school across the street from my house. My little brother went investigating to see what he could find. I guess it ripped the wires off an entire block when it came down! I haven't been home to see it but there are some HUGE trees at the school. Since there really isn't anything to do when the power is off I talked my brother into going to a buddy of mine's house and pick up another generator.

I called Edison and they said it could be until tonight at 1:30AM before power is restored! But I guess there isn’t anything I can do but wait. Thanks for the help.

and I have no idea of how you will read responses once you get back home....

Haha…that’s a good point…I can’t check the replies at home…

 

[King Jason]

Whoohoo! The power has been restored. I'll report the damage when I get home.

 

[bowfront]

Battery operated air puimps with a simple airstone can save the day in cases like this. They are normally sold to keep bait alive and can usaually be found in the sporting goods section of places like Walmart etc or your local tackle shop.

 

[krusty_krab]

Hey all-

Just went through a 12 hour outage myself. My LFS had a battery powered air pump. In the meantime, I took my battery powered blender to the water surface every 30 minutes or so. Gotta watch out for the fish, of course.... clownfish frags... not good. :wink:

KK

 

[ChrisRD]

A DC/AC power inverter is a cheap alternative (or backup) to a generator if you don't mind running your car all night.

Check out this article by Rich Durso.

 

[danmhippo]

Although not a necessity in S.Cal., but a UPS is a good investment for a reef tank. Hook up a small powerhead aiming towards the surface to the UPS can keep the corals from becoming mush-corals.

KJ, be ready to make some serious water changes after you get the damage report.

 

[King Jason]

Looks like I didn't turn out too bad. Everything looks stressed but not dead. Xenia and leathers are a little slumped over. LPS seem fine (all extended, even my flowerpot made it). My last SPS (just sold a bunch last weekend to prepare for breaking down the tank for my new 190) started bleaching, bummer...

 

[edying]

Hey Jason - just curious. I saw from your other post that you we're over by Marina. You aren't by chance in the same track as CircleView. My daughter goes there and the power was out all day yesterday and wasn't supposed to be back on until this afternoon.

-Ed

 

[King Jason]

I'm right across the street from the Circle View parking lot. My house is the one with Grey rocks around the base, and big bay window.

 

[mountainbiker619]

Jason, what type of Xenia do you have?
I could plan a trip up there this weekend, if
you are available.


David

 

[mountainbiker619]

also, I would believe that the Xenia is attached to LR. How would we get around this?

 

[Anonymous]

Cut it with a razor blade. Works great.

 

[mountainbiker619]

Chris,

I understand that, but he wants to permanently get rid of the Xenia.

 

[MarkO1]

Last year was bad for me. 4 times I lost power, once for 24 hours. I ended up rigging up a DC/AC power inverter I picked up on e-bay for $50 and grabbed my car battery. Kept the return pump going for nearly the entire duration before the battery finally kicked. (Lasted about 23 hours).

In my 90, I have about 4 hours of buffer before everything starts to go to sh!#.
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