Long time no see -- Maybe ready to begin again? (1 Viewer)

[PygmyAngel]

Hi everyone,

I've been on hiatus since my reef tanks died in the hurricane. Tanks have been gathering cobwebs, sitting empty except for the sand, still in there even, since Ike.

I said never again, but am wondering if I could chance it now almost 2 1/2 years later. I really don't think I have the heart to lose it all again, but maybe going very very slowly wouldn't be so painful. I did get a generator after it all died, and got a water/aeration pump tub setup that fisherman use to keep fish alive so I do have somewhere to transfer fish, if needed.

I never sold the tank(s) and supplies, and even still have some of the old live rock that's been sitting in water all this time. I could probably put the old rock in the old sand in the 75g tank and let that cycle till it kills off all the dead stuff for about 6 wks. or something....see how that goes...probably break the skimmer with all the gunk it will pull out...

I don't have money to 'upgrade' or do the setup any different than before, but do need to get some repairs done on my canopy. I have always had a minimal, close to natural setup: no sump, no plumbing, just skimmer, HOB Emperor filter and lots of live sand and live rock. Worked for me always until I would sometimes get a long-hair algae outbreak... otherwise, I would keep it the same this time around.

Anyone else start over after Ike that initially didn't plan to? If so, any suggestions? Lessons learned; failsafe options for hurricanes, etc?

 

[kevinandnadine]

I know it mush have been hard, but it'll be good to have you back up and running!!!!!!!!

 

[rxonco]

Welcome back. The addiction never goes away, it just goes dormant for a while. Good to see you're back on.

 

[jamesw]

Welcome back! I haven't had a reeftank since 2005 but I just started one up again this year. It's been great! Since you still have all of your hardware there's nothing holding you back.

You don't have to be in a hurry so just fill it up, hook it up, and get some live rock in there. Then get some frags from fellow marshians and just let it grow...

I'm sure you have lots of lessons learned from the Hurricane and can avoid those problems next time around. I personally decided to get a natural gas standby generator to power my fishroom and guest house.

Cheers
James

 

[PygmyAngel]

So what about adding a fishtank rider to my Homeowners Insurance, and/or Wind/Hail insurance, and/or Flood insurance, since I live on the East side of Hwy 146? I did not have one at the time of the hurricane, and I didn't get any money for the tank even though it all died due to the power outage caused by the hurricane winds. They would have given money for perishables in the fridge, but not live perishables in the tank. If it's only a couple hundred dollars or something, maybe I should add that before I even get started again...I'll have to check into the costs of it.

Anyone make that change after the hurricane as a Lessons Learned? I know some of you got your insurance to pay with/without the fishtank rider. Just curious...and anyone have an idea of the cost?

Because we live by the water and are in the mandatory evac. area in Seabrook, all our deductibles and insurance costs went way up after the hurricane...I'll have to see what they say. Out here, we have to have all three insurances (homeowners, wind/hail, and flood insurance) due to our zone.

 

[jamesw]

Pygmy,

To me that just doesn't make sense. I don't want my fish to die and someone to pay to replace them - I want to PREVENT them from dieing in the first place.

I hate to sound sarcastic, but this is one of the reasons that environmentalists want to shut down the aquarium trade :-(

You can get a natural gas standby generator for your tank installed for <$5,000. You would be paying that in homeowners premium extras in 10 years or so anyhow.

Cheers
James

 

[PygmyAngel]

Of course I want to prevent it from happening in the first place. You make it sound like I just abandoned the tank and expected someone else to pay for a mistake I made or something. We live in a mandatory evacuation area and could not come home for 6 days because our city had a damaged water/sewer system. All power was cut off during this time and there was nothing I could do.

I'm sorry that I did not have an almost $5000 gas standby generator system in place. That is a little outside my budget.

My first and main concern was my tank. It was heartbreaking for me. The money was secondary to the loss of life. I had built that tank up for over 7 years, and I had fishes and corals in there as old as the tank. Money does not take the place of that, but a return on the investment for a situation that was out of my control would have been helpful.

And based on your theory, the logic is I should not have insurance for anything that I could almost 100% prevent. And anyone else who lost their tank due to Hurricane Ike should not have the right to start one over, nor certainly put any insurance on it because they should have been able to prevent the disaster in the first place. There are no guarantees that a disaster is 100% preventable, and also that is a lot of assumption on your part as to what I care and don't care about.

Also, I am an environmental conservationist and advocate for marine protected areas myself. I believe in responsible reefkeeping and not tearing away the reefs for irresponsible hobbyists. I am out there picking up trash on the beaches in the cold and rain on Adopt A Beach day, teach my child about how what we do and eat and how we live contributes to the deaths of the oceans, and I have been a scuba diver who wants to save the reefs.

I love reefkeeping as well as conserving the oceans, and I am well aware of the issue of this hobby and the environmental concerns. I believe in being an informed advocate who can contribute to responsible reefkeeping, which seems like the best kind to me, and I am the one to speak up if I hear people being misinformed on how to care for a fish or start an aquarium when the store clerk is saying something wrong.

And if I didn't care about being responsible and preventing the loss of life again, I wouldn't have started off the thread asking people about their lessons learned and what to do/not to do after Hurricane Ike!

Sorry I asked.

 

[DNJ]

Of course I want to prevent it from happening in the first place. You make it sound like I just abandoned the tank and expected someone else to pay for a mistake I made or something. We live in a mandatory evacuation area and could not come home for 6 days because our city had a damaged water/sewer system. All power was cut off during this time and there was nothing I could do.

I'm sorry that I did not have an almost $5000 gas standby generator system in place. That is a little outside my budget.

My first and main concern was my tank. It was heartbreaking for me. The money was secondary to the loss of life. I had built that tank up for over 7 years, and I had fishes and corals in there as old as the tank. Money does not take the place of that, but a return on the investment for a situation that was out of my control would have been helpful.

And based on your theory, the logic is I should not have insurance for anything that I could almost 100% prevent. And anyone else who lost their tank due to Hurricane Ike should not have the right to start one over, nor certainly put any insurance on it because they should have been able to prevent the disaster in the first place. There are no guarantees that a disaster is 100% preventable, and also that is a lot of assumption on your part as to what I care and don't care about.

Also, I am an environmental conservationist and advocate for marine protected areas myself. I believe in responsible reefkeeping and not tearing away the reefs for irresponsible hobbyists. I am out there picking up trash on the beaches in the cold and rain on Adopt A Beach day, teach my child about how what we do and eat and how we live contributes to the deaths of the oceans, and I have been a scuba diver who wants to save the reefs.

I love reefkeeping as well as conserving the oceans, and I am well aware of the issue of this hobby and the environmental concerns. I believe in being an informed advocate who can contribute to responsible reefkeeping, which seems like the best kind to me, and I am the one to speak up if I hear people being misinformed on how to care for a fish or start an aquarium when the store clerk is saying something wrong.

And if I didn't care about being responsible and preventing the loss of life again, I wouldn't have started off the thread asking people about their lessons learned and what to do/not to do after Hurricane Ike!

Sorry I asked.

Did you start it back up? I was living away from Seabrook for the storm so no Ike lessons learned here but I would have been in the same boat if I'd been here. I hope you returned to the hobby!

 

[KyleH]

try ebay a small generator for $150shipped.

FYI. A year before the hurricane, I picked up a small gas powered generator off of ebay for $125 shipped (and it was heavier than I thought it would be).

I think that should be enough to run some pumps. I am not sure about lights, though. If you use your car, you can get a cigarette lighter inverter for about $20-50 from an electronics store such as frys--but you will have to keep your car running. Keep in mind that your car may be limited by what the inverter can process (I am not sure which is better--a small generator or letting your car run.) In either case, you may need to stockpile gallons of gasoline.

Be warned, though. During the hurricane, gas was about $3.50/gallon. My neighbor ran his more powerfull generator about 12-18 hrs each day to keep his refrigerator running and moderate electrics such as fans. I think it ate about 5 gallons each day for 2 weeks. At about $15-25/day, I realize that saving my refrigerator was not worth it.

(Perhaps a better solution in his case is to run a small ice maker throughout the day for a combined 2-3 hrs/day)

Be warned though, the "raw" power from generators can produce spikes that can damage sensitive electronics. I would not run a $$$ big screen television off of one unless it was for an emergency.

(In your case though, evacuating will prevent someone from being able to operate a generator. A portable "sump on wheels" may be more helpful that you can put your livestock in and roll it into the car that can be plugged in at a new location for a few days.)

I am now wondering what others are doing. I know that you can get a 100w solar setups for cheap, but I suspect getting gasoline for a generator (or your car with an inverter) is cheaper for the few periods that you would need it in this situation.

-KyleH