Power is out

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 5:16 pm

A big storm came through my area and knocked out my power and phone lines a few hours ago. Thank god I got a generator.

Fish tanks will be doing fine.

BotiaMaximus · Post by **BotiaMaximus** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 8:21 pm

Thank goodness yours started! I just tried mine out over the weekend for the impending hurricane season and couldn't get it to fire up. Should be an easy fix but obviously an important issue!

Hope your power comes up soon so you can shut that bugger back down.

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 8:59 pm

Still without power. I'll have the generator off for the rest off the night so that my neighbors can sleep. Hopefully the power comes back on real soon.

Plan B will go into effect soon. That means opening up all 8 of my canister filters, emptying the water out of them so that they can breath, but not letting the media dry out.

Plan C is to turn on my water change drip system and pray.

BotiaMaximus · Post by **BotiaMaximus** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:10 pm

A car battery and ac inverter setup could probably get you through the night with 1 pump and some air going? Walgreens and CVS have inverters.

I'd make the neighbors suffer till 10.

Good luck!!

starsplitter7 · Post by **starsplitter7** » Thu Jun 25, 2009 9:18 pm

Good Luck! I hope your electric is up and running very soon. Cross my fingers.

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:02 am

I'm still without power. Fish done fine overnight with everything turned off. There was a hint of ammonia in the water I think.

Very busy morning so far. I emptied all 8 of the canisters then filled them back up before running the generator again. It took me about 2 hours to get all that done. Getting them all primed again was the toughest part. Everything is hooked up and running now on the generator.

I've learned a lot so far from this experience. When my power is back on I discuss that.

I got news that the power probably won't be back on until Tomorrow morning.

BotiaMaximus · Post by **BotiaMaximus** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:38 am

Glad things are going OK so far. Are you out of work for the day to keep things going?

Must have been a helluva storm that came through!

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 2:53 pm

Power is back on. What a joy.

I went to LFS to buy some Amquel+ and a NH3 meter when they opened this morning, but by the time I got home the ammonia was back down to 0. It only took an hour or so for the ammonia to clear up, so apparently the filters didn't crash after being off for 12 hours.

Right now, keeping my loaches happy is my full-time job

I've been on an endless search for an IT job lately. The job market here is pretty bad though so it might be awhile before I find anything. It seems like about half the people I know in my neighborhood have lost their jobs in the past year. In the meantime, I'm working on my bachelor's degree in IT . I got my associates degree last December.

200,000 homes were without power here. Funny thing is the storm didn't really hit us hard. A branch fell off a tree and and knocked down some phone lines at my house. I thought it took out the electrical lines also, but it didn't. AT&T put the phone line back up already.

Holdstrong · Post by **Holdstrong** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 4:15 pm

Good to hear everything made it through!

I've been looking to hire a good IT person for months now. Unfortunately (at least in this case) the Boston market has held up and finding someone has been tough. We have a moving incentive, but I don't think it would cover the expense of packing up your tanks.

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 4:37 pm

I thought I was well prepared for a power outage, but I really wasn't.

This is what I learned-
1st- My 2 Filstar XP3 canister filters will leak a little when they are turned off. This could turn into a serious problem. I need to look into this more.

2- I need to get some battery powered air pumps.

3- I need to keep a full bottle of Amquel+ or Prime on my shelf at all times.

4- Each tank should have an ammonia alert meter. I only had one in the 85 g tank. I bought one at the LFS and put it in the river tank.

5- Each tank should have a thermometer. I use to have electronic thermometers in all the tanks, but most of them were pieces of junk and quit working. I need good old fashion thermometers. I also need a temperature alarm. I use to have a good one made by Pentair, but I broke it by mistake.

6- I need to organize my power surge protectors better and I need to label all the power cords. I had power cords going every which way so that I could plug them into a power strip going to the generator. What a mess. It was a disaster waiting to happen. I'm lucky I didn't hurt myself tripping over them and that I didn't break anything.

7- I need to add some shut-off valves to my overflows. When the power is turned off, I'd like to be able to keep the excess water from draining into my sump.

8- I need to insulate the tanks better. Luckily the outdoor temp was nice when the power was out, but I should be prepared for the worst.

9- I need to know exactly where my flashlight is at all times. I need a set spot for it. I use it alot and I usually just leave it where ever I used it last. Sometimes I forget where that is.
I should also have a back-up flashlight and plenty of batteries.

I'll keep adding to this list if I think of anything else.

chefkeith · Post by **chefkeith** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 4:51 pm

Holdstrong wrote:Good to hear everything made it through!

I've been looking to hire a good IT person for months now. Unfortunately (at least in this case) the Boston market has held up and finding someone has been tough. We have a moving incentive, but I don't think it would cover the expense of packing up your tanks.

Thanks.

I don't know if I'm good or not. I'm really just looking for an entry level IT job. I still have much to learn and really need some experience before I can say that I'm any good and know what I'm doing. I'd probably pack a better lunch than anyone else though.

FishyLady · Post by **FishyLady** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:15 pm

Phew!!! reading this post I was getting worried, SO glad all is well!!!

Val

BotiaMaximus · Post by **BotiaMaximus** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 6:43 pm

Nothing like a scare like this to give us all the wake up call to remind us that we are all a blink away from being in the same predicament.

Glad everything turned out OK!! Must have been a long night for you.

Thanks for sharing the experience and emergency list.

starsplitter7 · Post by **starsplitter7** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 6:54 pm

We should have something like this on a stickie. Many of these things are covered in Florida by our hurricane supplies we keep 6 months of the year. I have many battery operated pumps, flashlights, batteries and lots of Prime. But the last time I lost power during hurricanes I didn't have fish. This makes me very worried. We've lots power four times today because of storms. Just a second or two, but its enough to throw the filters off. I keep getting up and checking all my tanks.

starsplitter7 · Post by **starsplitter7** » Fri Jun 26, 2009 6:54 pm

Oh PS: So glad you and your fish made it through this well.

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