[ErYn]

me being new to reef keeping, i was wondering what poeple did for thier SW tanks during the hurricanes? i know the 2004 season was really bad for us, but my fresh water tanks did well through out the 18 days with out power for each of the 3 hurricanes (i didnt have my reef tank yet) i know there are a few poeple from florida on this forum, so i would like to hear what ya'll did to keep you tanks alive.. or if you havent had the pleasure of dealing with the freeken things, maybe you still have some ideas! i dont have a generator, plus i dont think i could afford to run a generator 24/7 with gas prices now hitting the $3.00 mark! thanks in advance!

[dave00gt]

This is very important for me too, so i would like to know also

[vee5]

I live in Pensacola in the panhandle and suffered through three weeks without power after Ivan in 2004. Thankfully, I had set aside plenty of "D" batteries that ran the small bubblers that you hang on the side of a bait bucket. The bubblers were noisy but kept my tanks going for that time period. The tank did okay without the lights, only sunlight from a window. No way to keep the temperature under 82 degrees as it was still awfully hot in September that year. You can keep your tank alive, maybe not thriving, but alive with water movement. Others will chime in with their ideas here also.

[BubbaWPB]

I survived last season without power after Wilma by running one of those battery-powered small bubblers, then I also ran the real pump and skimmer pump on the generator for 2 hours twice a day. No losses <knocking wood>.

I think that not having the lights on and the drop in temp to low 70's helped slow down the metabolism and helped the tank survive after Wilma. But it is very rare (as I'm sure y'all know) to have a cold front follow a hurricane. It's usually hotter than Hades.

$3+ dollars a gallon is a heck of a lot cheaper than restocking your tank, IMHO. How much do you pay for a piece of coral? ...for a fish? Consider the generator!

[ErYn]

3+ for gas vs. cost of new tank.... yeah i think your right! but i dont even have a generator! i do have a couple battery operated bubble makers. so i will just start stocking up on batteries. during the hurricanes it was soo miserably HOT here that for my freshwater tanks i would put an ice pack in so it wouldn't boil my poor fish to death. i mean it wasnt that hot, but it was almost there. would that work for my sw tank if it got too hot?

[BubbaWPB]

Yup... floating ice packs is a way to keep the tank cool... if you're lucky enough to have ice packs after the storm - just don't cool the tank down to fast.