Hurricane FRANCES

[Playa]

Irene that is so kind of you to care this way. I am sorry I made a comment that touched you the wrong way, I will be more selective in my choice of words next time I promess. Thanks so much for your prayers everyone. I do feel indeed very guilty specially if I lose what took so long to obtain with so much sacrifice involved. The deal with the generator and its set up was going to be a priority for ths fall:-( a little to late maybe. So I feel irresponsible considering the amount of life at stake.

I was able to talk to a friend that owns an LFS in Juno Beach a couple of miles from my place. I found him on duty at midnight when the hurricane force winds were pounding Palm Beach Gardens. The station where he works is actually right across the street from our home. He had no power then and said the entire area had been without power since mid morning. He said he had a new generator he could sell me, and that he was going to try to hook it up as soon as it was safe to drive to his business to pick up the unit. The generator should be good enough to run the Chiller and the pumps.

I have been caling all morning but I am not able to reach anyone. Even the cell phone lines seem to be disrupted.

Assuming the temperature in the reef has not gone to high, how much time do you guys think I have left before I lose it all?

Irene thanks a lot for your corncern again.

Depressed here but with a little hope.

Luis

 

[Woodstock]

Hard to say Luis. Depends entirely on the oxygen demand. We lost power here for close to six days last winter and I had no fatalities. However, I was removing water from the sump and then pouring into the top of the tank several times every couple of hours. I really hope your tank comes through ok. That is great that someone is down there to help you out. Keep us posted!

 

[ScottT1980]

Luis, it will be tough, especially with your high bio-load. I guess it is realistic to assume that you will have some losses. However, corals are pretty resiliant, moreso than we often times give them credit, and so you might be pleasantly suprised at how much does survive.

Ask brian_e about his "frags in the sun" experiment. These organisms are tough...

Regardless, I hope you and everyone stays safe, it looks like it might be a bit longer before it clears.

Take er easy
Scott T.

 

[Melev]

At this point, everyone in Florida has to accept that what will happen will happen and then build on that. I know there are many reefers in that state, and I've been wondering how all of this will play out.

Luis, it is hard to say what will happen with your reef as well as the guy down there trying to deliver a generator during the current conditions. (That guy's nuts to still be there!)

As always, I hope for the best for all of you.

 

[fidojoe]

Man, I hope everything turns out for the better! Luis, has your awesome reef won TOTM yet, cause it should have a long time ago if it hasn't. Good luck!

 

[Playa]

I just got news from home. We have not had power for more than a day and a half. Most of the fish are dead, all shrimp are dead, there is a terrible smell, the water is extremelly cloudy. Obviously everything is closed in the city. Slime coming out from most of the corals. I cant make any calls to the city to any type of phone. I was called from a payphone with a calling card. My friend with the generator has not been able to make it home(He is a Police Officer) and owns one of the LFS. Pretty bummed out here. What a way to learn a lesson.

Thanx to all those who offered prayers and words of encouragement.

Luis

 

[Woodstock]

I am terribly sorry for your loses Luis.

 

[Witfull]

 

[jorsan]

Luis,
Im very sorry for your loses; we all know how involve you were with your tank.
In the past I had two times when lost everything in my tank. I think situations similar to this happens sometimes to most of us. Always our first reaction is to quit BUT after some time, we decide to start all over again building a new "reef" over the last one but always better; I suppose this is what we call "humane nature".
I had more luck this time here in Miami; difficult times but not as bad as yours of course.
ANIMATE, EN UNOS DIAS SERAS MENOS DURO CONTIGO Y LO HARAS OTRA VEZ. Good luck to you.

 

[jorsan]

DarkDruid,
Thanks for your help. Do you have experience with this systems? Suppose that I want to run aprox. 200W with one converter; if I have it connected to my car, how often do I have to turn on the car (and how long) to avoid run out of battery? (maybe is not so easy to know).
Thanks

 

[tommyp]

THIS SUCKS! i am so sorry luis

 

[ScottT1980]

I am so sorry to hear the bad news Luis. I realize how tough it may be, but please don't let this deter you from future endeavors in the hobby.

Just speed bumps my friend, nothing more...

Take er easy
Scott T.

 

[Brucey]

Guys . . . . where do i start

I've been following the news updates every hour over the weekend thinking of what might be going on over there. I haven't been able to get to a computer all weekend so had to wait until i got into work to day to see your updates. All you guys in Florida, and esp Luis, I'm just so sorry and so saddened by your loss of life and pride and joy. It would tear me apart if i lost me reef in that way and I can only just begin to feel your anger, frustration and sadness and what has happened.

I know it is of little use now, but I took a hard look at my reef last month and even though me and Louise can't afford it now with baby Drew with us, I invested in a 2KW Generator off ebay last week. It's a bit battered but it runs the entire tank if the electric goes down. I guess i may never use it, but it's a small investment compared to the value of corals and fish in my tank.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and I hope you find some way of getting through this and in several years time can look back on this and draw something positive from what has happened.

Brucey

 

[DuhJeepster]

I feel for you Luis. I'm very sorry for your losses. You know what though? Putting all that aside I'm extremely glad YOU, your family and friends made it through unharmed and uninjured because after all a reef tank is not near as important as human life.

I'm up here in Fernandina Beach (NE FL). We received and continue to receive TS force winds, quite a bit of rain and pounding surf. I lost power last night for about 30 min. I know not a whole lot of time, but my skimmer took a dump on me. I finally got it running after about 45 min. of fiddling with it. Damn Prizm skimmers!!! I made up 10 gal. of saltwater Saturday night because I knew I would lose power eventually, and doing water changes would have borrowed me some time for a couple of days. Losing power is a common occurance up here especially with heavy rain, winds and lightning, so I somewhat prepared myself.

Again Luis hang in there and if you need any mental support, or help please don't hesitate to PM me.

Tony

 

[Montanareefer]

Man that does sux Luis! I wish you well in your tank recovery.

 

[cheeks69]

I feel for all Floridians it's a terrible situation, I hope everyone is safe and they make a quick recovery.

 

[Melev]

Can anyone tell me roughly where Port Charlotte is, and if they have any idea what the conditions are perhaps? I've got a few friends there, but that location isn't listed on the weather maps.

 

[Woodstock]

http://www.mapquest.com/maps/map.ad...charlotte&state=fl&zipcode=&search=++Search++

 

[ivyvine1]

Luis,

I am so sorry to hear about your tank . I know how much time, effort, love, etc. you have put into your new system. Unfortunately, we all have to learn some lessons the hard way. Hopefully, someone will be able to help you save most of your corals. I know you are going through some very tough times.

I'm glad to hear you are sounding better under the circumstances. In my heart, I know you will eventually rebuild your system again, but with more precautions.

The good news is, you and your family are safe!

Take care,
Irene


P.S. Prayers to all of you that sustained any kind of damage in these storms.

 

[Gina]

Luis,
I am also so sorry to hear of your loss! I'm not even sure though that if you had bought the generator it would have been any good. Someone would had to of kept it running and with so many people having to have to evacuate it would have been tough I would think. This is not your fault. When do you think your going to be able to head back home?

And like someone else said, at least you and your family are safe and that is the most important thing!

Again, so sorry!