I’m worry about earthquakes in California

[H.Veras]

I’m really worried about an earthquake in California, so I was wondering if anyone has done anything to protect the tank or anything that could help if anything goes bad. The way things are right know, I would like to be safe if anything happen. Has anyone here thought about that too?

[BlueCorn]

You could move inland about 100 miles. ;)

[cloak]

I didn't have any aquariums back in 1989, but the way that Loma Prieta quake made my hallway sway back and forth, I don't think anything could have been done for a tank. Just cross your fingers and hope for the best.

[RoastReef]

I've heard that in the big '89 quake (I didn't have a tank then), a lot of tanks sort of walked on their stands and ended up in a different position. I figure if a quake takes out my 375, I'm going to have way bigger problems to worry about than the tank.

[Laddy]

I was 16 in '89 and had a 40g fresh tank which spilled a lot of water.

People here in CA buy a lot of acrylic tanks, to prevent a total breakage of the tank in the event of an earthquake. I've seen straps, simpson type straps you can buy at any home store, attached to the back of the stand and then anchored into the studs--I guess the theory being that the stand won't walk. Either way you're going to lose water as the shock waves hit.

I'm born and raised in CA, lived in LA and SF, and have been through countless earthquakes..........anything big enough to tip a tank on a well built stand, and you are going to have bigger things to worry about than your reef tank.

[jb61264]

Probably the only thing you really could do is have a "Plan B" if an earthquake cracked your aquarium or worse...maybe one of those large rubbermaid storage bins on hand with a couple pumps and a cheapo skimmer so you could try to save as much as you could?
I don't live in California, but if I did and had a lot of livestock, I think I would have a backup like that

[balberth]

I worry about this quite a bit.

What I've heard:

- Acrylic aquarium for breakage reasons as above, strapped to stand. Stand strapped to wall. Look at it like an extra top-heavy bookcase.

- Aquascaping tends to fall apart, may crack glass, crush organisms. Therefore you may want to epoxy it together.

- Cover aquarium to minimize water sloshing out.

- You'll want a generator, plenty of fuel, and a good reservoir of R/O water. Depending on where you live, don't expect niceties like electricity and water to be on immediately after the quake.

Do I do all this? Nope. But the aquarium stand is pretty securely fastened, and I have backup power and a large reservoir of premade water. My 180 gallon had covers fastened on, but I did not do that with my new 60 gallon tank.

[H.Veras]

yeah some great input we got here but when i'm think about an earthquake i think about $$$$ how much money we invest in this hobby and everything could go down so fast... the way the world is right now, all crazy i'm trying to be ready for anything that can happen... i hope everyone is ready too...:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[ludnix]

I live in Eureka California, which is next to the convergence of 3 fault lines. A month ago we had a 6.5 magnitude earth quake and a lot of local reefers had water on the carpet, sloshed out fish and broken MH bulbs, but for the most part it was nothing that couldn't be repaired. I only had a few gallons of water sloshed out, a koralia break and a few corals knocked over.

For preparation I have a large generator available with extra gasoline, a 100g rubbermaid livestock tank for emergency transfers and a few gallons of RO/DI ready to top off until the water is turned back on.

My tanks do not have any bracing to the wall or the like, but some local reefers have done that to keep them from falling over during a bad earth quake. Other than being prepared for the aftermath there's not much else you can do as for preventing destruction.

Don't forget about you and your family's needs during the earthquake as well. Having backup RO/DI water for the tank is a good idea when the water breaks, but having drinking water for your family is more important. My family keeps a Brute trash can in the garage with 20x 1 gallon bottled water containers and some food.

[Korrine]

Part of CA just had a 4. something earthquake this am :eek2:

[Indymann99]

I lived in San Jose CA when the Loma Prieta earthquate hit back in 1989. I had a 55g acrylic tank and it lost about 20g of water on the floor. The light hood was knocked onto the floor as well but all the fish were ok.

I figure I got lucky as the direction of movement seemed to be parallel to the length of the tank, the other way it may have toppled over.

I also got lucky and was able to rent one of the last generators at Uhaul.. plugged in the fridge, tv, and tank. Power was back on in about 3 days.

As suggested I would secure the tank to the wall. I would also think about having a generator avail. Honda makes a nice quiet small one that would run a fridge and tank.

[Hawkdl2]

Bracing the stand does make some sense because the combination of heavy tank and tall stand makes for a heavy object with a very high center off mass and gravity. The tank is not likely to tip ON the stand, it tips WITH the stand. Brace the stand and you should minimize sloshing.

[cloak]

Just cross your fingers, one way or the other.

[Frick-n-Frags]

funny, i'm not too worried about earthquakes in california. i was more worried about republican protestors for obama's visit causing a rumble here in town monday :D

[cloak]

Pardon? Who is this Obama you speak of?

;)

[sanababit]

Man if a big quake hits, the tank would be the least of my concerns, i would be more worried about my family and myself, food for tought

sana

[Frick-n-Frags]

:D

i really don't know, but holeee crap did his posse screw up traffic O8

[cloak]

man if a big quake hits, the tank would be the least of my concerns, i would be more worried about my family and myself, food for tought

sana

No $h!t!

[mndfreeze]

Man, the 89 quake was pure insanity when it hit. I was playing street fighter 2 in a local 7-11. So mad I had to stop playing to run outside and get knocked over repeatedly, while the old asian manager/owner was calmly walking aroudn picking up cans one and two at a time back on the shelves. For every one he put up, 5 fell. haha. He never left the store once. Crazy bastid.

Anyway, straps and all that already mentioned.
You can also try putting the tank on top of some super super dense but thin rubber or plastic based on the tanks weight. It can help absorb some of the shock as it hits your tank, which can save glass if thats what you have, and with straps can help keep it from walking. You want to have some movement on the rubber during massie shock, but in a controlled way. Like they do with skyscrapers and such.

[RRaider]

yeah some great input we got here but when i'm think about an earthquake i think about $$$$ how much money we invest in this hobby and everything could go down so fast... the way the world is right now, all crazy i'm trying to be ready for anything that can happen... i hope everyone is ready too...:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

It's just part of life. Here we have very small earth quakes (most people never even feel them), but we get tornadoes and have had softball sized hail that goes right through your roof, other places have hurricanes, and all of us are suseptable to fires. Just do what you can to prepare and go on about life, it won't do any good to spend your life worrying about what might happen in the future.