Abandoned Hurricane Aquarium: Help Temper My Expectations

[Zakary2003]

Tldr; I was hit by two hurricanes and my school kicked me out for an entire month. My tank was left behind. What should I expect to see when I return?

Hey everyone!

I'm a college student in the Tampa Bay Area in Florida. My college is a marine science college literally right on the Tampa Bay. We were hit by Hurricane Helene and then again by Hurricane Milton, and our school forced us to evacuate and closed down after the catastrophic damages. It reopens in a week.

My 20 gallon mixed reef tank was left behind because I was only given 36 hours to make evacuation plans and I didn't expect to be gone this long. I couldn't bring the tank with me. My tank has been totally abandoned since September 27th. My ATO water reservoir containing RODI water and Kalkwasser was due to be empty today but might have emptied sooner due to the backup bubbler I have running in case we lost power. My fish feeder will likely run out soon. I'm not allowed to return until Saturday, October 26th (6 days from now).

I know my equipment stayed working during the first storm because I was able to get a professor on campus to check on it for me after Helene, but he didn't do anything other than ensure everything was turned back on. I have no idea what is working after the second storm or what survived in between the two.

What should I expect to return to? I have lots of coral variety ranging from pest corals like kenya tree, gsp, and xenia to LPS like favites, micromussa, avans, and euphylia, and even SPS like montis, pavona, and acros. I only have three fish, two clowns and a yasha goby, and all three eat pellets. I have 2 rock flower anemones and a bubble tip anemone. I have 3 sexy shrimp and a candy pistol shrimp. I'm not sure if the anemones or shrimps will eat the pellets or not.

The acros are the most upsetting part to me. I recieved 8 awesome acros from Adam at Battle Corals literally the same day I had to evacuate. I ordered them before Helene was even on the radar. They aren't even glued down yet and are just sitting on a magnetic frag rack in a tank with an urchin! What are their survival odds?

What can survive neglect for that long? Is there anything I should just assume is totally lost? Has anyone else experienced something like this before? I'm really worried and bummed about everything and I'm not optimistic about what I'm returning to next Saturday.

 

[Spare time]

Really it all comes down to if the ATO and fish food didn't run out of water and food.

 

[Zakary2003]

Really it all comes down to if the ATO and fish food didn't run out of water and food.

Yeah, I figured. I've sent multiple emails (like 15 at this point maybe?) to the dorm security and maintence people and some various professors and school admins trying to convince someone to go and refill the feeder and top off. I haven't recieved anything back except for one person telling me they're the wrong person to ask.
I even tried to convince the Campus Safety coordinator that if they didn't refill the water that my zoas would release palytoxins and turn my room into a biohazard but that didn't even work.

 

[Zakary2003]

Yeah, I figured. I've sent multiple emails (like 15 at this point maybe?) to the dorm security and maintence people and some various professors and school admins trying to convince someone to go and refill the feeder and top off. I haven't recieved anything back except for one person telling me they're the wrong person to ask.
I even tried to convince the Campus Safety coordinator that if they didn't refill the water that my zoas would release palytoxins and turn my room into a biohazard but that didn't even work.

At this point I've even considered bribing a friend who lives near campus to sneak onto campus and go to my dorm room to refill the ATO container, but I'm not sure how she'd get in since she doesn't have a key to the room.

 

[Texasreef]

Agreed also more so than food and ATO would be if you have power in general. Without power not having a heater or circulation would be detrimental

 

[Zakary2003]

Agree with zakary, also more so than food and ATO would be if you have power in general. Without power not having a heater or circulation would be detrimental

Luckily there's definitely power. They sent out an email to the whole school and my dorm was on the list of buildings that currently have power or a working backup generator.

 

[Texasreef]

Luckily there's definitely power. They sent out an email to the whole school and my dorm was on the list of buildings that currently have power or a working backup generator.

That’s good to hear. As you may know fish can go fairly long without food. At this point as mentioned hopefully you ATO is not dried up and can still help with Evap and keeping your salinity in Check. Have you tried contacting the Deen?

 

[Zakary2003]

That’s good to hear. As you may know fish can go fairly long without food. At this point as mentioned hopefully you ATO is not dried up and can still help with Evap and keeping your salinity in Check. Have you tried contacting the Deen?

Yeah I've contacted pretty much every person in the school administration that could help, including the dean. Most of them are too busy trying to get campus back online before students start returning. I've only recieved one reply in a week, and it was someone telling me they can't help but will forward my message to their superiors.

 

[Texasreef]

That’s a tough one… you could try to let them know you have some medication you need ASAP in your room and bring a backpack with a gallon of RODI in it. This is a long shot but it could give you enough time to quickly refill ATO & food. Not saying it’s good to lie lol but I think they would appreciate it in the long run. Imagine the smell of the room if things did go south in the tank.

 

[Zakary2003]

That’s a tough one… you could try to let them know you have some medication you need ASAP in your room and bring a backpack with a gallon of RODI in it. This is a long shot but it could give you enough time to quickly refill ATO & food. Not saying it’s good to lie lol but I think they would appreciate it in the long run. Imagine the smell of the room if things did go south in the tank.

Unfortunately I couldn't get accommodations in the area when we evacuated. I'm not close enough to pop over there and do that. It's about a 6 hour drive from where I'm staying. That's why I'd like to bribe my friend in the area to go but she doesn't have a room key.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Hoping that your tank is ok when you get back!

 

[OrionN]

I âm sorry but I don’t think there is much you can do. I think you will be back with a smelly room.
Let us know how it turn out so we can share your joy or sorrow with you.

 

[Tamberav]

I would just expect everything to be dead and happy if something survived.

Dead not because of the ATO or food but because I would think the place would have been without power at some point.

If lucky the cuc/worms ate the bodies of things which will keep the smell down.

Fish can survive fairly high salinity in my experience but I would not expect power or generators to be on quickly.

 

[AlyciaMarie]

Following this, I am hoping for the best. Is your tank in a house/apartment or a dorm? If a dorm, have you contacted an RA/RD to see if they're returning to campus earlier than the rest of the students?

 

[Zakary2003]

I would just expect everything to be dead and happy if something survived.

Dead not because of the ATO or food but because I would think the place would have been without power at some point.

If lucky the cuc/worms ate the bodies of things which will keep the smell down.

Fish can survive fairly high salinity in my experience but I would not expect power or generators to be on quickly.

The generators are pretty reliable and they kicked on within minutes during the first hurricane. I don't know how well they worked during the second storm, but the storm surge was way less significant for Milton so it likely knocked out less power. After all, the generators are responsible for protecting millions of dollars worth of research and equipment. I also had a rechargeable airstone set up that can run for about 72 hours on a charge. So if power loss is your only concern, the tank should be fine.

 

[Tamberav]

The generators are pretty reliable and they kicked on within minutes during the first hurricane. I don't know how well they worked during the second storm, but the storm surge was way less significant for Milton so it likely knocked out less power. After all, the generators are responsible for protecting millions of dollars worth of research and equipment. I also had a rechargeable airstone set up that can run for about 72 hours on a charge. So if power loss is your only concern, the tank should be fine.

Then my best guess is easy corals and clowns may make it.

Not sure I trust eheim feeder long term to feed the correct amount so maybe algae and things.

Idk it’s an odd question. How can anyone know? I would just plan for the worst and hope for the best.

 

[Tamberav]

While they have generators I assumed it was for important areas and not the dorms.

 

[Zakary2003]

Then my best guess is easy corals and clowns may make it.

Not sure I trust eheim feeder long term to feed the correct amount so maybe algae and things.

Idk it’s an odd question. How can anyone know? I would just plan for the worst and hope for the best.

While they have generators I assumed it was for important areas and not the dorms.

Yeah, I know nobody has a definite answer. But I'm sure some people have experience with abandoning the tank for long lengths. Maybe not for hurricanes, but messy divorces, medical emergencies, etc could cause people to be in a similar situation to mine.

 

[Tamberav]

Yeah, I know nobody has a definite answer. But I'm sure some people have experience with abandoning the tank for long lengths. Maybe not for hurricanes, but messy divorces, medical emergencies, etc could cause people to be in a similar situation to mine.

Every tank is so different though. I really hope yours pulls through, I am sure it is a source of anxiety right now.

 

[Zakary2003]

I finally got a response from the school today. I don't know why it took them two weeks but I guess mentioning palytoxins got their attention. They saw a lot of dead inverts and no live fish (no dead fish either, but I'm not optimistic). The Dean of students couldn't tell if the corals were alive or dead but I'd assume dead.

Does anyone have tips for cleaning up and starting over?

This really sucks.