In remembrance of my 75

[Anonymous]

Pics of my 75 gallon reef before Hurricane Rita. I have since sold what was left of this set up - and oddly enough - setting up a bigger one (and also a nano). This reef was six years old before the two week long power outage. This is only one of the many reefs that I am aware of that went down during Katrina & Rita. I am sure the other storms last year claimed many more. Dealing with a long term power outage is becoming a real concern these days to those of us living in coastal regions.

 

[dragon79]

what a great looking tank. Sorry of your loss during those bad times, it's a real shame. At least you have pics and the memories...cool thing is you are optimistic and going bigger and getting a nano and staying in the game. Way to go!

 

[aromano]

Ohhhhhh my GOD.
What a shame Pirates Reef. What a stunning reef tank you had there.
I am glad you didn't give up and continue to be involved in the beautiful world of reef keeping, with new projects in mind.

I went through an 11 day power outage after Hurricane Wilma last year, and luckily I still had only a 24 gallon tank, so the battery air pumps and daily water changes were able to keep the inhabitants alive during this very stressful period. It's just amazing how much care, time, effort, and money we put into our tanks to have it all wiped out by natural disasters and power outages. My next investment is a small generator for the next hurricane season, since I upgraded to a 75 gallon at the end of the year.

 

[skipm]

Too bad you lost that tank, it was a beautiful reef. I am glad you are upbeat about the new tank and wish you well with the bigtank and your new nano.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I sure hated to lose the inhabitants of that tank. Much of it had been in there for the full six years. I had fragged many of the corals time and again to swap with the LFS for new corals. It will be a while before I can do that again.

When Rita was heading our way, it became apparent that this was the big one that we had feared in SW Louisiana for many years (we have not been hit with a significant storm in almost 50 years). Since Katrina had devastated SE Louisiana, Mississippi and parts of Alabama just a few weeks before, this part of the state was overflowing with evacuees from New Orleans. There was literally not a hotel room or uncrowded shelter anywhere near here. Many people (including us) had to travel across several states to find a place to stay - some for weeks (or as some I know - until even today). After the storm hit, the authorities blockaded the entrances into town, so we were essentially locked out for a full week. A generator would have done no good. Had I stayed, I could have saved the reef, but making sure the family was safe was more important than an aquarium.

 

[NemoNano]

Nice tank. love the Butterfly.:mrgreen:

Eric

 

[EDGRAY]

what a great extank that you had men it really looks nice and well stock uhhhh anything else i can say is wow :shock: :shock: .....

P.S: gotta hate Katrina & Rita :lol: :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

I was just going through some more old pics of the tank. Thought some of you might enjoy seeing more of them.

 

[leecrosby]

nice looking tank i went throught the same thing i live in metairie

 

[drty811]

tragic loss.....but great pics and tank pirate

 

[mikeguerrero]

I'm in love with your tank, man what a beauty. I've yet to see a SPS mixed tank this size with so much diversity. Tank is just gorgeous.

MG

 

[Anonymous]

nice looking tank i went throught the same thing i live in metairie

Hey Lee. Thanks. Hate that you had to go through this too. I hope your home was not badly damaged. I have been over to that part of the state and it ain't pretty. Not quite as bad over here (comparatively speaking) - unless you lived on the coast. I guess your power was out for at least two or three weeks also.

Are you a member of the Louisiana Reef Club?

http://www.lareefclub.com/forum/portal.php

You would probably know a bunch of people from over your way.

Hope you are settiing your reef back up also. Good luck to you...

 

[Anonymous]

tragic loss.....but great pics and tank pirate

Thanks. It sucked losing the tank, but at least my roof stayed on.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm in love with your tank, man what a beauty. I've yet to see a SPS mixed tank this size with so much diversity. Tank is just gorgeous. MG

Thanks Mike. I had so many people tell me that my tank wouldn't do well by mixing all of the corals like that. About the only problem I had was to try to keep them from growing into one another. Most of those corals started out in my tank as frags, so maybe that made a difference. I will have more room in the new tank, so it will be difficult to get that filled up look that I like - more costly at least.

 

[Dickie52]

Pirate,
First time I got to look at this thread and all I can say is Holly Sh!t.....Out of control!!! I am a lover of zoos and softies and I must say you have taken my breath away..... :razz:

Great pictures too!!!

 

[Anonymous]

Pirate,
First time I got to look at this thread and all I can say is Holly Sh!t.....Out of control!!! I am a lover of zoos and softies and I must say you have taken my breath away..... :razz:

Great pictures too!!!

Thanks again. I was lucky enough to have been able to collect some nice pieces. Hated that I had to lose them like that.

Those pics came from a couple of different cameras. One a Nikon CoolPix 995 and the newer Olympus C-8080. Still wish I would have sprung for the Nikon D-70 though.