Need Champions and Ideas to make use of the BAR funds

[spuri87]

Our treasurer @CaseyP has always been open to and invited us to share ideas on how to use the funds for the betterment of the entire BAR community or to support other initiatives.. Creating this thread with a few ideas where the funds can be used that will benefit the entire BAR community (based on some threads I have seen recently and few based off my personal experience):

• Not everyone is prepared to care for the livestock in an unwanted power outage, @Turkeysammich recently shared his struggles during an outage despite having large solar backup. Basically, there is too much reliance on PGE and the likes. Add emergency power backups (at least 2x each) to BARCODE..
  • Large battery backups
  • Portable generators
• Add 50g/100g/200g tubs along with basic tools like heaters and wavemakers to BARCODE in order to support BAR members during an emergency tank crash or a planned tank transfer. All this package can be under a single category and folks can borrow it from BARinstead of buying new.
• Add portable Cameras and Auto Feeders to BARCODE to help support members going on short trips.
• Make reefing more fun by having monthly or quarterly reef of the month/quarter challenges, awarding the best looking reefs (voting based) with small gift cards/corals.
• Sponsor breeding programs, something like what @Chrism1330 is doing breeding Nudis. Output can be used by the entire community, breeder can be paid $$$ or corals for their help with the same.

Please share your thoughts on the above ideas and do share more ideas which based of their popularity, can be discussed in next BOD meeting for BOD to consider.

 

[Alexander1312]

Great initiative - looks like the issue is always where to keep the equipment based on how far we apart from each other. Still all great ideas.

I am (still) voting for a professional conductivity meter (WTW) - which is around a 1,500+ USD expense. Salinity is the most important water parameter and frequently gets dialed in wrong due to poor equipment. Someone could bring this to the SWAP and we could all bring our water for testing, and those closest to 35 PSU will get to pick corals first - how about that?

 

[KayPi]

The power one reminds me of a though I had the other day. I've lost betta due to heat waves as I don't have AC. While I've never had an issue with a tank bigger tanks than 5g, I'll throw chiller(s) into the suggestion box.

 

[H2OPlayar]

The power one reminds me of a though I had the other day. I've lost betta due to heat waves as I don't have AC. While I've never had an issue with a tank bigger tanks than 5g, I'll throw chiller(s) into the suggestion box.

My only thought here is how much cheaper and more effective fans are at keeping temps low if you have unlimited rodi to account for evaporation. None the less I agree with the sentiment here. Maybe vornado fans. Although I am of the opinion that anyone with a system with over $1k alive should invest $250 in a backup dual fuel generator. Batteries are getting better every year, and the ecoflow unit is a great option for power, but I think it would be hard to pass these around effectively during an outage.

 

[spuri87]

Although I am of the opinion that anyone with a system with over $1k alive should invest $250 in a backup dual fuel generator. Batteries are getting better every year, and the ecotech unit is a great option for power, but I think it would be hard to pass these around effectively during an outage.

Completely agree with this.. Most of the folks with big systems have solar backups or some other type of backup.. but sometimes it's just not enough (read Will's post about how a storm almost killed everything in his tank).. Plus, this will also be helpful for anyone with not budget tanks.. It's always good to know you have an option in the pocket with BAR.. yes, distance logistics etc will be challenging for something like this as Alex also said above, but if a need arises, BOD can choose to have more than a few available, 1 each for instance for different bays.

 

[Turkeysammich]

Completely agree with this.. Most of the folks with big systems have solar backups or some other type of backup.. but sometimes it's just not enough (read Will's post about how a storm almost killed everything in his tank).. Plus, this will also be helpful for anyone with not budget tanks.. It's always good to know you have an option in the pocket with BAR.. yes, distance logistics etc will be challenging for something like this as Alex also said above, but if a need arises, BOD can choose to have more than a few available, 1 each for instance for different bays.

Here’s the thing with power outages. You always think they are going to be short. Power outages are rare in my area. When the power does go out and I pull out my back up stuff. The power comes back on in 15 minutes after I hook everything up. That’s just the nature of the beast. Having said that. Let’s say we ( the club ) bought power supplies. By the time you act, call, meet up, come back, hook it up. The power might be back on. If not. The power supply has to be big enough to run return pump ( that’s your aquariums blood supply) people think it’s the power heads is # 1. It’s not. Because if the power is out for 6 hours or more. Macro/ micro bacteria will start to die. If it dies in your sump and you turn the water on. It will kill everything in your dt. The water is rancid at that point. #2 Powerheads , # 3 heaters, # 4 lights. That’s my emergency order. If you live in an old house like mine. It gets cold really fast. So the moral of the story ? You need a big power supply. Bigger than you think if the power is out for long. Pre planning is good. But it’s rare that you will plan for super long. Although, some smart people here have propane generators. Dunno if that’s loud or not. If the power is out for long amount of time. You need a power audit of your aquarium to know how big a power supply you need. Daymn this is a long post. But wait !!! There’s more. I’m tired of typing. Hit me up if you want to know. Lol.

 

[Alexander1312]

Completely agree with this.. Most of the folks with big systems have solar backups or some other type of backup.. but sometimes it's just not enough (read Will's post about how a storm almost killed everything in his tank).. Plus, this will also be helpful for anyone with not budget tanks.. It's always good to know you have an option in the pocket with BAR.. yes, distance logistics etc will be challenging for something like this as Alex also said above, but if a need arises, BOD can choose to have more than a few available, 1 each for instance for different bays.

Yes, I think with a lot of the equipment purchases, we always need three items to have appropriate coverage.

Re the power back up, additional concern could be that if there is an outage in an area it might impact several folks simultaneously.

Another way to go about stuff like generators or tubs, etc., could be to map out where people are located that have these and who would be willing to lend them out to other members, if needed. In the other reef club I am in Europe, they have an interactive map where you can see where people are located (by town). Maybe some savy member can create something like this? Or is this work for Claude code?

Btw, where is the thread re Will’s power outage? I might have missed this.

 

[spuri87]

In the other reef club I am in Europe, they have an interactive map where you can see where people are located (by town). Maybe some savy member can create something like this? Or is this work for Claude code?

Love this idea.. let me see if I can build something like this real quick

Here is the thread I was talking about:

Thread 'This Storm is Brutal'

Dec 22, 2025

Well dunno if it was the storm or just how it is.
If you guys follow the news. You know 2 days ago. A sub station in San Francisco mission district caught fire. I don’t live near there but I guess it’s a critical part of San Francisco’s electricity grid. In the almost 60 years we lived here. We never loose power for more than a few minutes to hour or so. Well we lost power for almost 8 hours. For a big aquarium it means death. Since I count on the sun for batteries and electricity. I was kinda screwed cuz it’s been rainy and cloudy here. Batteries were at 30%. Not looking good for me...

• Turkeysammich
• Replies: 26
• Forum: Resources

• 
• 

 

[spuri87]

Here’s the thing with power outages. You always think they are going to be short. Power outages are rare in my area. When the power does go out and I pull out my back up stuff. The power comes back on in 15 minutes after I hook everything up. That’s just the nature of the beast. Having said that. Let’s say we ( the club ) bought power supplies. By the time you act, call, meet up, come back, hook it up. The power might be back on. If not. The power supply has to be big enough to run return pump ( that’s your aquariums blood supply) people think it’s the power heads is # 1. It’s not. Because if the power is out for 6 hours or more. Macro/ micro bacteria will start to die. If it dies in your sump and you turn the water on. It will kill everything in your dt. The water is rancid at that point. #2 Powerheads , # 3 heaters, # 4 lights. That’s my emergency order. If you live in an old house like mine. It gets cold really fast. So the moral of the story ? You need a big power supply. Bigger than you think if the power is out for long. Pre planning is good. But it’s rare that you will plan for super long. Although, some smart people here have propane generators. Dunno if that’s loud or not. If the power is out for long amount of time. You need a power audit of your aquarium to know how big a power supply you need. Daymn this is a long post. But wait !!! There’s more. I’m tired of typing. Hit me up if you want to know. Lol.

I generally agree with what you said.. and thanks for the advice on the order of priority.. but as a BAR member with absolutely no backup (which I believe might be true for 50% of the people today?), I feel it’s a little comforting to know that someone nearby may have a backup available (unless of course multiple folks are impacted in the same vicinity in which case, it may be a brawl lol). I remember posting on BAR 2 months into the hobby, coz I had an outage and had no backup (solar wasn’t installed back then).. I also called LFS and Michael looking for a backup in case outage happened for longer than expected but luckily power came back within 30 mins.. that’s the thing with these suckers, you can never be sure of when the issue will actually be fixed!

All that to say, a few Ecotech backups in BARCODE’s arsenal surely can’t hurt.

 

[Alexander1312]

All that to say, a few Ecotech backups in BARCODE’s arsenal surely can’t hurt.

Do we mean Ecotech or Ecoflow? Just trying to clarify. If Ecotech, I would certainly veto that. If Ecoflow, a less stronger veto and I would refer to a post from me on that some time ago .

 

[spuri87]

Do we mean Ecotech or Ecoflow? Just trying to clarify. If Ecotech, I would certainly veto that. If Ecoflow, a less stronger veto and I would refer to a post from me on that some time ago .

I believe ecotech is vastly recommended.. this one right here: https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/vortech-battery-backup-ecotech-marine/

I honestly hadn’t heard about ecoflow until now

 

[richiev]

My votes:

• Add 50g/100g/200g tubs along with basic tools like heaters and wavemakers to BARCODE in order to support BAR members during an emergency tank crash or a planned tank transfer. All this package can be under a single category and folks can borrow it from BARinstead of buying new.
• Sponsor breeding programs, something like what @Chrism1330 is doing breeding Nudis. Output can be used by the entire community, breeder can be paid $$$ or corals for their help with the same.
• Add portable Cameras and Auto Feeders to BARCODE to help support members going on short trips.

I think the power outage and such ones are extremely laudable, but in practice they'd assume only one'ish person has an outage at a time AND the person is near whoever is holding it AND the person holding it is home. If you get stuck with a power outage you have so little time to turnaround that it might not be realistic to help in practice unless there were quite a few.

The other ones all seem usable for many folks, though with the cost of gas, it may be cheaper for people to buy the cameras and feeders on amazon with delivery then pick them up. The first set is a big enough storage issue that not a lot of people can hold it, and breeding is right in the goal of BAR.

RE wavemakers, the jebao ones are solid and a perfect cost vs value trade for a club donor set.

Finally, as a different suggestion, building on the group buys thread. Things to help with that would be great. A 20 gallon tank and supplies to coordinate a periodic invert bulk order and quarantine? Give whoever takes care during the isolation period their set free, and sell the rest out with the value benefiting the club.

 

[Turkeysammich]

I believe ecotech is vastly recommended.. this one right here: https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/vortech-battery-backup-ecotech-marine/

I honestly hadn’t heard about ecoflow until now

Ecotech is basically a small car / motorcycle battery. They are not very good once you study a real battery backup.

 

[Alexander1312]

I believe ecotech is vastly recommended.. this one right here: https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/vortech-battery-backup-ecotech-marine/

I honestly hadn’t heard about ecoflow until now

Outdated battery technology overpriced with reef tax included. Not recommended by those in the know .

Ecoflow is the better alternative, but I had bad experience with them and switched to another brand, i.e., Bluetti, but still use it for my modem+router and frag tank back up.

 

[Kensington Reefer]

It’s great if the club has all of these tools for emergencies and or tank moves...
But if the problem is in Novato and the tools are in Santa Clara...that’s a problem!
If possible and the club can afford it, I recommend at least 3 sets to “not too far” locations around the Bay.
Just a thought...

 

[RandyC]

Sorta joking, sorta not, but I'd throw in monthly storage unit if you're talking about all these big items. While I like the sediment, I don't know who's willing to store rubbermaid stock tubs, tanks, chillers, generators, etc. I know my wife would kill me if I suggested it. Also, you would have to think about the future as well if a member isn't able to store the equipment anymore or they decide to not be a member anymore.

This would also help with having to have someone present if there was a central location for all these items. Buy a wifi (hoping that the storage place has wifi) enabled padlock as well so it can be remotely opened by the BOD for members.

 

[CaseyP]

Sorta joking, sorta not, but I'd throw in monthly storage unit if you're talking about all these big items. While I like the sediment, I don't know who's willing to store rubbermaid stock tubs, tanks, chillers, generators, etc. I know my wife would kill me if I suggested it.

Hah I actually did look into this. I was thinking Hayward area right across the 92 bridge for easy access from all directions. It was about $200/mo for a 10x10 unit. I rented baby gear in Hawaii that had a similar setup you mentioned. Remote keypad with user assigned codes, camera in the unit to monitor check-ins and out. Could also be used as a BARCode equipment drop off and pick up point. I've brought it up before to also store all the event equipment but seems most people were find holding onto those at their house.

Another way to go about stuff like generators or tubs, etc., could be to map out where people are located that have these and who would be willing to lend them out to other members, if needed. In the other reef club I am in Europe, they have an interactive map where you can see where people are located (by town). Maybe some savy member can create something like this? Or is this work for Claude code?

I like this idea! I could've sworn we had a thread where people listed what they have available to borrow in case of emergency but it's buried somewhere. Putting it on BARCode, but as a separate page for emergency equipment, with a map would be a fantastic idea.

Add portable Cameras and Auto Feeders to BARCODE to help support members going on short trips.

One of them fancy inD auto frozen food feeders?? There was a time I could've used one when I had fish that didn't eat freeze dried food from my Plank auto feeder.


Other ideas the club is open to is for non-profit support. Are there coral conservation or research projects that you feel passionately about and align with the club's mission? Feel free to pitch your idea

 

[spuri87]

Some really great points shared in this thread by everyone.. We need a driver/champion who can partner with existing BODs to load balance their work and come up with the rules defining any potential new DBTC candidates.. Yes, the brands, the number of items, their size, the storage and every single logistic will need some work but there is enough experience in this group to help come up with something that works for the majority..

Ecotech is basically a small car / motorcycle battery. They are not very good once you study a real battery backup.

Outdated battery technology overpriced with reef tax included. Not recommended by those in the know .

Ecoflow is the better alternative, but I had bad experience with them and switched to another brand, i.e., Bluetti, but still use it for my modem+router and frag tank back up.

Thanks for sharing.. I personally have 0 experience with any of these, so good to know.. If this gets approved by the BOD, the driving team can definitely pick your brains on what brands to choose.

It’s great if the club has all of these tools for emergencies and or tank moves...
But if the problem is in Novato and the tools are in Santa Clara...that’s a problem!
If possible and the club can afford it, I recommend at least 3 sets to “not too far” locations around the Bay.
Just a thought...

100% agree.. we will need more than 1, so that they can be shared in the vicinity (at least in the 3 bays)

Sorta joking, sorta not, but I'd throw in monthly storage unit if you're talking about all these big items. While I like the sediment, I don't know who's willing to store rubbermaid stock tubs, tanks, chillers, generators, etc.

This would also help with having to have someone present if there was a central location for all these items. Buy a wifi (hoping that the storage place has wifi) enabled padlock as well so it can be remotely opened by the BOD for members.

While it's innovative and I am all in favor of any kind of innovation, there may be budget constraints preventing us from renting a unit forever.. Again, if this is approved by BOD, we can have driver/champion lay down the logistics.. maybe 3 small 50g tubs instead of bigger sizes (we can start with 1 and buy more if there is demand)? I am willing to keep at least 1 in my backyard (unless they can be stacked) until someone needs to use it.. after someone gets it, it becomes their responsibility to hold onto them until someone else gets it from them and so on.. we got more than 300 supporting members, I am sure there will be enough volunteers to hold onto these for the club.. BAR is good with defining DBTC rules, I guess we will figure out something.. if nothing else works, or something changes (holding member leaving the group etc), then we can think about renting a unit

 

[spuri87]

I like this idea! I could've sworn we had a thread where people listed what they have available to borrow in case of emergency but it's buried somewhere. Putting it on BARCode, but as a separate page for emergency equipment, with a map would be a fantastic idea.

+1, loved the idea.. I am thinking to build something to support this (if I get some time handling kids and works)

One of them fancy inD auto frozen food feeders??

haha why not any mid-range ones would work too, but I honestly believe a trip supporting gear available in BARCODE will be yuuuugggggeeee!

I feel most of us at some point in their reefing journey might have felt a need for something that they wished they could borrow for sometime instead of buying.. we should all think about any such 'shareable' equipments that would make everyone's reefing journey a little better while keeping their pockets a little heavier.

 

[SupraSaltyReefer]

All great ideas. Some of my thoughts would be:

How about partnering with a few LFS to store the equipment. Neptune Aquatics for the South Bay. High Tide Aquatics for Oakland area. Salty Aquatics for the Concord area. Fishy Business for the North Bay. After business hours pick up would be a downside tho. Problem I see with the larger holding tanks 100g+ is most members won’t have the vehicle to transport it home.

Battery backup or generator is a good idea, but the reality is the power will probably come back on before you have a chance to pick up the battery/generator. A pump and airstone is all you really need for a few hours of outage. Heater as well for longer duration. You can buy a Ecoflow for $250 that would work great.

Wyze and Eufy cameras can be bought for $35-$50 so members are better off buying for themselves. Cheaper than some frags we keep.

Smart Auto feeder with camera is a good idea for vacations.

We used to have monthly and then quarterly picture of the month contests, but barely received any submissions and votes so that kinda died off. I can try bringing that back again. Budget tank contest slowly lost interest people’s interest.

Breeding program for Berghias didn’t seem to have much interest. Less than 10 people showed up for my Reef Talk & Chill session about breeding Berghias. Also, believe it or not there’s not enough available aiptasia for a breeding program. I’ve thought about a Aiptasia grow out contest so that maybe a contest in the near future.

I previously had an idea for a heavy duty hydraulic lift table cart for moving tanks, but storage was an issue.

Great ideas from everyone. Keep them coming!