Thoughts on long term storage

As i have been preparing for financial hard times ahead, i was wondering if any one had any thoughts on long term storage of reef tank supplies, such as test kits, salt, chemicals, additives and such.
looking into wanting to store a 3 year supply of such stuff. 8)
what is the shelf life of such things ,and are there ways to extend there life by maybe storing in the refrigerator, vacuum sealing or something??

 

I know most test kits will not last that long. Salt mixes I believe will lose some mineral "potency", as for additives, they also will lose some potency over time. Foods and vitamins can be prolonged in the refrigerator.

 

^^^totally agree^^^

 

I think that most things powdered such as salt and additives for mag. alk. cal. should hold up well if there vacuum packed with no air or moisture.

 

;Djust save the money in the equal amounts in a special reef acount
becaus what if u change ur mind on the kits u want to use or what not

 

With the way technology and chemical advancements go, you may want to consider selling some stuff off and start fresh when you come back. Depends on how much of everything your talking about though.

 

sorry i didn't explain myself very well, i don't want this thread to be a doom and gloom thing. a look around the world should give you an idea what i have in mind.
i am not wanting to store this stuff for a come back. its more of a cover my butt move to sustain my tanks for a long term of like 3 years.

 

ah, ok I understand much better now. I was thinking like opened stuff.

Well I would think like others mentioned stocking up on things, keeping the bags sealed. Keeping liquids refrigerated, alot of things could have quite a shelf life. Probably about all I wouldnt be too sure of is test kits.

 

test kits may be hard. When we buy a skid of salt it usually sits for 4-5 years before all being used up