Back-up air pumps for big tanks

apayan

apayan

New member
Hello everyone I recently set up at 230 gallon tank. Everything is going well but to be sure that continues I have pre-run two lines of rigid tubing down the back of the tank, under the sand bed, to air dispersant tubes on either side of the tank. The idea is that if the power cuts for whatever reason these battery operated pumps click on and start delivering air and some water movement. This worked extremely well in my old 30 gallon tank, but I have run into some trouble now.

When the air pumps kick in they pump, but barely any air comes out of the end of the tubes. After looking at the situation I noticed that it is likely because the the new tank is 30 inches tall and there is considerably more pressure at the bottom of this tank that the pumps must pump again.

Does anyone know of any good self contained backup airpump system(s) that give enough pressure to pump thorough amounts of air to the bottom of my tank? The ones I have now are Million air D cell powered pumps. Any info on this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :wave:
 
For the investment that a 230 gallon represents I would get a generator. A small one that would take care of your system only costs a couple of hundred bucks. Of course I will never justify a generator for my fish to my wife, so a whole house backup generator is going to cost me about three grand!
 
You also could mount the air discharge tubing 10 inches deep or so into the tank. I would think that silicone would do the trick for mounting. Time should cover the tubing with stuff.:cool:

Mark
 
muttley000 said:
For the investment that a 230 gallon represents I would get a generator. A small one that would take care of your system only costs a couple of hundred bucks. Of course I will never justify a generator for my fish to my wife, so a whole house backup generator is going to cost me about three grand!
Click to expand...

This is definitely what I have been thinking about lately, but of course space is at a premium around my tank because I don't have everything in a fish room, but under the tank (packed quite well if I may say so http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/images/smilies/smile.gif). I think I should look into getting one as a more long term solution because one should run a power head in case of a power outage.

mcfish said:
You also could mount the air discharge tubing 10 inches deep or so into the tank. I would think that silicone would do the trick for mounting. Time should cover the tubing with stuff.:cool:
Click to expand...

Mark that would work but then of course I would have the lines be visible. The whole point is to keep them hidden. Also the lower that the air bubbles start in the water column the better water movement and oxygenation I would get.

I tried running the pumps last night and I didn't even get anything at all going through. This could be due to one of two problems 1) the air bars are clogged in some way or 2) the pumps are just VERY weak.

I think it is the latter one and that ultimately leads me to maybe get a UPS device like those used for computers. Not sure how long I could run a pump on one of those for though. I have no idea how to convert battery storage to time usage. Does anyone have a clue on that? I was thinking of running one of these

Thoughts?
 
air pumps really don't work terribly well on larger tanks for getting water moving (as you've seen) you could rig up an airlifter system to move water, but that would probably hit that "it's visible" thing that you don't seem to want.

What do you have as far as water pumps inside the tank? DC powered pumps like Vortech and Tunze have options for power outages. AC powered pumps, you could get away with on a UPS, but you really want to make sure its a decent UPS that puts out a good sine wave, many UPS units put a chopped/modified sine wave which is basically +110 - 0 - -110V which is perfectly fine for appliances that use an inverter to convert AC to DC anyways (computer, laptop, anything that charges batteries) but for something like a AC pump you could run into issues. (I've learned this the hard way when I tried to power an 8 watt pump with a "el cheapo" car inverter (killed the inverter)
 
UPS devices

UPS devices

dave.m said:
I, too, have wondered about using a UPS. The particular air pump you have specified, the Coralife Super Luft Pump SL-38, gives the following power demand information: Wattage: 22W, Amperage: 0.2A. Perhaps you could email someone like American Power Conversion (APC) and ask them which of their models they'd recommend for 2-3 days continuous use of this air pump with these demands.
Click to expand...

I think I should definitely contact a company and get some info on that. But I do also need to consider plugging in a power head when the power fails. Ultimately a natural gas generator that kicks in when the power kicks off is what I want, but we can only consider what is both financially and logistically feasible.

sfsuphysics said:
What do you have as far as water pumps inside the tank? DC powered pumps like Vortech and Tunze have options for power outages. AC powered pumps, you could get away with on a UPS, but you really want to make sure its a decent UPS that puts out a good sine wave...
Click to expand...

Yeah I was thinking this really does make some more sense. There are so many relatively cheap UPS devices out there that it would be easy to get one and ultimately get in trouble when a power outage hits. I'm currently running two Hydor Koralia Evolution 1400gph power heads (DC power) on either side of my tank hooked up as wavemakers to my reef keeper lite. I'd love to have them hooked up to the UPS too but that's just not practical with the way my power strips have things hooked up. I imagine the power going out, then the air pump kicks on then I would eventually notice it and hook up a single power head to be constantly on.

Has anyone out there used a UPS for their tank? Does anyone know of a good one for aquarium use?
 
If you run a return with a low wattage pump, that would be just one thing plugged into the ups. I have a 80 watt pump that runs at least 4 hours on my ups. That buys me enough time to go to wherever to rent or buy a genny. I also am thinking off adding some battery powered Air pumP. I guess you hide the line somehow in the corner of the tank.
 
azoo makes a decent one for 50ish bucks, it has a larger battery and will push air to the bottom of your tank. It has a low and high setting, both work in my 500 gal tank. You could try coupling the 2 weak ones you have with a T valve and making it a shallow water depth one. Only draw back is the azoo is a liquid battery, so once it goes dead in a couple of years i think you have to replace it. I have 2 slient air T-ed together and they reach about half way down my tank as well. You definiately need somthing that is automatic for when you are not there.
 
Ldagger said:
azoo makes a decent one for 50ish bucks, it has a larger battery and will push air to the bottom of your tank. It has a low and high setting, both work in my 500 gal tank. You could try coupling the 2 weak ones you have with a T valve and making it a shallow water depth one. Only draw back is the azoo is a liquid battery, so once it goes dead in a couple of years i think you have to replace it. I have 2 slient air T-ed together and they reach about half way down my tank as well. You definiately need somthing that is automatic for when you are not there.
Click to expand...

why don't you get a vortech and use their battery backup?it lasts like 40 hrs
 
apayan said:
I think I should definitely contact a company and get some info on that. But I do also need to consider plugging in a power head when the power fails. Ultimately a natural gas generator that kicks in when the power kicks off is what I want, but we can only consider what is both financially and logistically feasible.



Yeah I was thinking this really does make some more sense. There are so many relatively cheap UPS devices out there that it would be easy to get one and ultimately get in trouble when a power outage hits. I'm currently running two Hydor Koralia Evolution 1400gph power heads (DC power) on either side of my tank hooked up as wavemakers to my reef keeper lite. I'd love to have them hooked up to the UPS too but that's just not practical with the way my power strips have things hooked up. I imagine the power going out, then the air pump kicks on then I would eventually notice it and hook up a single power head to be constantly on.

Has anyone out there used a UPS for their tank? Does anyone know of a good one for aquarium use?
Click to expand...

I have done research on adding a UPS to my system. A UPS won't last too long if you have a major power outage. Currently, i'm leaning toward a battery backup for my vortech because they claim to keep the pump running for a day or two.
 
Mothercolony said:
If you run a return with a low wattage pump, that would be just one thing plugged into the ups. I have a 80 watt pump that runs at least 4 hours on my ups. That buys me enough time to go to wherever to rent or buy a genny. I also am thinking off adding some battery powered Air pumP. I guess you hide the line somehow in the corner of the tank.
Click to expand...

So do you always have a intake and outlet hose for this pump dangling in your tank?

Mouse said:
Here is an older build on a DIY battery backup for pumps. If you can run the power cords the unit can be stored remotly (a big plus)
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64918&highlight=car+battery+trickle+backup
Click to expand...

An interesting solution but I'm going for reliability. I don't know if something I build is all that reliable when it comes to electroni

Ldagger said:
azoo makes a decent one for 50ish bucks, it has a larger battery and will push air to the bottom of your tank. It has a low and high setting, both work in my 500 gal tank. You could try coupling the 2 weak ones you have with a T valve and making it a shallow water depth one. Only draw back is the azoo is a liquid battery, so once it goes dead in a couple of years i think you have to replace it. I have 2 slient air T-ed together and they reach about half way down my tank as well. You definiately need somthing that is automatic for when you are not there.
Click to expand...

What depth have you tested the kazoo one for? Does it automatically kick on when the power cuts off?but then again to get the flow and airation I would need two of those; would a UPS end up being the same. At least with a UPS I could plug a power head in.

jaharr01 said:
why don't you get a vortech and use their battery backup?it lasts like 40 hrs
Click to expand...

Money money money!!! The vortechs are the best solution but they cost way more than my budget allows. Also they make for GREAT wavemakers. The models I would need with the battery would be at least $800.

Is this something people don't do out of negligence or a common problem I am being the first to bring to light? Do reliability and function have to be mutually exclusive?
 
After being without power for 14 hours I went to Best Buy and bought the biggest APC unit they had there. I just run one koralia 4 with it now to keep it lasting a little longer. It says I will only get about 2 hours out of it though. So if you get longer outages regularly I would recommend a generator for sure. Or compensating with a more efficient pump, maybe even less powerful but directed at the surface.
 
the azoo will pump air all the way to the bottom of your tank, it's automatic, does not mis a beat when the power is cut. I have had mine for about 4 years, the pump still works great, the battery finally died, I have not replaced it yet, i bought a new unit instead and using the pump for other stuff.
 
oh sorry you only need one if I understand your setup. I would avoid dealing with a UPS. I am a sysadmin and think they are crap on servers as well. just my opinion. ie they fail and so does everything else. weak link
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

E
Need some help with two clowns swimming unusually as I’m doing a fish cycle.
2
Replies
24
Views
711
kfisc
kfisc
S
Back up power supply
2
Replies
22
Views
389
Reefing102
Reefing102
Kona26
Aerate instant ocean reef crystals salt mix..?
Replies
3
Views
275
griss
griss
R
Ph Control Set Up
Replies
0
Views
188
rdavidw
R
AZBigJohn
New Build... I'm back
2
Replies
23
Views
589
griss
griss
Back
Top