Battery back up

P

Percula9

New member
I was informed by my power company that they will interrupt power for up to 8 hours on Aug 1. I bought a power strip with a built in battery back up. I hope it can run the tank long enough to get through this. I will report back later on the success or failure of this plan.
 
I dont think there is a "power strip" that has a battery back up built in to it that can run your aquarium. I bought a power strip that has a battery back up...and battery back up is whats written on the box. But this is a timer with a digital display and the battery back up is for the display. You need a battery back up like for a computer, also I would only run your power heads. Most back ups wont last 8 hours if you try to run the whole aquarium. Dont worry about the skimmer or lights...your tank will be ok for 8 hours without those. Can you post a link or list the specs of the power strip you bought....
 
I've had APC backup power strips that have a battery backup for up to one hour. Its nothing compared to an actual backup battery, but it will get you through in a bind.
 
8 Hours is not that long, but you should plan on them having problems and the 8 hours turning into 12-16 hours.

The batter backup you purchased will run an air pump for several hours, but not much more. A UPS large enough to run your circulation and return pumps is going to cost several hundred dollars and still not likely get you 8 hours.

So:
Run air pumps to keep the water moving or borrow or rent a generator for the afternoon to keep everything running. No need to run the lights during that period.
 
APC

APC

I have an APC Smart UPS. It isn't good for days but it will last with a few PH's for hours.

If you look on Ebay, you can find one for under $100. I was lucky, I got a new one for $80. Worst case, buy one and get a new battery.

I learned the hard way that you need to get one that is a SMART UPS since it has a tru sine wave. Don't get the "approximated sine wave models". They will not work or will show an overload condition.
 
The power outage will be at night from 11:30pm till the morning. It may not even happen. I will only be running a box filter for my two tanks. This should last for the time required. I bought the APC ES- Series backup. Since its summer I shouldn't have trouble with the temp. The specs are 550VA at 330 watts. I figured I needed it any way just in case of a real power failure. Since it is at night O2 consumption in the tank will be low. I picked up the unit from Office Depot. I will report results.
 
These devices are designed primarily as computer power backup systems, to allow shut down within a few minutes in order to save data. I checked the specs on the unit you're referring to (550VA) and it will provide all of 3.3 minutes of backup power at it's rated full load of 330watts and 13.5 minutes at half load of 165watts. I don't know how many watts your box filter uses, but I suspect this unit will not last too long for you. It's physically impossible to have a battery of an size or capacity built into one of these powerstrip battery backups. You'd be better off pulling the battery out of your car and hooking it up to a 500 watt inverter.
 
Not to mention the "ES" series is not a sine wave output. That means that it will not run motors well (if at all). If it is able to turn a motor, it will do so very inefficiently.

Do yourself a favor and drive an air pump or two instead of trying to run your filter pumps.
 
I just tested the battery backup and it ran the pump for the filter box with no problem. How long it will run the system remains to be seen. I guess we will find out in a week. I hope they cancel the outage all together.
 
I've been looking for a decent UPS that will run a Tunze 6105 or my Iwaki return pump for at least 8 hours. There was a thread in the Large Tanks forum recently where a member lost many fish due to a power outage in teh middle of teh night. The 400g tank was without power for less than 8 hours and still lots of stuff died. I really want to avoid this.

So been looking for these "Smart UPS" systems that danjen mention. Does this produce a true sine wave:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1237271&CatId=234

I'm looking to spend just a few dollars and just need something that will keep the tank alive while no-one is looking. I have generators but that doesn't help until you notice there is a problem and if we go away as a family and the in-laws look after the tank I need some insurance.

That site has hundreds of UPSes so if anyone knows enough and could take a look and point me in the right direction I would very much appreciate it.
 
NexDog,

If it were me, I would use a Liebert GXT2 series UPS. They are expensive, but pretty much bullet proof. You just dont get much of a UPS for $150.

Maybe a more cost effective alternative would be to use a relay and small UPS to kick in an airpump or emergency powerhead ONLY when the mains power fails. If you are interested in this route, just ask :)
 
kcarrol2:

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15422937#post15422937 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
I have generators but that doesn't help until you notice there is a problem and if we go away as a family and the in-laws look after the tank I need some insurance.
Click to expand...
;)

How much does this Liebert GXT2 go for?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15422937#post15422937 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
I've been looking for a decent UPS that will run a Tunze 6105 or my Iwaki return pump for at least 8 hours.
Click to expand...
You can get the Tunze safety connector and a 12V battery and run it directly off the battery. A 30AH battery will run it for ~ 30 hrs.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15423476#post15423476 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sjm817
You can get the Tunze safety connector and a 12V battery and run it directly off the battery. A 30AH battery will run it for ~ 30 hrs.
Click to expand...
Yea, but the point is getting a UPS. I have 2 generators that can run my tank indefinitely in case of outage.

Quite a few GXT2s on that site. Are they all true sine wave?

These ones caught my eye for ~$350:

http://www.upsforless.com/liegxt21500rt.aspx
http://www.upsforless.com/liegxt21000rt.aspx
http://www.upsforless.com/lieps1440.aspx

Thanks guys, might be getting closer. :)
 
Well tonights the night they shut my power off. I bought a battery operated air pump as a backup. I will report my results tomorrow.
 
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