beginners sps?

[truebeliever71]

Pick up an APC UPS. The one I have will run the filters and heater for 3 hours. Plus if something goes wrong with it you're covered up to $25,000 depending on the model.

 

[drbronx]

Do you have a link for that product. Is that an inverter device?

 

[truebeliever71]

Jerry... it's a battery backup (UPS=Uninterruptable Power Supply). The one I have similar to this one at Staples...

http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/p1_UPS-Backup-Systems_218347_Business_Supplies_10051_SEARCH

 

[BSamuelson]

Correct me if I am wrong, but almost any 50+ gallon tank would survive 3 hours fine, it's the outages measured in days that wipe you out. Is it possible to get a UPS to cycle on 15min/off 45min just to keep things oxygenated and the temp from plummeting?

 

[truebeliever71]

Brian,

I'm not sure if you do that automatically. But you can do it manually by turning the UPS on and off. I'm sure you can stretch out the running time if you run just the heater and a powerhead near the surface.

 

[daveverdo]

If you main concern is oxygen and temperature you could get a battery powered air pump and an airstone. They can last days. As far as temperature goes, water has a very high heat capacity and will cool slowly. You could get some rigid foam insulation, cut panels to fit the front back and sides of your tank and store them somewhere. Then if there is going to be period of time without heat just place them around the tank as soon as possible to retain as much heat as possible. Not the best but, better than nothing.

Dave

 

[frankandmaura]

I'll have to look into something. Sorry for steering this thread in a different direction.

I have thought about many ways to do something...obviously, I would like to get a Nat Gas generator and be totally protected...but thats about $5k...lol!

The water actually cools fairly quickly, my tank is in the basement, so it is naturally cool, but I have a gas fireplace down there to help a little, but the tank will get to 70 degrees pretty quickly. Seen it happen...I am sure everything would survive fine at that temp for a while. So...if I had something to power a Hydor 4 for a while that would be good.

How long does it take to recharge the UPC?

 

[truebeliever71]

It takes from an hour to several depending on the size of the UPS. I've never monitored the recharge time since it's always plugged in on both ends. Another benefit of having one is that if there's a power spike or brownout, it will never reach anything that's plugged into it since the equipment is actually running off of the battery all the time and the UPS is constantly charging the battery.