what to connect to the UPS

[SoloGarth]

Can I borrow you for a few days? I have no idea how to convert this to what you have for order.

That looks a little dangerous haha. We have all been there though. My electrical slowly migrated across and away from the water.

 

[KingTriton1]

UPS is worthless except for using them to alert power outages to your apex.

What size is your tank? What powerheads are you using?

 

[danil]

double post.

 

[danil]

UPS will work but it's not the best solution for our tanks. They have some major flows.
1. They are very expensive.
2. They are not optimized for running low voltage direct current devices. Losses are high.
3. Most of them simulate sine wave so horribly many devices failed to work with them.

Now to solution.
First you have to know about power issue. Apex is great here. They have server side solution called Fusion so you don't need anything to make it works. As soon as your Apex stops responding on Fusion checks - you'll get email about power issue. No internet, no power backup needed.

To our tanks.
For shorter outages up to a 5-10 hours you only need circulation in your tank. That's it.
Best way to provide this - low voltage direct current (DC) pump with batteries back up. I got biggest car battery I can get from WM for $80 and it could run my three pumps (MP40s) for few days. UPS won't get even closer to this since their battery pack is small and they have to convert from low to high voltage etc.

For longer outages only right solution is generator. You have to worm your tank up and heaters need generator. In case of super warm weather simple fan will do the job.

I've been using this approach for years. It works great.

 

[danil]

So, I guess the only real difference with an APEX is to connect that power strip to the UPS and let the controller continue to do it's thing.

Does anyone have any opinions on the UPS I linked to above?

It's OK. But I would check for its sine wave. Try to search for "true sine wave" or "pure sine wave". Also check my post UPS will work to keep your Internet connection alive and your VOIP phone... but they are not good for our tanks.

 

[hkgar]

And a 6000 watt generator can run a lot of other things in your home.

Last ice storm I could also keep my furnace running and if I shut a couple things off, run my well pump. Also got to watch tv and run the refrigerator.

 

[Tarawa]

I'm using a large deep cycle and a pure sine wave inverter connected to an ATS for my UPS. I have one of the two heaters, skimmer and return pump on it. Tested, lasts 12 hours plus, depending on how much the heater runs.

 

[SoloGarth]

UPS is worthless except for using them to alert power outages to your apex.

What size is your tank? What powerheads are you using?

Where did you get this idea? A decent size ups has many useful functions outside of Apex alerts. Mine keeps essential gear that sometimes fails to restart after short power blips running. And over long outages can run my powerheads for around 4 hours.

 

[SoloGarth]

what to connect to the UPS

It's OK. But I would check for its sine wave. Try to search for "true sine wave" or "pure sine wave". Also check my post UPS will work to keep your Internet connection alive and your VOIP phone... but they are not good for our tanks.

A pure sine UPS is only necessary if you are planning to run AC pumps on it. Most items now are DC and so are buffered from any ugly square wave by their own DC power supply. Pure sine wave setups are still the best way to go though.

 

[SoloGarth]

UPS will work but it's not the best solution for our tanks. They have some major flows.
1. They are very expensive.
2. They are not optimized for running low voltage direct current devices. Losses are high.
3. Most of them simulate sine wave so horribly many devices failed to work with them.

Now to solution.
First you have to know about power issue. Apex is great here. They have server side solution called Fusion so you don't need anything to make it works. As soon as your Apex stops responding on Fusion checks - you'll get email about power issue. No internet, no power backup needed.

To our tanks.
For shorter outages up to a 5-10 hours you only need circulation in your tank. That's it.
Best way to provide this - low voltage direct current (DC) pump with batteries back up. I got biggest car battery I can get from WM for $80 and it could run my three pumps (MP40s) for few days. UPS won't get even closer to this since their battery pack is small and they have to convert from low to high voltage etc.

For longer outages only right solution is generator. You have to worm your tank up and heaters need generator. In case of super warm weather simple fan will do the job.

I've been using this approach for years. It works great.

I disagree. This depends heavily on what you are trying to accomplish. For me I want to have BOTH emergency flow for the hours until I can get the gen going and continued access to the controller. This way if I am not home I can verify things are running.

In addition to this, having network gear on a UPS just a good policy (I work for a commercial UPS company). The UPS will also protect critical gear from damage/stress resulting from fast transients and brown outs. Finally, I need things to keep running through short sags and transients.

So while I agree what you listed are disadvantages to a UPS they are outweighed, for me at least by the increased versatility provided by the system. There are advantages and disadvantages to all systems and the choice you make should be application specific.