buying battery backup today...which one?

[slowradio]

i'm heading out of town for my first "reef tank era" vacation. i've got my best friend house/dog/tank sitting for the entire time, but i want to be sure he's equipped to deal with as much as possible in the event of some tragic occurrence.

which battery backup should i buy in order to power a little air pump?

any good ones at home depot?

[aztbs]

You can buy a battery powered air pump with a sensor so that it automatically kicks in when the power goes out. I think PetSmart carried them and they are much cheaper than a UPS.


Does your friend know how to contact a serious reef nerd in case something happens, or is he a serious reef nerd?

battery pump (http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441779314&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=2534374302030090&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1184678155521&itemNo=0&Ntt=battery+air+pump&In=All&previousText=battery+air+pump&N=2)

[slowradio]

thanks tiff--my friend recently started up a 29g reef tank, but it has only been up for about three weeks...he's got a ways to go before he's at official reef nerd status, but he's getting there.

jared loo was going to serve as my emergency contact (it used to be his tank, so who would know it better, right?), but i'm having a hard time getting him to return my calls. he's a busy fella, i'm sure he's hasn't found a good time yet...no biggie. if another 48 hours passes and i still haven't heard from him, i'll prolly be shopping for someone close by (power & ray) to be my fallback. fliger, you down buddy?;)

i'll bore you all with that thread later.

[Stirfry001]

I live at power and southern if you need help

[slowradio]

thanks stirfry! i'll let you know if i get into a jam.

[Doglover_50]

i agree with tiff--get the little battery unit from petsmart, ithink it's called silent air (sounds like a chili problem if you ask me for arond 15 bucks plus an airstone.

They run on 2 D batteries--I continue to be impressed with these little things. mine run over 24 hours on new batteries.

it plugs into your power strip and comes on if it senses no power.

Not your question, but...have plenty o' top off water and salt water made up!

[Helfrich’s Chic]

Honestly I think everyone better get one of these before the monsoons hit. I dont know about you all but my power goes out all the time. SO annoying.

[Kentanner11]

wait you havent had monsoons hit yet? Weve been getting them for like a week!

[Westy82]

tucson always tends to get hit first

[Doglover_50]

well then tucson and flag, because we've started, and were just crushed yesterday with rain and hail in town.

[KMP]

hey guys, i checked out the pen plax silent pump. question. when it is plugged in, is it running (bubbles being emitted) or does it only run when the power goes out?

[KMP]

disregard, found my answer. off when there's power, on when no power.

[MC Lighting]

if your going with a UPS to run a power head or circ pump then I would go with one of the APC smart ups as the 1400 and above I believe it is produce a true sine wave and will not harm pumps...

[Aaron]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10362670#post10362670 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MC Lighting
if your going with a UPS to run a power head or circ pump then I would go with one of the APC smart ups as the 1400 and above I believe it is produce a true sine wave and will not harm pumps...

I agree, I use a SmartUPS 1000 and only have it on my MY1200... this way if the power goes out the pump will keep going for many ours. The more you want running the bigger you should get it. I say at least a 1000 no matter what. Much cheaper then getting new corals!

[Kentanner11]

Also IMO I would get a power inverter incase you need to recharge it, all you gotta' do is plug it in your car.

[MC Lighting]

only problem with that is some ups's do not like being plugged into a modified sinze way inverter and will never see the line as "good" just a thought...

[Kentanner11]

why not just buy a generator? Yes it is expensive but you could have power for like forever.

[Satori]

I have this Belkin 1100va UPS:
http://www.staples.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StaplesProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&prodCatType=1&catalogId=10051&productId=103421&cmArea=SEARCH

It runs my Mag 9.5 and a Seio 1100 for a little over an hour. The included software sends me an email when the power goes out, and another one when it comes back on. (my PC, router, and cable modem are on a separate UPS)