Backup Power

jdjeff58 · #1 04/25/2007, 10:06 AM

Short of a whole house emergency generator, what is everybody using to keep their systems running in the event of a power outage. Summer is on the way, and our power around this place goes off when someone farts.

And what equipment do I want to keep connected to a UPS as a bare minimum to keep the tank safe during an outage. Most outages don't last more than an hour. But we do have the occasional 3 or 4 hour periods with no electric.

Any suggestions on brand names and capacities will be greatly appreciated.

Randall_James · #2 04/25/2007, 10:30 AM

Most tanks can take 4-8 hour outages without much issue. Leaves you in pretty good shape

However:
If your tank is overstocked, or has other issues, it may not last an hour. (I just read a post where someone is keeping 11 fish in a 55G including a Tang, pretty sure that they will not make the 8 hour mark)

Low oxygen is your main concern and it is what will kill your fish first. A small powerhead (100gph or less) dropped over the edge of the tank and aimed at the surface of the water will do wonders to keep 02 levels up.

The problem is that unless you have marine deep cycle batteries, you may only have 1 hour of run time with most UPS setups.

I suppose if you could have this setup on reserve, turn it on at about 6 hours into a power failure, you could extend your down time pretty substantially.

IMO, if you have $3000+ invested in a reef tank, another few hundred for a portable generator is a very good investment.

Without either of the above solutions:
A bucket works for free. You must scoop water from the tank and then just poor it back in creating turbulence and bubbles. I think what I read was 10-15 minutes per hour were required to meet oxygen demand for a moderately stocked tank

silverwolf72 · #3 04/25/2007, 10:34 AM

You could use a PH with a venturi running from a UPS for quite a few hours. that should help you with gas exchange and some flow till the power come back.

jdjeff58 · #4 04/25/2007, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Randall_James
Low oxygen is your main concern and it is what will kill your fish first.

Good point with the portable generator. This is a new 120 setup and I'm a first timer. It's just that every time I've ordered something up to this point, I've said "aaah, what the heck, I'll drop an extra 100 or 200 hundred for that." This is spinning out of control.

So technically, I only need to keep the return pump and the power heads backed up?

silverwolf72 · #5 04/25/2007, 10:54 AM

If it's cold maybe heaters too. I think you could just keep your return up. you can easily go with out lights for several days with no ill effects.

Randall_James · #6 04/25/2007, 12:02 PM

You can probably find a powerhead that pulls around 10W, combined with a 350VA battery backup (around $40) you will likely get around 60-90 minutes of run time. A UPS 500va battery setup will net 4-5 hours ($120). You can not run heaters on this type of setup (well and go more than a few minutes)

I am looking for pictures but I have some shots where someone on the coast (power backup for a week or more) where they ran a series of deep cycle batteries connected to an inverter to run all the circulation pumps.

rob28 · #7 04/25/2007, 12:23 PM

100-200$ will get you a generator between 1000-2000 watts,% gallons of gas on hand will run you for 48hrs.....No LIKE LOST=PRICELESS...

Euclid537 · #8 04/25/2007, 01:01 PM

Check out used fork lift or UPS batteries. You can hook up a couple powerheads to these 12v supplies that would switch on in case of power outtage. You don't really need your entire system running for a short period of time, all you should worry about is keeping the water moving.

ocellaris06 · #9 04/25/2007, 01:06 PM

There should be some battery operated (ie two D-size 1.5V batteries) air-pump (around $10-20). From the power capacity of the D-size battery and motor power consumption, it should be operated not less than 8 hours or you can changed battery. Can it help?

Randall_James · #10 04/25/2007, 01:09 PM

They are not the best solution as they provide little gas exchange in a tank (work fine in a bucket or confined area) You need to get the water in the tank moving and exposing itself to the surface to blow off C02

silverwolf72 · #11 04/25/2007, 01:14 PM

I don't think all have a place for a generator so the UPS is for who ever is reading this thread. Just covering all the bases

jdjeff58 · #12 04/25/2007, 01:34 PM

I guess the thing with the generator is that someone has to be around to pull the cord to start the motor....unless you have some sort of emergency generator. But those get into the $$$$ thousands.

jdjeff58 · #13 04/25/2007, 01:35 PM

So I guess I need to add the total wattage of my pumps and shop for a UPS that will suit the load for whatever the amount of time I'm willing to pay for.

I was hoping to see if anyone used one of these and which brand/capacity.

cowboyswife · #14 04/25/2007, 02:37 PM

We had an 8 hour power outage a few weeks ago. My husband had a power inverter for your car that we used on vacation. He hooked up in the car, ran an extension cord to the house, plugged a power strip into that, and powered the pumps for our tanks. In the 8 hours that the car was running to power the tanks, we only used 1/8 of a tank of gas. Just a slightly more expensive generator

marduc · #15 04/25/2007, 04:27 PM

I live in hurricane country here, and extended power outages are always a concern.

The power inverter works great.. I got a 700 watt from wallie world a few years back for ~$50. That summer there was a storm in the area almost every other week it seemed, but I was able to sail through with no problems, despite a 2.5 day long outage for Frances, and a few shorter ones with other storms.

I did exactly as cowboyswife mentioned, hooked the inverter directly to the battery, ran a cord inside the house, and then was able to run several pumps with that, and still had wattage to spare so that we could run a few incandescent lamps, a radio. occasionally log onto the internet, and party and play poker with the neighbors while the rest of the neighborhood was pitch black

There really is no need to run the car continually, just be very mindful of how much power you are drawing, and go out and run the car for 5-10 minutes every hour so the alternator can recharge the battery (that was fun in 70-80 mph winds with sleeting rain

). I also had a second car, so that if I did happen to overdraw the first battery I could still jump it back to life.

The major concern is to keep the water oxygenated, no need to run the lights in an outage, even if it lasts several days, the corals will be alright.

I also own a pair of battery powered air pumps as a backup for my backup .

rsw686 · #16 04/25/2007, 04:35 PM

I hate all the miss information being given out about UPS's. They are not going to power your tank for more than 2 hours in the event of a power outage. At 50watts, the load to run 3 powerheads, you'll get a max of 2-3 hours. As you go up in UPS size, the batteries don't get larger, just the load it can handle. Check out the chart from APC.

http://apc.com/products/runtime_for_...m?upsfamily=23

I do not recommend taking out the battery and hooking up the UPS to a larger battery. The inverter/charger is not meant to handle this and will overheat unless the UPS is designed to be expandable and will have terminals on the back to hookup to a battery unit.

Best way if you want to go the battery route is to buy an inverter/charger with an automatic transfer switch built in. These are used in RVs, etc and are meant to be used with large battery banks. Basically a large UPS without the computer interface.

cowboyswife · #17 04/25/2007, 04:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by marduc
I live in hurricane country here, and extended power outages are always a concern.

The power inverter works great.. I got a 700 watt from wallie world a few years back for ~$50. That summer there was a storm in the area almost every other week it seemed, but I was able to sail through with no problems, despite a 2.5 day long outage for Frances, and a few shorter ones with other storms.

I did exactly as cowboyswife mentioned, hooked the inverter directly to the battery, ran a cord inside the house, and then was able to run several pumps with that, and still had wattage to spare so that we could run a few incandescent lamps, a radio. occasionally log onto the internet, and party and play poker with the neighbors while the rest of the neighborhood was pitch black

There really is no need to run the car continually, just be very mindful of how much power you are drawing, and go out and run the car for 5-10 minutes every hour so the alternator can recharge the battery (that was fun in 70-80 mph winds with sleeting rain ). I also had a second car, so that if I did happen to overdraw the first battery I could still jump it back to life.

The major concern is to keep the water oxygenated, no need to run the lights in an outage, even if it lasts several days, the corals will be alright.

I also own a pair of battery powered air pumps as a backup for my backup .

I really hope that the hurricanes cut us a good break this year.

silverwolf72 · #18 04/25/2007, 04:48 PM

run several UPS in series with each other. as soon as one dies the next kicks in.

bugsy1 · #19 04/25/2007, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by cowboyswife
I really hope that the hurricanes cut us a good break this year.

Amen to that. frances and jean (made land fall 5 miles from my house) and wilma (left the coast over my house back then)

jdjeff58 · #20 04/25/2007, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by rsw686
Best way if you want to go the battery route is to buy an inverter/charger with an automatic transfer switch built in. These are used in RVs, etc

I just checked a site that sells those inverters (invertersrus.com). That definitely looks like the way to go. The auto switching unit also keeps your battery charged. If you go with the deep cycle Lifeline battery, you can keep your pumps running for a fairly long time.