Recent events have motivated some some research on methods for maintaining your system when the power goes out.

I'm save for overflows, but I lost a couple fish at the last outage because they suffocated from no air (no water movement). I was manually swishing the water every 1/2 hour or so until I went to bed, but by 3 in the morning, it was too late for some of them.

What are some methods people use? Any good battery backups that last a long while and aren't too expensive? Do you just hook up 1 or 2 powerhears to the backup for longer usage?

I'm curious how long a battery backup would last if I left my powerheads, my sump pump and my heater on it.

I've thought about just hooking one up to my powerheads to keep the water oxygenated, but that wouldn't help with keeping the temperature up.

Since my heater is in my sump, I would have to run the sump pump and the heater to keep the system warm as well.

Anyone have any experience on how long a couple powerheads would last? My last 2 power outages (one still going on) have lasted over 12 hours.

Buy a generator!!

For all that money invested in your reef... what is another $300? Plus you can take it camping

*sigh* power just came back on. Lost my Rusty Angel and my Coral Beauty. Both very similar breeds so they must be more sensitive than the others.

Where can ya get a generator for that cheap. I thought they were really spendy.

Here are a few - I've been looking myself.

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?page=proframe&prod_id=1044048 - http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?page=proframe&pr od_id=1044048

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes&vertical=TOOL&pid=07132330000 - http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?BV_UseBVCookie=Yes &vertical=TOOL&pid=07132330000

They're a little more than $300, but not too much.

I put a battery back up on my tank shortly after setting it up, I can look at the specifics if you are really interested.  I only have the return pump and the heater plugged into the backup, I figure that the waterflow down the overflow will keep the water oxygenated and the return pump provides some water movement and the heater keeps the tank warm, everything else I figured I could live without for the outage and the less that I put on it the longer it would run.  I bought it from circuit city for about $75 dollars.  I also don't know how long it will run but it has gone for about 5 to 6 hours before and I have never experienced a problem with outages.  I didn't want to tackle a generator because if I wasn't home to start it up and connect everything then does me no good and I didn't want to set it up on a transfer swith that would automatically kick on if the power went out if I wasn't home.  Battery backup has worked so far for me, maybe generators are easier than I think but oh well.  Good luck.

Preston

I figure you are talking about UPS power supplies when you say battery backup. If you are how many VAs are the UPSs you are using? At Bestbuy they have a 1000VA that says it is a 90 minute backup for $129. The only UPS that even comes close to $75 is a 685VA that is rated at 70 minutes. I would like to have some protection if my power goes out but I don't want to spend $130 for only 90 minutes.

You don't have to use your car battery,you can always get a used battery around town after all it's not something that's gonna be used on a daily basis.If you go with the gen set, you have to be home to turn it on too,on less you have an auto change over and you have to rewire your lines or you would be lighting your neighborhood when you lose power from the power company.

Hi Jeff,  you would use the inverter to convert DC current from the battery to AC current for your appliances like the one in a camper

nick wrote: Also Jeff, the newer inverters now have a build in battery charger so you would always have juice from  the battery

How does that work... ? You mean they recharge the batteries when they have current going to them... right? They would still discharge quite quickly when the load of an aquarium was put on them.

Preston -

That is the way that a battery backup would work. Very minimal load (small powerheads, or a small pump) - and a large battery backup.

I guess the ideal setup would be a UPS and a generator. That way the UPS would keep things running long enough for you to get home and start the generator.

Hey Shane, the come with a plug you can hook up to your power supply and the keep the battery charged when there is no load on it.and when you lose power from the power company it supplies power from the batter.How much power  would it supple and how long depend on what size inverter you have just like your gen set.Get sets are always better and produce more power.the only thing about gen set I don't like,is you can not run it in doors.(carbon monoxide)

I did a little UPS research and found that a 1500VA UPS can and should run a Mag 9.5 (93 watts) pump running for at least 24 hours and up to 48 depending on the quality of the UPS. This would be life support for your system in case of power outage. If the outage is more then 10 or 12 hours you should start to look for a generator to recharge the UPS and power the aquarium. I would only recommend powering your return pump and maybe a heater on a UPS.

A UPS would be a very good idea to have in case you leave for work at 8:00 AM have a 12 hour power outage that starts at 8:10 AM and you don't get home tell 5:00 PM. Even if you have a generate your tank would still be without circulation for over 9 hours. This would cost you hundreds if not thousands or dollars in live stock. I think I will go and buy a UPS tomorrow.

1500VA is a large backup (48 hours) most people would only need a 500 to 750 VA to keep there system alive for up to 10 hours.

Hope this helps.

Skyetone wrote: after you get your car started, you can drive  for almost 12hrs (guess) without the car dieing

Technically it should go longer than that... isn't that because once the car is started it get's it's electricity from the alternator?

So... you could theoretically turn your car into a big gas generator if you had an inverter

if you can recharge your battery that way yes. but if you have no alternator you can run that long.

Here is a decent google page about inverters and the 70$ ish price.....

http://www.invertersrus.com/inv800w.html - http://www.invertersrus.com/inv800w.html

ssilcox wrote: Skyetone wrote: after you get your car started, you can drive  for almost 12hrs (guess) without the car dieing Technically it should go longer than that... isn't that because once the car is started it get's it's electricity from the alternator? So... you could theoretically turn your car into a big gas generator if you had an inverter

The car is still getting electricity from your battery and not the alternator.The alternator produces current to keep the battery  charged. The alternator is just an electromagnetic generator

Ok the battery and inverter is a great idea if you are home to hook it all up after the power goes out. A UPS is always pluged in and always charging. A UPS is a 12 volt battery with an inverter and charger in one unit. If you are going to spend $220+ to make your own DIY manual backup (yes it is manual because you will have to connect it after the power is out) why not spend the money on a cheaper UPS that will be as big if not a bigger backup then your DIY backup?

I bought a 725VA UPS from bestbuy today for around $70. This should keep my return pump and heater running for around 12+ hours. Now I am protected against power outages when I am not home. And it fits inside my stand.

Chris wrote: I bought a 725VA UPS from bestbuy today for around $70. This should keep my return pump and heater running for around 12+ hours. Now I am protected against power outages when I am not home. And it fits inside my stand.

Let's see what everyone has found. Got a link to the one you picked up Chris?

Here's some I found:
425(sl?) $39
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3371537 - http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=337153 7

1100 $100
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=3371538 - http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=337153 8

I found a bunch on eBay, but they are so heavy that the shipping is ridiculous:
http://search.ebay.com/new_Uninterruptible-Power-Supply_W0QQsofocusZsoQQsbrftogZ1QQfromZR10QQsacatZ44962QQcatrefZC6QQsargnZ-1QQsaslcZ2QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQpriceZ1QQsaprcloZ0QQsaprchiZ200QQfsopZ1QQfsooZ1QQcoactionZcompareQQcopagenumZ1QQcoentrypageZsearch - http://search.ebay.com/new_Uninterruptible-Power-Supply_W0QQ sofocusZsoQQsbrftogZ1QQfromZR10QQsacatZ44962QQcatrefZC6QQsar gnZ-1QQsaslcZ2QQftrtZ1QQftrvZ1QQpriceZ1QQsaprcloZ0QQsaprchiZ 200QQfsopZ1QQfsooZ1QQcoactionZcompareQQcopagenumZ1QQcoentryp ageZsearch

Is this one a good deal? 2 500VA backups for $85
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=44963&item=5199551487&rd=1 - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=4 4963&item=5199551487&rd=1

Here's a generator for $200, check it out.

http://search.ebay.com/generater_W0QQfkrZ1QQfromZR8 - http://search.ebay.com/generater_W0QQfkrZ1QQfromZR8

Here is as close of a match as I could find. Mine is the same brand just a bit smaller and it was on clearance for $65.00. http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7033747&type=product&productCategoryId=cat08029&id=1099395555243 - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7033747&ty pe=product&productCategoryId=cat08029&id=10993955552 43

Generators work great if you are around to turn it on. Are you around your tank 24-7-365? I'm not so a generator would not be my first form of protection.

so with the UPS, what happens if the power is out for more that the x# of hours it is regulated for? Then what? how do you recharge it?

has anyone priced out a pawn shop generator? They techically can be setup to kick on when there is a loss of power. Some will tie right into your main power box. but you'd need an electrician for that....

Skyetone wrote: so with the UPS, what happens if the power is out for more that the x# of hours it is regulated for? Then what? how do you recharge it?

That is where a generator or inverter running off your car battery would be needed. A UPS is in no way a long term alternative power source. And if you are home when the power goes out then you can fire up your generator and power all of your tank including lights until power is restored.

But a 750VA UPS should run a 100 watt or about 1.5 amps water pump (mag 9.5)for about 12 hours or more.  So hopefully your power is on before that 12 hours is up. If not then you need to find a second alternative for powering your aquarium. If you run lights off the UPS you can count on it dieing a lot quicker.

A UPS will charge its self after power is restored.

what is the longest someones power has been out? I had a mixup when I moved and it was going to be ALL weekend. But for an extra fee, it turned into a few hours.

My return pump went down and I was running an 802 powerhead alone in a 125 and my fish died in like 12hrs....

950watt generator  $160.00 including shipping. E-Bay item #4383260201

1000 w generator      E-Bay item #4383043330

I'm not an expert on UPS', but aren't they only good for a few years and then they need to be replaced?

Amie, You are right a UPS will only last a few years then the battery will need to be replaced. But it is probably cheaper to replace the whole unit.

Skyetone, Remember a few years ago the day after Christmas there was alot of snow? That storm took my power out for over 3 days! I did not have an aquarium at that time so I didn't loose anything. But if I had had an aquarium I think I would have had to move my aquarium or get a large generator to run the tank all day and night.