Backup power supply necessary?

[scotikis]

I'm still in the early stages of setting up my 125 FOWLR and need some advice on power backups. I live in the Pittsburgh, PA area where it can get rather cold in winter and hot in the summer. I'm concerned that if I don't have a backup power supply, I could lose fish in both summer and winter should I lose power to my house.
I looked at the battery backup systems that are used for PC's and they supposedly regulate the power to the components that it's connected to. That's to say, if I have it hooked up to the pump and heaters, they shouldn't feel the effects of a power surge. The downside is that the cheaper models only provide 4-7 minutes of power before shutting down. I'm not convinced that it's worth the $70-150$ I'd spend to have only 4-7 minutes of h2o movement and heat.
What's a feasible solution? Thanks for your help.

 

[nycbob]

there is a black and decker power station retailing fo about $100. the 2 outlets would last about 10 hours, good enough for a powerhead and a heater.

 

[caseysimp7]

i thought bubbles in water were dangerous for fish. why do people have battery opperated pumps?

 

[1journeyman]

Depends completely on where you live, how often the power goes out, and how long it typically goes out for.
People in areas like Florida that lose power for days or weeks at a time in a Hurricane certainly will need generators.

 

[apos]

Battery operated pumps do not necessarily cause bubbles anymore than regular pumps do: depends on the kind. And in a power outage, if given the choice between bubbles in the water from a cheap battery powered pump and non-oxygenated water, bubbles are more than worth it. The first thing that kills most critters in an outage is stagnant water that quickly loses its O2.

 

[caseysimp7]

i have lived in va for a few months and have had one power outage it was about two hours is that enough time to kill coral and fish?

 

[rtspeed]

its not that it will kill the critter it is the same as if we don't get o2 to our brain what happen, sometimes we get brain damage all the way to death depending on how long we don't get air. Same goes for the critters.
2 hour isn't that long but, it could have minor effect as to how much oxygen depletion there is in the water due to how much live stock there is.
you can use the stirring meathod, which is stir the water in the tank with a big spoon or tube, or as i did before my generator is take two buckets and fill one with tank water and pour it form one bucket to the other about 5 times and your good for about 20 minutes to a half hour.

 

[scsinet]

You gain capacity exponentially by upsizing UPS units.
For example, a 500VA unit might only provide you 5 minutes because it is fully loaded, but a 1000VA might give you 3 times as much time, even though it's only double the amount of power capacity. It has to do with the non-linear nature of SLA (Sealed Lead Acid) battery capacities.
If you spend a bit more, you can also get them with connectors on the back so you can add battery packs to increase capacity down the road.
Frankly though, I'm not a fan of UPS units... unless you spend a chunk on one that has intelligent battery management, you'll be changing batteries every year or two. el cheapo loco UPS units are really hard on batteries.
For $150... you can go to Harbor Freight tools and get a cheap Chinese knock-off generator. I wouldn't use one of them to run for 8 hours a day, every day at a construction site, but they'll work just fine for periodic power outage duty.

 

[fats71]

I am on the pc a lot. I have 6 at any given time runnning in my home if not more. I have used UPC'S and they frankly are great for a 10,000 dollar machine to keep it from zapping ( I livedd in florida and through many hurricanes ) They do however not even come close to running the amount of time it states. I would go with a wal-mart generator to keep things running.
I use upcs the very large expensive ones to simply be able to shut down my machines properly and without losing data I may be working on.
Generators are a must for anywhere when you have power outages tbh.

 

[scotikis]

Thanks all for the feedback. Suppose I got an extension cord with an integrated GFI in conjunction with a battery back up system. I assume its more logical to put the GFI in between the house outlet and the battery back up; as opposed to having it between the battery backup and the pump/heaters? Then again, if I have an electrical problem with something in the tank, will the GFI trip if it's on the other side of the power supply? What do you folks think? I appreaciate your help.

 

[fats71]

The GFI is made to protect from electrical shock they are used by pools and bathrooms kitchens for a reason

 

[snakeblitz33]

... if you have put a lot of money into your aquarium thus far, and spent thousands upon thousands of dollars for it, protect your investment by buying a generator!

 

[brewski4u1]

i live in south FL!! and i have a 15k wat generator! you cant run alot of your stuff on gernerators due to the power sugers they have, so no Mh but a few power heads heaters and maybe a PC i have layin around! other then that i say if you live in a area where you know it will go out i would get something!
once power is out it goes fish tank, fridge, a few lights and then the window a/c unit! lol fish come first! and you need to have gas on hand! i have enought to last me for about a week straight!

 

[snaredrum]

125 gallons = alot of time and money = one small generator.

I had to do it living in the midwest and I feel alot better during storms. Plus my refrigerator and other things stay running. The only problem is the gas cost. Expensive to run for days at a time.

 

[scsinet]

If you put the GFI between the UPS and the house power, then the GFI tripping will not offer the tank, or you any protection because the tripping GFI will simply cause the UPS to kick in.
Now... about UPSs and GFIs... The thing that people need to understand is that UPS units do not provide an exact representation of utility power. They provide a mutated version of power that is designed to be good enough for one purpose: powering computers. When you start putting things like GFIs, motors, etc on them, things start behaving weirdly when the UPS kicks onto battery power. Unless you spend a LOT of money on a double-conversion UPS with Pure-Sine output, you will have to contend with this. Most things run okay, many things even run perfectly fine (heaters, for example, don't care).
However, the harmonics produced by UPS units can cause GFIs to nuisance trip, electronic ballasts to go haywire, and other "weirdness" that you have to just sort of work through, as there really isn't a good fix for them. That is again one of the reasons why I'm not a fan of UPS units on tanks.

 

[guyerson]

I live in the Pittsburgh area as well, but I've not experienced any long term power outages that I can remember in the last five years.. I remember one last year around June or July where it was out for an hour or so, but other than that nothing more than 10-15 mins at a time..

 

[lexluethar]

SCSI is right on, I don't think that a UPS is a long-term solution for an aquarium. Although i'm not as well-versed as he is in hardware, I can tell you that buying any type of UPS that will provide more than 12 hours of power is going to cost you A LOT of money. Most UPS's that you can purchase through a local dealer(best buy, office depot) only provide power for short period of time (say one or two hours) - reason is it is not meant to be a longterm solution. It is meant to provide enough power for a 450 watt machine long enough for someone to save their current work and properly shut down. (200 bucks at worste buy for an two hours @ 800 watts).
If you want something that will actually provide your tank with reliable power for more than a few hours you need to get a generator.

 

[big]

For the amount of money we all spend on this obsession. Here is my insurance policy. I also keep 15 gallons of gas in reserve just incase it snows too much and I can't get my 4 x 4 out.
I also had my electrical guy put a switch in to run the house if needed 6000 watts of insurance equals piece of mind...............Warren

 

[brewski4u1]

Originally Posted by big
http:///forum/post/2503770
For the amount of money we all spend on this obsession. Here is my insurance policy. I also keep 15 gallons of gas in reserve just incase it snows too much and I can't get my 4 x 4 out.
I also had my electrical guy put a switch in to run the house if needed 6000 watts of insurance equals piece of mind...............Warren

i really really hope that generator is not in the house!

 

[big]

Originally Posted by Brewski4u1
http:///forum/post/2503833
i really really hope that generator is not in the house!

Good point , never start one indoors. It is just stored there. It is in a garage with 2 hour burn walls and doors!! I was a "Nicet" certified Fire detection systems designer before I retired.......... No gas inside............
Yea it does look like in a house............Nope outside.......NEVER start one indoors!!!