Backup Power

earlybird

Active Member
My power went out yesterday afternoon for no reason. It was out for about 2 hours. I didn't think about power loss until then. This happens from time to time in my condo but never for long periods of time. What can I do to protect my tank if I am not home during a power outage. Is there some type of back up power that I can have that will auto turn on in the event of a loss?
I tried the archives but everything is dated.
 

imfsub12

Member
you could try APC backup batteris. for your computer.. they should work.. but not sure for 2 hours.. depends how much power they consume...
do a search in google for apc or American Power Conversion.. all the cool toys there.
i have one for my comptuer. help stop it from geeting seged and borwn out that can kill your computer. like 8 years ago nasty thunderstorm killed our ocmputer wish i had the apc up and running..
 

imfsub12

Member
you can check out each modle and see how much power watts vs time up and running..
but one of my friends bought cheep ones and plug them together.. as when 1 died the other one used its power.. i think he has 3 linked together.. cheeper then buying a highend one.. but he got them for CHEEP
oh just dont' plug your lights in to them.. it would kill them in a second i would think
 

larrynews

Active Member
i have a power suppy that plugs into the car lighter, to run ac i can at least run the pumps....but we do not lose power here very much
 

imfsub12

Member
Originally Posted by larrynews
i have a power suppy that plugs into the car lighter, to run ac i can at least run the pumps....but we do not lose power here very much
what a scarry picture.. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

i'm kidding
 

gwh57

Member
I have a DIY switch/power inverter and battery. It is a cheap easy DIY project. It uses a 12v battery (my boat) a 750w inverter and a radioshack relay. If the power is on then everything runs from the house power. When the power goes off then the relay trips and it runs off the battery/inverter. When the power comes on again the relay trips back and everything runs off the house current. This system will run long enough to get my generator running.
 

earlybird

Active Member
gwh57- I thought about that but don't want to go that big. I figure in the event of a power outage that I am around for I can pull my boat battery and run my tank. I need something smaller for when I'm not home.
I checked out APC but the cheaper ones only run but 12 minutes. I guess to give you enough time to turn off your computer? IDK?
 

renogaw

Active Member
the problem with battery backups for computers is how little power they really can have. i asked this a while ago, and was told that one 300w heater is the equivilant of one computer. battery backups are only really big enough to give you enough time to save things and shut down, i don't know how long you can run a computer off of a backup.
you'll either have to get a generator, and in a condo you may not be able to, or stir your water every once in a while :(. that's what i had to do with a 6 hr power outage last fall.
 

trainfever

Active Member
There are power supplies for protecting your computer as was stated above. They are called UPS s for uninterupted power supply. There are different sizes depending on how long your power is out. The problem is that our fish tanks draw a lot more poer than a computer. You could get away with just hooking up your main pump to a UPS.
 

earlybird

Active Member
Originally Posted by saltn00b
welcome to florida, generators start at 499.99!

No kidding. I haven't bought one yet b/c my parents and wife's parents have one and we go there in the event of a hurricane. I'll have to get one next time around
I'm worried about the stupid no reason power outages that occur from time to time when I am not home. I am not worried about heat or heat loss just gas exchange during a power outage. My condo stays at a regular temperature of 78-79 during the summer. I was just thinking about running a powerhead or my return pump only on a backup.
 

gwh57

Member
If you are going to use a computer UPS I would not plug anything into it except for my main pump. You don't need anything else and the UPS will last much longer that way.

That is what I used untill I did the power inverter and bought a generator.
 

earlybird

Active Member
Originally Posted by gwh57
If you are going to use a computer UPS I would not plug anything into it except for my main pump. You don't need anything else and the UPS will last much longer that way.

That is what I used untill I did the power inverter and bought a generator.

How well did it work and how long could it run your pump and can you give me a roundabout cost? I have no idea what to even look for?
 

gwh57

Member
Originally Posted by earlybird
How well did it work and how long could it run your pump and can you give me a roundabout cost? I have no idea what to even look for?
I was lucky because I had two good APC units and all I had to do was buy batteries for them ($75 each). They are much bigger that standard a standard UPS. I got over two hours run time for my mag7 on one occasion. No UPS will last mych longer. Also a normal UPS doesn't work well with heaters which you really don't need in a short emerengcy. I think you would give spent $200 for a descent one.
 

scsinet

Active Member
Unless the return pump(s) is/are very large, a UPS should run them okay. A Mag 9.5 draws about 110 watts, which isn't all that much.
However, remember that UPSs are designed to run a computer for enough time to safely save files and shut it down. A UPS at full load capacity is only rated for a few minutes (no more than 7-9 minutes), so to mitigate that, you need to get a much larger UPS.
How to Size your UPS

The first thing you need is the wattage of the return pump. Some pumps say this straight out, others list the amperage. To get wattage, multiply the amperage by 120. For example, a 1.4 amp pump draws 168 watts.
In order to get about an hour's runtime, you need to upsize the average UPS at least 4 times over. So to run that 168 watt pump, you need a UPS that can supply at least 672 watts.
To get two hours, figure 7 times over.
Finally, convert the wattage. To estimate the VA for a given wattage, multiply by 1.43. 672*1.43 = 961VA.
Get the next size up UPS = 1000VA.
A decent 1000VA UPS should cost between $100 and $200. You don't need anything other than a basic UPS at this rating. None of the advanced shutdown or software management features are needed since you aren't running a computer.
Remember to test your UPS at least a few times a year. Only the very best (and most expensive) UPSs warn you of battery failure before the batteries are almost totally dead. You don't want to discover that your batteries need changing during a power outage!
One final word of caution... one poster here talked about someone he knew that connected several UPSs, one behind the other. This will often not work. UPSs don't put out perfect household current, they put out power that a computer power supply (which believe or not is less picky than a pump) can deal with. UPSs themselves often don't recognize this power, so if one UPS is being supplied by another one on battery, it will kick the second one onto battery and so on down the line until just one UPS is left running your stuff.
 

earlybird

Active Member
SCSInet- very good information and well written. Makes perfect sense to me now. How concerned should I be about gas exchange on a 29g with 3 fish over say a 2-4 hour power outage? I'm tapped out and am going to begin my cycle in 2 weeks and will not be able to get a UPS until late May or so. When I searched for "power outages" most were concerned about heat and not circulation. I should note that I will not have a top, well eggcrate in the beginning.
Oh... I calibrated my heater successfully last night. Thanks for your help on that.
 

saltn00b

Active Member
scsi - does running a battery back up negate the reason why you would install a GFCI?
meaning, if something sparked and gournd faulted, the GFCI would cut the power, but if the battery back up senses power is lost, would it not continue to supply electricity until batteries are depleted?
 
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