Battery Backup, what to choose.

[Sniperhank]

After several power outages from the storm that rolled through last night, I am once again back on the path of making sure I'm not stuck in a several day outage with my tank like I was in the past. Does anyone have any suggestions for units? I'd like to find one that has some longevity to it for both Radions and a pump or 2, just not sure where to start. Currently, not looking at the Ecotech's backups due to their price. Any ideas are appreciated.

 

[dmolavi]

If you want days, you're talking about a generator.

For hours, a beefy APC UPS will work (I run one on each of my tanks that can hold the basic life support up for about 8 hrs).

 

[mr_X]

I would (and have) go with a generator too. Then you can power the fridge, a/c unit or space heater, TV, and your entire tank.

 

[Sniperhank]

I would think that it would be possible to even have battery backups that would hook onto car batteries...but this might just be my brain going way out there. I could probably build one, but don't want to chance it on my tank. The short scale is the battery backup. If it is days it'd be generator time. But not there yet, so we're really talking about battery variety.

A beefy APC unit for 8 hours? That sounds pretty good so far. I was actually looking at them.

 

[zambono]

I have a 1500 UPS, computer battery backup that I have connected only to the filtering pumps.

 

[mr_X]

Amazon.com: Power Bright PW200-12 Power Inverter 200 Watt 12 Volt DC To 110 Volt AC: Patio, Lawn & Garden

 

[mr_X]

Amazon.com: ENERGIZER 1100 Watt Power Inverter converts 12V DC from car's battery to 120 Volt AC with 2 USB ports 2.1A shared compatible with iPad iPhone: Patio, Lawn & Garden

 

[T1KARMANN]

I have a 1500 UPS, computer battery backup that I have connected only to the filtering pumps.

Have you run you tank on that unit

You will be lucky to run your tank for 30 mins on it

The use for that unit is to shut your computer down do you don't lose data

I think you need to read the spec

 

[dmolavi]

Have you run you tank on that unit

You will be lucky to run your tank for 30 mins on it

The use for that unit is to shut your computer down do you don't lose data

I think you need to read the spec

I use this on my 56 gallon tank to power one of my 2 HOBs (Penguin 200) and the heater: APC Power Saving Back-UPS 750 It can keep the filter running for hours, and since the tank temp doesn't change rapidly due to the size, the heater doesn't really kick in for long.

I use this on my 20 gallon SW tank to power one powerhead and the heater: APC Power Saving Back-UPS Pro 1500 Due to the small tank size, the water temp drops quickly, and the heater kicks in, draining the battery. In the future, I'm going to use this just for the powerheads and maintain tank temp with sealed bottles of hot water.

 

[T1KARMANN]

I use this on my 56 gallon tank to power one of my 2 HOBs (Penguin 200) and the heater: APC Power Saving Back-UPS 750 It can keep the filter running for hours, and since the tank temp doesn't change rapidly due to the size, the heater doesn't really kick in for long.

I use this on my 20 gallon SW tank to power one powerhead and the heater: APC Power Saving Back-UPS Pro 1500 Due to the small tank size, the water temp drops quickly, and the heater kicks in, draining the battery. In the future, I'm going to use this just for the powerheads and maintain tank temp with sealed bottles of hot water.

I used to run 2 apc 1700 units back to back the run a eheim pro 3 2080 for about an hour

You best hope a heater doesn't kick in of it will drain fast

The best option is how I run mine loads of big truck batteries linked up the buy a 12v inverter the things people use to run Xbox in a car they are cheap

Then put them on a trickle charger

You wouldn't even know mine was there it will run my tank at half power for 8 hours
My tank at half power is 500w

The other good thing about this is if the batteries do die you can then run the tank off you car

 

[Tkey3425]

I run a 400watt inverter on a deep cycle boat battery. Ran my pump and powerhead a for 12 hours till the power came on and the battery still showed 90% BUT you must be home to hook it up

 

[T1KARMANN]

I run a 400watt inverter on a deep cycle boat battery. Ran my pump and powerhead a for 12 hours till the power came on and the battery still showed 90% BUT you must be home to hook it up

Yes that's the problem