my poor peppermint! air pump with backup battery availability?

[blayker127]

im so annoyed right now....unbeknownst to me while i was at the shops this morning we lost power....4 hours later when i got home power still hadnt come back on obviously and 90% of the fish even the kuhli loaches i have were at the top of the tank "gasping" for air i quickly set the battery powered air pump up but it was too late for my peppermint bristlenose who was fully grown at 14cm and amazingly bright white spots, i have grown him from a 4cm baby.... really am depressed....does anyone know about an air pump with like a back up....so if the power goes out the battery kicks in? please email me blayker127@hotmail.com
i have 25 clown loaches 5 of which are over 15cm and ive had them for 8 years, they would also cost literally thousands to replace group. would love to have a backup incase this sorta thing happened again. would have to sell the tank if the loaches died.....couldnt handle it....almost like a child after that long plz help
p.s in im australia

 

[corrado33]

Hey, welcome to AA. You could simply get a normal battery backup usually used for electronics. It'd work fine. Something like this one.

They're called UPS, or uninterrupted power supply. They're basically a big battery pack.

Newegg.com - APC Back-UPS ES BE550G 550 VA 330 Watts (4) NEMA 5-15R (Battery Backup) (4) NEMA 5-15R (Surge Protection) Outlets UPS - UPS

I wouldn't buy one online, since they're heavy, and shipping would suck. Go to best buy or somethin and find one. They're not that cheap, but I'd say it's worth it in the end. The cheapest ones you'll find are usually around 60 bucks or so.

EDIT: Just saw you're in Australia. Go to your local electronics store? They'll have one. You have to be able to find them somewhere, they're pretty common.

 

[Craigthor]

Or google Silent Air B-11 battery operated that plugs into a wall plug and will turn on when the power goes out.

Craig

 

[Lowryder]

I have a UPS and its also a surge protector. I love it! It provides 100hrs of power.

 

[Mitchell0605]

Welcome. Sorry to hear of your loss.

 

[mike0513]

I have a UPS and its also a surge protector. I love it! It provides 100hrs of power.

how much did that cost? and how big is it? and 100 hrs? really? that would be great! one last thing...where did you get it?

Thanks for an answer!

 

[Lowryder]

how much did that cost? and how big is it? and 100 hrs? really? that would be great! one last thing...where did you get it?

Thanks for an answer!

I got it from my company, they were getting rid of it (upgrade). I build high voltage transformers and such. I did some mods to it by adding more batteries, cuz I am a nerd and thats what we do lol. The unit is made by Ruiher and its model RHD-BS. I am not 100% but I believe it retails around $1500...thank goodness for freebies.

 

[Dekz]

I'm confused. I thought that air pumps were pretty much an optional thing for a fish tank. Nevermind fish dieing because the pump was off for only 4 hours!?

 

[Jason7894561230]

Hey mate
sorry to hear about your losses. It must be hard knowing that but me and mitchell are both from Australia too!

 

[blayker127]

cheers craig, rung a local pet store with the model and he said he can order it in anyway so thats handy!!!

Corrado would they be large enough to power a medium size canister filter? might look into that as a backup for everything that would be great

Dekz as far as i know there needs to be some sort of way to oxygenate the water....if u have a filter that hangs on the top of the tank an air pump wouldnt be necessary as the splash creates the bubbles etc....but from what i understand and people please tell me if im wrong so i know but with a canister filter under water creating no bubble would mean the oxygen percentage in the water would eventually become so low that the fish would "drown" because they have no oxygen thats just how i understand it....im positive air pumps arent jut for looks lol but again plz tell me if im wrong....still learning here!

p.s does anyone have any ideas for catching baby bristlenose to move to a different tank so they dont get eaten? other than a tube sucking the water out.....and dont say net because the net doesnt work lol

 

[mfdrookie516]

air pumps are optional, and i have none on any of my tanks... the filter creates surface agitation on top of the water. the agitation allows the co2 in the water to escape and the oxygen to enter. air stones do nothing more than create agitation, the bubbles in the water dont actually do anything, its when they pop at the top that it disturbs the surface allowing the exchange. I would definitely look in to a ups, im not sure if you have staples in australia, but they're not very expensive over here. I would have your filter hooked up to it instead of an air pump because if the filter sits without running for a while and it drains out, you'll probably have a mini cycle at best

 

[corrado33]

Corrado would they be large enough to power a medium size canister filter? might look into that as a backup for everything that would be great

The one I showed you? Probably not. You have to look at how they are rated. Many of them are used for computers, which usually have power supplies in the 400 W range. If you knew how much power your various filters, air pumps, and heaters drew, you could buy a UPS appropriately. The (maximum) power ratings are usually on the labels of the devices.

 

[blayker127]

ok kool thanks mfdrookie for the info....problem is my canister filter doesnt actually break the surface of the water therefore doesnt allow oxygen in lol....so ultimately i need an air pump lol