Not really sure this question belongs in here, but this is where I landed. Ok, any suggestions on power sources in case of power failure. When I had my first tank we had bought a generator specifically for the tank, the heck with the fridge and stuff like that we wanted the tank safe. Well, the generator isn't always the answer and besides I no longer have it. I want something that will kick in the pumps and keep from having overflow during times of our storms. In fl they are almost daily events although they don't always kick out the power, I still want some kind of back up. Suggestions?
Battery back up?
- Thread starter catmonaco
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A standard ups and DC pumps are a good answer for short term power outages. You could get a battery backup that hooks up to your proprietary wave makers like ecotech or jebao, but a simple ups can be had relatively cheaply, and the battery replaced when it goes in a few years. All ups batteries need replacement over time, so one that is serviceable is key.
Dennis McGrath
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A 500 watt UPS won't run for more than 45 minutes, so if the power is out for an extended amount of time, you're still in trouble.
Agreed, but you can get a 1500va ups on a 15 amp 110v circuit. Which if you have DC pumps may have a high power factor. Let's assume 80% which is generous, that's 1200watts. So yes you may only get an hour or two, but that sounds like what the op was trying to prevent. Imo, in a power out situation I would only run the powerheads to keep the tank oxygenated. If it was extended maybe throw an air pump, but when you're out of power for two hours or more, you're into generator territory.
evan38109
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If you only expect outages less than a few hours, you can probably get away with just keeping powerheads on battery backup. Temperature won't change that much that quickly, don't need to run lights, etc. I've had great luck with the IceCap battery backup for my Gyre, I've heard good things about the Ecotech equivalent, and I've also had good luck with a standard computer battery backup.
Dennis McGrath
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If you're concerned about power going out for a long time, you could modify a UPS by putting in Anderson Power Poles and be able to connect a deep-cycle marine battery in parallel with the built-in batteries. That should last for at least 8 hours I would think. I use a deep-cycle marine battery as my backup for my ham radio equipment in an emergency. I also have a 4000 watt generator just in case.
ca1ore
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Whole house standby generator here, but I still use an UPS on the sensitive stuff. My 2016 apex, for example, does strange things after power losses so I keep it on a UPS. I also keep one of my vortech 60 on a daisy chained pair of batteries ..... just in case my genny lays an egg.
Ice cap batteries and the like are your answer to keeping the tank oxygenated. One of the reviews on BRS states his tunzes get 72 hours out of a charge. Anything you need past that I would just get a small generator. It may not be automatic but unless you have a small tank or there is extreme weather, tank temperature should be manageable for enough time for you to get it hooked up.
