Battery Backup

racoloish · Jul 25, 2014

Hi, just wondering if anyone can recommend a good battery backup. I need it for a chiller, protein skimmer, light, algae scrubber, wavemaker, water pump and I think three more things.

pickupman66 · Jul 25, 2014

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but a battery backup to operate a chiller would need to be considerably large. I know the quarter horse power chillerr that I had used about 7 amps. If you're looking for a backup solution to run a chiller you need to invest in a generator

SantaMonica · Jul 26, 2014

If power goes out you won't need the chiller because the lights will out.

saltyphish · Jul 26, 2014

I would mainly worry about pumps for aeration in the tank. But I do not know your specific situation or needs.

racoloish · Jul 26, 2014

So no for the chiller, but what about the other equipment?

AsphaltPays · Jul 26, 2014

I keep a generator just for my tank just in case...

Wbrian · Jul 27, 2014

I'm planning out a solar panel with a pair of batteries and an inverter to run my pumps and lights. LEDs are fairly low wattage, and the Jebao WP 10s and 25s I'm using in the two tanks are also low wattage. I'm planning on starting with the batteries and the inverter and keeping them topped off with a trickle charger, but using them once a month or so to see how long they'll run the equipment for me. One day, I'll add the solar panels and more batteries as I need to and can afford to...

pickupman66 · Jul 27, 2014

If it were me. I'd use battery for return pump wavemaker and maybe Skimmer. Those are essentials. Maybe heater too but they r juice hogs. How big is tank? What pumps u have?

vic67 · Jul 27, 2014

If you had to run all those for a short time you might be able to use an inverter that hooks up to your car battery. For something longer term a portable or whole house generator.

SangLind · Sep 11, 2014

Wbrian said:
I'm planning out a solar panel with a pair of batteries and an inverter to run my pumps and lights. LEDs are fairly low wattage, and the Jebao WP 10s and 25s I'm using in the two tanks are also low wattage. I'm planning on starting with the batteries and the inverter and keeping them topped off with a trickle charger, but using them once a month or so to see how long they'll run the equipment for me. One day, I'll add the solar panels and more batteries as I need to and can afford to...

Hello friend have you got the solar power system? I think it is the right choice but still can you share out your experience..

menglish · Sep 11, 2014

I have a 90G mix reef and as a back up, I got the biggest marine deep cycle battery I could get my hands on (from Costco, I think its about 115 AH). I got a 1200 Watt power inverter and a battery charger. I have done some testing and find that i can run my Mag7 return pump (alone) for at least 10 hrs. I can probable stretch that out a bit if I run my korilla 1400 alone instead of the mag7 pump. I also have 2 battery powered air stone for added water movement. The Mag7 uses more power. The main thing is water movement. You don't need to run the skimmer and lights. If you need to run the chiller, you may need to get a generator for extended run time.

SangLind · Sep 12, 2014

SangLind said:
Hello friend have you got the solar power system manufactured by solar panels manufacturer? I think it is the right choice but still can you share out your experience..

Thanks for sharing out your experience..

Randy Holmes-Farley · Sep 12, 2014

I have just my Tunze streams on my battery backup. Nothing else. I want it to potentially last for a few days if needed.

I made a DIY UPS with a couple of huge industrial batteries (from Sears, but they no longer sell them; Group 4D) and an inverter from Radio Shack.

SantaMonica · Sep 12, 2014

Reef ponds are really great during outages; basically nothing happens. There is plenty of surface area for oxygen.

AquaticallyDistracted22 · Sep 12, 2014

Algae scrubber? That's like someone requesting caviar during an apocalypse. If you're in need of a battery backup, in my opinion, it should be viewed as a solution to a short term problem. If you're expecting a bigger problem then I would agree that a power generator of some sort would be the solution. For a short term problem I don't know why you would sacrifice the run time of your back up to run anything but equipment essential to keeping your livestock living. I have a cheap battery backup, but it has run a powerhead and a heater through a couple power outages with no issue

DrBoxedWine · Sep 13, 2014

vic67 said:
If you had to run all those for a short time you might be able to use an inverter that hooks up to your car battery. For something longer term a portable or whole house generator.

+1 for this. Run your pumps and heater for 10 minutes every hour or so. I'd imagine this along with battery powered airstones would last you a while. I'm not certain about this, but you could probably leave just the airstones going for a few hours to sleep.

DrBoxedWine · Sep 13, 2014

Maybe a a battery also you could use the inverter to charge and last you with just the pumps through the night?

DrBoxedWine · Sep 13, 2014

That last reply was horrid. My apologies.

Fin · Sep 13, 2014

EcoTech has back-up rechargeble battery packs for their VorTec pumps. You can even daisy chain the batteries for longer run time. If the power goes off, the pump(s) automatically switch to battery power and will run at 25% power for up to 36 hours on one fully charged battery (as advertised anyway). This, along with a battery operated air pump that comes on when the power fails are my back ups.