Need input on setting up backup power

[Kasey]

I want to find a lower end solution for short term storm outages and I’m a little overwhelmed/confused. Ideally, would you want a battery pack plugged into your pump as the first line of defense, followed by an indoor operating generator for longer amounts of time? I want to go more advanced than a power inverter, but can’t afford $1K+ solar panels so I’d love to find a middle ground there.

Also, am I correct in that battery packs would maybe work for a Powerhead as well, but not heaters? In the event my power goes out, how do I keep that water warm other than a generator or covering with blankets?

With a generator, are you able to hook it up to the tank in a way that it automatically kicks in when the power goes out? I’m really not concerned about powering anything else in the house, just the tank.

My husband is the handy man around the house and I’m really trying to problem solve this on my own the best I can [emoji13] Any advice would be so appreciated

 

[sbash]

A battery backup, UPS if you will, will cost around $200 for a 1500 VA unit (perfect for a single 15 amp circuit). This should run a powerhead (let's say an MP40 running at full) for like, 5 hours. However, it will run a 300w heater for less than an hour.

If you are only dealing with a few hours with the power out, the battery backup air pumps are an excellent option, under $20 each and you can get ones that automatically come on when the power goes out.

If you regularly see power outages for several hours (5+, based on a powerhead or small return pump), then a generator is the way to go. You can get new ones for under $500, but they would likely be manual start. If you want a generator to come on automatically, then you likely need to modify your houses power system and the prices are quite high.

Generators usually require manual intervention, as you need to plug the devices in that you want to keep running. So with the battery bubbler and a generator, when the power goes out, you have a few hours to get home, fire up the generator and plug the tank's power bar into it.

 

[Saltyreef]

I have two 1500 smart APCs, one for each 100w heater and I just plug my 30w return pump into one. Keeps flow and heat to my tank for atleast two hours until i can get home and fire up the harbor freight 3600w genset which will last until i run out of gas.
Cost of the battery backups was about $250 each and $300 for the generator.
Some guys will just buy a gen and backfeed their house and utilize an automatic transfer switch which is pretty much as good as its gonna get but expensive.

 

[SuncrestReef]

Do you use an Apex controller? If so, it can be programmed to detect power outages and turn off non-critical devices so you can maximize the runtime on a backup battery power source.

 

[ccombs]

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=35652

I used the above article to make an informed decision on how long I need to be able to run on battery power.

The average time for a normal power outage (excluding storms) is about 2 hours.

If you include storms (which you can prepare a generator at this point), you are looking at closer to 2.5 hours.

Personally, I run an Apex with power monitoring and if I lose power, only 1 powerhead runs. I am betting it will only be a few hours and I am relying on the volume of water/insulation of house keeping itself at an acceptable temp.

I have a backup set to kick the heaters on worst case if the temperature drops really low. I get several hours of run time out of my 1500va UPS.

Tell us more about your system and we can make some recommendations.

Edit- I live in TN and we don't deal with the natural disasters that you would have in tornado ally or on the coast of florida or houston for example. This allowed me to be more lenient in my prep.

 

[Saltyreef]

You cant prepare for everything by generalizing the length of an outage. There has only been one occasion aside from storm glitches that my power was out for only 2-2.5 hours.
My home was without power on a couple occasions for over a day.
One was maintenance on a switch nearby and the other, a distracted driver took down a power pole outside of my home. We were without power for 24 hours and even better the wifi was out for a week.
This was before i had a dependable battery backup or a generator. Had to leave work with a spare genset we had here luckly.
Battery backups are good if you or someone can get home within their runtime to start the generstor and transfer the load.
For super critical and expensive livestocked tanks i wouldnt feel completely comfortable until i had a nice natural gas/propane genset with an auto transfer switch to protect my investment.
Portable generator at the minimum.

 

[lapin]

I think you have a 55g and a pretty simple set up. I would opt for the "Smart UPS"s as a solution. One for your heater if your house is cold, and one for your power head or return pump if you have a sump. You can test the set up by unpluging the UPS and seeing how long it will run. Just buy one and test it for both devices separately. This way you will know if you want 2 or more. This will give you automatic back up. Also allow for time to go buy a gas generator and gas if your power will be off for a long time.