Power is Out Batteries on!!!

[TOMACONDA]

So my power just went out and the batteries for the two MP40s are on and operating, However coral are essentially not moving how much flow is able to sustain

 

[Lavey29]

So my power just went out and the batteries for the two MP40s are on and operating, However coral are essentially not moving how much flow is able to sustain

When operating on batteries they default to 12% intensity. Do you have a battery airstone running? You really should have one MP40 and your return pump running on battery not 2 MP40s.

 

[SomeHappyFish]

Has long as the water is moving at the surface, oxygen should be replenished and keep everything alive

 

[Lavey29]

For what irs worth my tank ran fine on battery for 13 hours in very low speed mode so you have ample time before things decline.

 

[TOMACONDA]

I have Generator, however wont make it home for another 4 hours or so and that is how long power is apparently gonna be out for

 

[TOMACONDA]

Has long as the water is moving at the surface, oxygen should be replenished and keep everything alive

Thank you water at top is moving

 

[Lavey29]

Thank you water at top is moving

You should be fine till you get home

 

[TOMACONDA]

When operating on batteries they default to 12% intensity. Do you have a battery airstone running? You really should have one MP40 and your return pump running on battery not 2 MP40s.

well I am running two return pumps neither is hooked up to the battery, how would I get Return pump to hook up to battery? isn't is those little headphone looking jack things

 

[VintageReefer]

If you got a lithium battery backup station you could keep the mp40’s on whatever setting you want, and have longer runtime. They function like a ups and switch to battery as soon as power cuts out, then switch back when power is restored

This is a good one

Amazon.com

a.co

 

[TOMACONDA]

If you got a lithium battery backup station you could keep the mp40’s on whatever setting you want, and have longer runtime. They function like a ups and switch to battery as soon as power cuts out, then switch back when power is restored

This is a good one

Amazon.com

a.co

am currently running the echotech battery baackup

 

[VintageReefer]

am currently running the echotech battery baackup

in response to your post, it is a sub par battery that only gets its run time by reducing output power to approx 10% which may or may not be sufficient for your needs. Also the ecotech batteries will degrade on their own over the course of a few years and runtime diminishes even if you barely ever use them. The internal batteries need to be replaced regularly

The item I posted is an alternate with better battery tech with 10 yr life span, higher capacity, and is capable of running the pumps on whatever setting you currently use, without reducing to 10% in an outage. They have better / longer runtime also

Just something to consider if you ever decide to replace / upgrade from the ecotech backups, or if you desired more flow during outages

FYI my tank can run 30+ hours in an outage with no reduction in power. If I manually turn down my pump, I can hit 40+ hours. At 10% I can hit 60+ hours

 

[TOMACONDA]

in response to your post, it is a sub par battery that only gets its run time by reducing output power to approx 10% which may or may not be sufficient for your needs. Also the ecotech batteries will degrade on their own over the course of a few years and runtime diminishes even if you barely ever use them. The internal batteries need to be replaced regularly

The item I posted is an alternate with better battery tech with 10 yr life span, higher capacity, and is capable of running the pumps on whatever setting you currently use, without reducing to 10% in an outage. They have better / longer runtime also

Just something to consider if you ever decide to replace / upgrade from the ecotech backups, or if you desired more flow during outages

FYI my tank can run 30+ hours in an outage with no reduction in power. If I manually turn down my pump, I can hit 40+ hours. At 10% I can hit 60+ h

Thank you for the info! I love knowing my options

 

[Lavey29]

well I am running two return pumps neither is hooked up to the battery, how would I get Return pump to hook up to battery? isn't is those little headphone looking jack things

I run the ecotech battery back up. One lead is connected to my vectra M2 pump and one lead connected to my MP40. By design they default to very low intensity when battery power comes on because it prolongs the battery life during black out time.

 

[TOMACONDA]

I run the ecotech battery back up. One lead is connected to my vectra M2 pump and one lead connected to my MP40. By design they default to very low intensity when battery power comes on because it prolongs the battery life during black out time.

On the lead that is connected to your return pump, how is it connected? Did you have to get an adapter?

 

[Lavey29]

On the lead that is connected to your return pump, how is it connected? Did you have to get an adapter?

Yes the return pump has a different type of lead. Ecotech sells it if you are using a vectra or versa pump.

 

[Mickey]

FYI my tank can run 30+ hours in an outage with no reduction in power. If I manually turn down my pump, I can hit 40+ hours. At 10% I can hit 60+ hours

@VintageReefer - Are these times with the unit you posted above? Can you give me an idea of the wattage you're running at these points (30 hours, 40 hours, etc.) . I've read a number of your posts and I'm trying to figure out if I can get by with the unit you posted above or need something bigger, or maybe two of them.

Thanks.

 

[VintageReefer]

The formula is

The units rated watt hours x .85 diciddd by your watt load

That cellapowa 1000 is 1000 watt hours
My pump is dc and adjustable, it’s normally around 18 watts

(1000wh x .85) / 18 = 47 hours of runtime

If I was running dual pumps on it at 18 watts each, that’s 36w load

(1000 x .85) / 36 = 23.6 hours

Realistically most outages are less than a day, you can scale up in battery power if you want or find more efficient pumps, or you can get solar panels to recharge during day times if you want to prep for several days of outage.

 

[hsp]

well I am running two return pumps neither is hooked up to the battery, how would I get Return pump to hook up to battery? isn't is those little headphone looking jack things

Not that this is helpful at the moment of crisis, but maybe for the future: I have put all the essentials (heater + return pump) on a UPS. Generator is better, of course, but hard in an apartment. I have always a battery-operated pump with an airstone sitting in case of longer power outages.

 

[Generator]

I just had to deal with this yesterday. I have a generator but don't always want to lug it out for short outages. I have an ecoflow river 2 max. I have my whole setup plugged in to two ADJ Products PC-100A AC POWER STRIPS. I plug each strip into the ecoflow and then flip off anything I don't want to run. With everything on, 2 pumps, 2 LED's, ato, heater, powerhead and skimmer I had about 6 hours of power. I turned everything off but 1 pump and the powerhead and jumped up to 14 hrs. It ran on backup for 7 hours, It said I still had 8 hours left. Turned out the power was out way longer than initially anticipated so we hooked up the genny. Nice thing about this unit, with lifepo batteries, it charges from empty in 60 minutes.

 

[Mickey]

The formula is

The units rated watt hours x .85 diciddd by your watt load

That cellapowa 1000 is 1000 watt hours
My pump is dc and adjustable, it’s normally around 18 watts

(1000wh x .85) / 18 = 47 hours of runtime

If I was running dual pumps on it at 18 watts each, that’s 36w load

(1000 x .85) / 36 = 23.6 hours

Realistically most outages are less than a day, you can scale up in battery power if you want or find more efficient pumps, or you can get solar panels to recharge during day times if you want to prep for several days of outage.

Thanks for this.