Backup Power Supply Needs (32 Gal)

[madadium]

I've got a 32 gal biocube and I'm planning on purchasing a battery backup to avoid livestock loss during a power outage. I'm having a tough time making a final decision on which to purchase because it isn't as easy to calcuate the runtime of a battery backup as I thought (I have ZERO knowledge in this area).

I'm hoping to cover about 24 hours in the case of a power outage.

First, what do you recommend my priorities be in the case of an outage? I've got an Ecotech MP10 (18 W) that I would like to power, but other than that, should I power the heater (150W eheim) and return pump (20W cobalt MJ1200) as well?

The best case scenario to preserve livestock would be to power all 3 (powerhead, heater, and return pump), but I'm guessing I'd get a lot more runtime out of the backup battery if I ditched the heater. I just wanted to see if any of you have had similar decisions to make.

Second, would something like this (1000VA/600W) be insufficient/sufficient/overkill for my needs?

Thanks in advance!

 

[redfishbluefish]

That UPS isn't going to meet your needs of having backup for 24 hours. UPS's are commonly used on computer systems that provide enough electricity during a power outage for you to shut down your computer. They don't last long. It's also a little tough calculating how long a 1000 volt ampere unit would last....with the wattages you posted....but I'd guess (and it truly is a guess) less than an hour. Maybe @Brew12 knows the math to calculate how long 1000VA will last....I'm dumb enough to know that with AC it depends if capacitors are involved and other stuff I don't understand....DC volts is more easily understood.

Anyway, I'd suggest looking into a small generator. You will have to run this outside, and if noise would be an issue, you don't want one of the common generators for a couple hundred dollars...they are loud. Look at Honda or one of the quiet generators from Harbor Freight....HERE or HERE.

 

[Tastee]

I run a 1500VA UPS (CyberPower 1500) for my 65g tank, powering my Apex, Skimmer, Return pump and Wavemaker. All 4 running caps out at around 110 mins according the UPS display. I have it programmed to move to a keep-alive mode (run pumps 5 mins out of every 15) after 30 mins to extend that to ~5 hours life.

To stretch it further I would have to either a) move to keep-alive sooner; and/or b) run the pumps less often in keep-alive mode. Personally I would look at another power source as well as the UPS if you want to guarantee 24 hours coverage.

In my case I will be installing solar electricity in ~3 weeks with outage protection, and in ~12-18 months (when they hopefully become cheaper) a battery. That will then give me very good outage protection. Until then as our power supply is quite reliable I am running the risk of an outage > 5 hours.

 

[Daniel Waters]

I've got a 32 gal biocube and I'm planning on purchasing a battery backup to avoid livestock loss during a power outage. I'm having a tough time making a final decision on which to purchase because it isn't as easy to calcuate the runtime of a battery backup as I thought (I have ZERO knowledge in this area).

I'm hoping to cover about 24 hours in the case of a power outage.

First, what do you recommend my priorities be in the case of an outage? I've got an Ecotech MP10 (18 W) that I would like to power, but other than that, should I power the heater (150W eheim) and return pump (20W cobalt MJ1200) as well?

The best case scenario to preserve livestock would be to power all 3 (powerhead, heater, and return pump), but I'm guessing I'd get a lot more runtime out of the backup battery if I ditched the heater. I just wanted to see if any of you have had similar decisions to make.

Second, would something like this (1000VA/600W) be insufficient/sufficient/overkill for my needs?

Thanks in advance!

Your main priority should be flow, either your main return pump or a powerhead within the tank.

Temperature might be a concern if you are keeping your tank in a basement or area that isn't climate controlled and you would expect very large and quick temperature drops without your heaters being on. My house stays at 72 and if my heaters cut out, my tank will drop from 78 degrees to 74 degrees in a few hours. This isn't ideal but is acceptable. Going several hours without flow is not acceptable, as that will cause bigger problems than the temperature drop (possible catastrophic problems). Another problem with trying to maintain heaters when the power is out is that they are usually high wattage. A UPS might be drained quickly trying to keep a heater going for instance.

Any long term power outage (i.e. 24 hrs or more), I think you need a small generator of some sort. For power outages that last several hours, I just rely on my vortech battery backup. It actually has saved my tank twice in the last year. For outages that might last longer than my vortechs can last on the battery backup, I have a power inverter that I can run from my car battery if I had to get power to other systems like my heaters (it wouldn't be convenient but it would be workable). I don't actually have a generator because I live in an area that isn't going to be hit by a hurricane or snow storm that might shut things down for days. The worst that might happen here is a squirrel goes diving into a transformer or a thunderstorm knocks power out for several hours. But I have a buddy who has a generator nearby if I had to go that route. So that's my plan c in a worst case scenario.

 

[Jay Norris]

Like a few people have stated, just get a generator, if you are allowed to have one where you live, as you will probably want to run your refrigerator, a light or two, and a heating system for your house, if you live in a cold environment. I would never rely on a friend to use their generator in a power loss, unless he has 2, as he will probably need his to run his house.

 

[Daniel Waters]

Generators are great if you are at home or have the type that cut on automatically. I'm not all that versed in generator options. I'm just familiar with the gas powered ones that you need to crank to start up....which isn't as helpful if you are out of town. Having a battery backup for the vortech is great for those shorter power outages. I was on vacation about 2 months ago and murphys law hit...thunderstorm in our area killed power to my place for 16 hours, the longest it has ever been out in 20 years I've lived here...and it happened when I was out of town. My vortech battery backup kept everything going for that time period. If I didn't have the battery backup, i would have had to got my buddy with the generator to come by).

My point in the above is that battery backups and generators both have their place If I lived anywhere on the coast, I absolutely would have a generator. For my purposes, though, a battery backup covers 99.5% of emergencies...and I'm sure I have now cursed myself and I will likely have some massive ice storm that kills power for a week and I'll wish I had my own generator!

 

[madadium]

Thanks so much for all your replies guys, it look like the vortech backup is my best bet if a big snowstorm hits.

 

[theKoolAidMan]

Generator is the way to go. Only think you REALLY need to worry about for a 24-48 hour power loss is powering your heater and some basic flow. That can generally be accomplished if you have a sump by powering the return pump and the heater. Your fish and coral will be fine with no light or skimmer for a couple days. You may also consider getting power to your powerheads, but for a day or two, it's not a must.

That being said, generator is going to be the best way because in addition to powering the necessities of the tank, you can also power necessities in the house like your fridge, some lights, etc.

 

[acabgd]

I run a 1500VA UPS (CyberPower 1500) for my 65g tank, powering my Apex, Skimmer, Return pump and Wavemaker. All 4 running caps out at around 110 mins according the UPS display.

Recently saw a video about this. The guy switched of his Apex (left the pumps on) and his UPS jumped from like 150 to 370 minutes. It seems Apex either consumes quite a lot of power or is doing so very inefficiently when connected to an UPS.

 

[Tastee]

Recently saw a video about this. The guy switched of his Apex (left the pumps on) and his UPS jumped from like 150 to 370 minutes. It seems Apex either consumes quite a lot of power or is doing so very inefficiently when connected to an UPS.

Interesting to hear, thanks for the note. I’ll have to try this myself when I have some spare time to see how mine compares. Given that I use the Apex to switch to a keep-alive cycle however this probably isn’t an option I want to use, but it will be interesting to know.

Currently I have the EB6 (we can’t get EB8 in Australia) powered by the UPS and my pumps, skimmer, heater and chiller run off that. When the Apex detects a power outage it turns off the chiller and heater so all I try to run are the pumps and skimmer.

 

[acabgd]

I understand you need the power bar and can't just shut down your Apex. Yet I'd still love to hear your experience on how much power it really draws. When you can please let us know how your UPS reacts with the Apex shut down. Thanks!

 

[Tastee]

I understand you need the power bar and can't just shut down your Apex. Yet I'd still love to hear your experience on how much power it really draws. When you can please let us know how your UPS reacts with the Apex shut down. Thanks!

Will do. I’m away this week on a holiday and back to work from the 7th of Jan so it may be a couple of weeks until I have time to run some tests. I’ll post the results in this thread.

 

[Neo Jeo]

If I buy a PC battery back up and just plug my return pump into it, will that be enough flow? It would be best for just return pump vs that and power heads. The extra power heads will only take away more power. I would like to get away with just the return pump.

Thoughts?

 

[acabgd]

If I buy a PC battery back up and just plug my return pump into it, will that be enough flow? It would be best for just return pump vs that and power heads. The extra power heads will only take away more power. I would like to get away with just the return pump.

Thoughts?

I got away with just a return pump and an 8-hour blackout. However, the small PC battery backup (UPS) was able to run it for only 1 hour. I then had to fire up other batteries. Depending on the power of your return pump and the size of your UPS, you might get even less than 1 hour.