Battery backup for sump/apex

[90addict]

I am pretty clueless when it comes to electric so any help is greatly appreciated. My sump and apex is in the basement. 60 breeder sump for 55dt. My apex says I'm using barely any power. Idk if I set it up wrong or what. I'll put pictures of app to show what it says consumption is. Also going to add pictures of what is hooked to apex for sump. My question would be, can anyone help me with suggestions on what kind of battery backup I would need for maybe 12+ hrs? I would assume if I can keep skimmer, return pump and heater going, it would be like nothing happened. Other than lighting upstairs. Thank you in advance!

 

[90addict]

@VintageReefer sorry to just throw you in my thread lol...I saw you commenting a lot on another thread about battery backup. Would you happen to have any suggestions or advice for me? Thank you!

 

[VintageReefer]

@VintageReefer sorry to just throw you in my thread lol...I saw you commenting a lot on another thread about battery backup. Would you happen to have any suggestions or advice for me? Thank you!

Here to help. I’m catching up on post 1

 

[IceNein]

In my opinion, the way to go is to DIY your own.

Here is a 1280 Watt Hour deep cycle LiFePO4 battery for $150.

www.amazon.com/KEPWORTH-Rechargeable-4000-15000-Phosphate-Trolling/dp/B0CMQBQFSD/

Get a DC to AC inverter, shove it in a plastic tub, electrical tape over the terminals after you've connected the inverter to reduce the risk of a terminal to terminal short, and voila, you have a portable power station that costs less than half what the pre-assembled ecoflow/jackery/whatnot. cost.

www.amazon.com/EF-ECOFLOW-Portable-Charging-Generator/dp/B0B9XB57XM/

 

[VintageReefer]

Apex is not reading watts correctly, not familiar with apex so I can’t advise on why

What percent do you run the return pump at?

Heaters take up lots of power but they only come on intermittently so they are hard to predict. I would assume 12 hours isn’t enough for a big drop so we wouldn’t need to include the heater.

 

[Tamberav]

I bought this as I just wanted something plug and play with a long warranty and battery that doesn't degrade

https://www.ankersolix.com/products/c1000?variant=49702349898058&selected=c1000-expansion-battery

It is $$$ for sure.

 

[VintageReefer]

I would suggest doing a test before buying any backup system.

Plug the devices you want backed up into a surge protector. Connect that to a watt meter ( https://a.co/d/cjo7yLS ) and plug in the wall. And see what the actual watts are being pulled.

Then the formula is
(Backup battery watt hours x .85) / watt meter reading

So if your battery or station was 1200 watt hours and your draw was 75 watts

(1200 x .85) / 75 = 13.6 hours

From there we can play around and find an appropriate battery/station within budget hopefully

I would aim for return pump only. You don’t need a skimmer for 12 hours tank will be fine

The less power you pull the longer the backup batter will last.

 

[VintageReefer]

I bought this as I just wanted something plug and play with a long warranty and battery that doesn't degrade

https://www.ankersolix.com/products/c1000?variant=49702349898058&selected=c1000-expansion-battery

It is $$$ for sure.

That’s a good price though with the sale.

It’s on sale at Amazon also but $100 more

 

[VintageReefer]

I have 3.7kwh in these stations The top left is equal to the anker + expansion battery

I’m trying to get organized

 

[90addict]

Apex is not reading watts correctly, not familiar with apex so I can’t advise on why

What percent do you run the return pump at?

Heaters take up lots of power but they only come on intermittently so they are hard to predict. I would assume 12 hours isn’t enough for a big drop so we wouldn’t need to include the heater.

The return pump is on 90% but it's also on "slow current". If I put it on fast current 90% it's way more flow! So it's hard to tell what the actual percentage I'm using of the total 65W DC pump

I would suggest doing a test before buying any backup system.

Plug the devices you want backed up into a surge protector. Connect that to a watt meter ( https://a.co/d/cjo7yLS ) and plug in the wall. And see what the actual watts are being pulled.

Then the formula is
(Backup battery watt hours x .85) / watt meter reading

So if your battery or station was 1200 watt hours and your draw was 75 watts

(1200 x .85) / 75 = 13.6 hours

From there we can play around and find an appropriate battery/station within budget hopefully

I would aim for return pump only. You don’t need a skimmer for 12 hours tank will be fine

The less power you pull the longer the backup batter will last.

I added the watt meter to my Amazon cart and will buy it tonight, great idea! The skimmer I just assumed would help with oxygenation (4 fish). The heater, I'm not too sure how fast the tank temp would drop after a power outage. In the dead of winter and having a basement sump, I would assume faster than a normal DT. I'll buy that watt meter and plug it all up. I will circle back to you with my findings so I can pick your brain again. Thank you!

 

[90addict]

I bought this as I just wanted something plug and play with a long warranty and battery that doesn't degrade

https://www.ankersolix.com/products/c1000?variant=49702349898058&selected=c1000-expansion-battery

It is $$$ for sure.

After the 5+k I've put into this tank and basement sump, my wife will kill me! Lol. Was hoping to figure out a solution for around 200$. Not saying it's possible but was hoping lol

 

[90addict]

In my opinion, the way to go is to DIY your own.

Here is a 1280 Watt Hour deep cycle LiFePO4 battery for $150.

www.amazon.com/KEPWORTH-Rechargeable-4000-15000-Phosphate-Trolling/dp/B0CMQBQFSD/

Get a DC to AC inverter, shove it in a plastic tub, electrical tape over the terminals after you've connected the inverter to reduce the risk of a terminal to terminal short, and voila, you have a portable power station that costs less than half what the pre-assembled ecoflow/jackery/whatnot. cost.

www.amazon.com/EF-ECOFLOW-Portable-Charging-Generator/dp/B0B9XB57XM/

Very interesting! I'll have to do some more research. Seems pretty strait forward but like I said before, electric isn't my strong suite... What size inverter would I need?

 

[Tamberav]

After the 5+k I've put into this tank and basement sump, my wife will kill me! Lol. Was hoping to figure out a solution for around 200$. Not saying it's possible but was hoping lol

haha ya... this crap is expensive if you want something to run for awhile... but still less than all the inhabitants in the tank...

You could DIY like mentioned above. I don't like to play with that sort of stuff though.

I guess at least I got a 5 year warranty with it.

 

[90addict]

haha ya... this crap is expensive if you want something to run for awhile... but still less than all the inhabitants in the tank...

You could DIY like mentioned above. I don't like to play with that sort of stuff though.

I guess at least I got a 5 year warranty with it.

Yeah I totally get it! I got about 350$ in fish? I'm not gonna add up the coral cause I might throw up lol. The whole tank was supposed to be just for my twin daughters to have Nemo. All hob stuff. 1000$ setup. As Maury would say "lie detector came back, that was a lie" lol

 

[ShaunMc]

I have ecoflow stuff and my nano (with some bedroom things) is on an EcoFlow Delta 2. Amazon at $449.

With that said, if I didn’t have ecoflow, I’d prob consider this:

Pecron E1000LFP​

Then add capacity to it later based on needs.

 

[90addict]

I have ecoflow stuff and my nano (with some bedroom things) is on an EcoFlow Delta 2. Amazon at $449.

With that said, if I didn’t have ecoflow, I’d prob consider this:

Pecron E1000LFP​

Then add capacity to it later based on needs.

Just reading thru the description, it sounds awesome

 

[ShaunMc]

Just reading thru the description, it sounds awesome

I installed the E3600LFP in a buddy’s ‘91 ford falcon campervan as a replacement of the onan 2800 generator. It is good, so I’d figure for this application, the 1800w is fine. I think either of the two device above would work.

 

[IceNein]

It's not about Watts. That's the max continuous load. Watts are a unit of power. Watt hours are a unit of energy, which is how much the batteries can hold. It has 1024 Watt hours of storage. That means that if it was ONLY running your heater, it would run out of juice in under 2 hours.

Realistically you will not be able to run your heater on a battery. My advice would be to get two 300W heaters and run ONE of them, and hope that it will be able to keep up. That would allow you to run for roughly three hours. Personally I would consider just putting your pumps on it and then coming up with a plan to wrap your tank in a blanket to try to help it retain warmth until power returns.